“We are here today to send a message that we will decisively support, strengthen and significantly improve the operation of the EOF, through your own work.” With these words, the Minister of Health, Michalis Chrysochoidis, welcomed the new president, Evangelos Manolopoulos, and the new members of the Board of the National Pharmaceutical Organization, at a special event held today, at the organization’s offices.

Speaking to the employees, Michalis Chrysochoidis emphasized that this is a critical organization, which “deals with something valuable, medicine” and referred to the four main objectives on which the new administration must focus in order to strengthen and upgrade the EOF.

The first, as he said, is to staff the EOF and announced recruitments, in order to staff critical positions where there are shortages, in order to upgrade the work produced. As a second step, he set the creation of the evaluation mechanism, HTA. “We are moving quickly to set up within the EOF the evaluation mechanism, which will be an integral part of your own work. The current Evaluation Committee, the evaluation mechanisms that exist across Europe should be organically linked as an activity with the EOF, so that we can follow the developments of technology and medicines. By 2025 we will have a European unified evaluation policy that will help measure the effectiveness of medicines and implement a unified policy,” he concluded.

In addition, the Minister of Health referred to the creation of a mechanism for recording drug shortages, so that “in a transparent manner and in the absolute interests of Greek society, we know at all times first the EOF, which is the “womb” of the drug, throughout the production line and trafficking of the drug, what is or is not on the market”. Finally, Mr. Chrysochoidis placed great emphasis on strengthening the field of research at the EOF. As he pointed out, “the new Board of Directors is staffed by great scientists, who will work together with all the staff and together we will form conditions for research and evaluation of all the new technologies that enter health every day”.

For his part, the first vice-president of the Organization, Diomedis Lymberis, who was also on the previous Board of Directors, noted that, all together, “the Board and the staff of the EOF will do their best to implement the government’s planning in area of ​​medicine and to further highlight the prestige of the Organization, as the times dictate. The challenges we face are significant. The obstacles we will overcome enough. But all these must be opportunities that we will seize, so that we can continue to prioritize the highest good of public health, contributing to the well-being of our citizens”, he concluded.

The event was also attended by the second vice-president, Spyridon Sapounas, the regular member Maria Konstantis, the regular member, George Hamilos and the alternate member George Vasilopoulos, as well as executives and employees of the Organization, who wished the new members a “good term” members of the board of directors.