The EAHP EU Monitor is a regular round up of news relevant to hospital pharmacy in Europe.

You can subscribe to receive the EAHP EU Monitor by email HERE.  

 

Registration and abstract submissions now open! Hospital pharmacists – catalysts for change

Registration is now open for Europe's largest hospital pharmacy education event, the 22nd Congress of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP). Taking place in Cannes, France, from 22nd to 24th March 2017, the event will take as its theme: 'Hospital pharmacists – catalysts for change'. Abstract submissions for the Congress are also open until a deadline of Saturday 15th October.

More information HERE. 

 

European Commission opens consultation on orphan medicine regulation

The European Commission has opened a public consultation to gain views from stakeholders on proposed revisions to EU regulation on orphan medicines, especially in respect to how the concept of 'similar medicinal product' is understood. The consultation closes on 4th November 2016.

A short four-page document explains the rationale for the proposed changes. Fifteen years after EU regulations on orphan medicines were put in place, changes in science, technology and the pharmaceutical market has caused a rethink in how the concept of "similar medicinal product" is understood when it comes to applying the various incentives provided by designation of a product as 'orphan' (i.e. intended for treatment for rare conditions). Developments in respect to biological medicines and Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs) are particularly cited as giving rise to reconsideration of the term's meaning.

New texts for understanding the meaning of terms within EU orphan medicine regulation, such as "similar active substance", are proposed. All views and comments on these are welcomed. 

More information HERE. 

 

Study group welcomes hospital pharmacist views on the EU Paediatric Regulation 

A European Commission sponsored study has been launched to investigate the extent to which the 2007 EU Paediatric Regulation has succeeded in stimulating an increase in research into medicines for children. Hospital pharmacists are invited to provide their opinions via survey by a deadline of 15 August 2016.

The survey is an opportunity to comment on hospital pharmacist experience of the Regulation's impact across a number of areas, including:

• paediatric research capacity;
• funding available for research;
• the extent of research collaboration;
• the extent to which new paediatric treatments are being realized in practice;
• the extent to which patient safety in the paediatric population has been impacted; and,
• social benefits achieved by the regulation (e.g. child attendance at school, carer time, patient quality of life). 

The survey is quick to complete. The results will feed into a report of the European Commission to the European Parliament and the Council in 2017, and will inform thinking on any future developments in EU paediatric medicine regulation.

Take the survey before 15 August HERE. 

  

EJHP: Dexamethasone monitored by pharmacists reduces the severity of pemetrexed-induced skin rash

The online first edition of the European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy (EJHP) has published an open access article highlighting research from Japan into the role of the pharmacist in conducting monitoring for mandatory dexamethasone (m-DEX) and achieving reduction of pemetrexed (PEM)-induced skin rash in patients with non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer (ns-NSCLC).

Full article HERE.