The European Medicines Verification Organisation (EMVO) is a non-profit organisation set up by the drug industry groups EAEPC, EFPIA, EGA, GIRP and PGEU in February with the aim of developing a repository system for drugs as specified by the 2011 Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD).
The idea is to provide EU member states with a database of legitimate pharmaceutical products that can be used by national stakeholder organisation (NMVO) to identify fake drugs circulating in the country.
The FMD requires that the repositories contain details of “safety features,” such as labels product packaging which must be “appropriately protected.”
The directive also says “costs of the repositories system shall be borne by the manufacturing authorisation holders of medicinal products bearing the safety features.”
To that end the EMVO has signed partnership agreements with software Aegate Holdings Limited, Arvato Systems GmbH and Solidsoft Reply to develop the system.
Under the contracts national organisations responsible for managing the repositories can select the firm that is “best suited to establish a repository system in their Member State” according to EMVO.
Director General ad-interim Andreas Walter said: “The agreement with our new partners brings us a step forward in the fight against falsified medicines. We would like to encourage national stakeholders to take the example of EMVO, establish NMVOs, and sign up with one of our selected service providers.”
EMVO is already working with regulators in Germany in a collaboration focused on the country’s securPharm system.