WHO :: WHO Assistant Director-General Howard Zucker’s Visit to the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Germany

On 23 August 2007, Dr Howard Zucker, Head of the WHO cluster Health Technology and Pharmaceuticals and Representative of the Director-General on Intellectual Property, Innovation and Public Health of the World Health Organization (WHO), was visiting the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut (PEI) at Langen near Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Together with two colleagues (Dr Lembit R?go, Dr Ana Padilla), he took the opportunity to inform himself on site on the activities of the PEI as WHO collaborating centre for blood products and in vitro diagnostic medical devices.

His programme also included the institute?s involvement in novel therapies and innovative medicinal products, and he also learned about the publicly accessible database on suspected cases of adverse reactions following vaccination, which has been provided by the PEI on the internet since May 2007.

Dr Howard Zucker was impressed by the regulatory and scientific standard of the institute. As he stated, he was pleased to see that the WHO obviously had made a good choice. According to him, both the collaborative centre and the institute as a whole were showing a high degree of commitment and competence, and a lot could be achieved that way in the years to come.

In June 2005, the PEI had received the WHO?s designation as collaborating centre. In this role, the PEI supports the WHO in improving the safety and quality of blood products and in vitro diagnostic medical devices (e.g. HIV tests). In doing so, the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut collaborates with the WHO cluster ?Health Technology and Phamaceuticals?. With the collaborating centre at the PEI, the WHO has found a strong partner. ?We are pleased to make an important contribution to health for everybody by using the entire competence and experience of the institute?, emphasized Professor Rainer Seitz, head of the collaborating centre.

The joint objective is to reach a similarly high standard for blood and blood products worldwide, as already achieved in Germany and Europe.

At the end of the visit, Professor Johannes L?wer, president of the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut stated: ?The Paul-Ehrlich-Institut has been committed to safety and availability of biological medicinal products for years, not only in Germany but throughout Europe. We are very happy to see that we can also make a contribution in this field worldwide.?

Dr Howard Zucker has been Head of the WHO cluster Health Technology and Pharmaceuticals and Representative of the Director-General on Intellectual Property, Innovation and Public Health since 2006. He received his B.S. degree in medicine from the McGill University and his M.D. from the George Washington University School of Medicine. After several positions in the field of health at various universities and government institutions, he served as a White House Fellow. Before changing over to the WHO, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dr Zucker is a member of the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations.


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