New chair elected for EMA’s Orphan Medicinal Products Committee
Tim Leest begins his three-year mandate on 16 September
NewsCorporateMedicines
EMA’s Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP) elected a new chair. Tim Leest starts his three-year mandate today, 16 September.
A Belgian national, Tim Leest holds a master’s degree in biology and in bioinformatics from the Catholic University of Leuven, and has worked as Senior Clinical Assessor at the Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products of Belgium (FAMHP) since 2012. Leest has been a member of the COMP since 2017 and is a representative of EMA Patients’ and Consumers’ Working Party (PCWP) since 2019.
“We have a duty towards patients who go through life with the burden of an orphan disease.
I am fully committed to continuing our committee's excellent work and fostering ongoing collaboration to meet the unique needs of our patient community in Europe.”
Tim Leest succeeds Dr Violeta Stoyanova-Beninska as a chair, following her completion of the maximum two three-year terms allowed for COMP chairs.
COMP is responsible for evaluating applications for orphan designation. This designation is for medicines to be developed for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of rare diseases that are life-threatening or very serious. COMP also advises and assists the European Commission on matters related to orphan medicines