Giorgio Palù has resigned from the presidency of the Italian Medicines Agency. “I inform you after careful reflection – he writes in a letter addressed to the board of directors of Aifa – that the lack of harmony with the Minister and the absence of responses from the Government force me to resign as appointed President of Aifa hic et immediate “. Palù then called the one-year assignment “offensive and humiliating”. “I condemn the total lack of listening by the Minister in the choices made for Aifa”, continues Palù.
“Having conceived and promoted the reform of Aifa, I felt the duty to convene you today to point out some objectives that I consider essential to relaunch the Agency: among these, a strong and qualified representation of Aifa within the European commissions and the computerization of pharmaco-economic data” he adds. Other objectives indicated are “clinical studies to estimate the value of treatments, scientific communication, the involvement of very high profile experts in support of the Scientific and Economic Drug Commission (CSE), the promotion of biomedical-pharmaceutical research, certainly one of the most qualifying sectors for the scientific-technological development of the country”.
“The lack of remuneration for the role – he underlines – certainly doesn’t worry me. Considering myself to be at the service of the res publica, I have in fact already carried out the functions of President of Aifa for three years without receiving any compensation or attendance fee, also refusing to be the owner of the Institution’s credit card”. “However, I am surprised by the disparity in treatment compared to other retired Presidents of public bodies, beneficiaries, at the same time as the appointment, of law no. 14 of 24 January 1978, a law which in my case, once again, does not apply”, concludes Palù .
“I learn with amazement the reasons that led Professor Palù to resign as president of AIFA. I believe my silence was deliberately confused with the clear non-acceptance of requests not in line with the project of profound reform of the Agency”. Thus in a note the Minister of Health, Orazio Schillaci. However, he adds, “I welcome the suggestion to appoint a successor with a broader temporal and professional mandate, capable of adding to a strong and qualified representation of Aifa within the European commissions”, also “the ability to work in team for the good of the country”.
“I thank Professor Palù for the great work he has done at the helm of Aifa. He arrived at the Agency at a particularly critical moment, when the country needed to have all its forces concentrated on the Covid emergency”. With these words the president of the Veneto Region, Luca Zaiacomments on the announcement of resignation from the presidency of the Italian Medicines Agency by Professor Giorgio Palù.
“His high-level professionalism, as a virologist and scientist, was one of the references that allowed us to undertake this journey – he adds -. I have read and respect the reasons with which he motivated his resignation and I can only share his bitterness I now hope that a person will arrive at the top of Aifa who will be able to take up his legacy and guarantee the same international standing of recognized relevance. I renew my gratitude to Professor Palù for his commitment and availability which he has never lacked” .
“We are particularly concerned by the recent resignation of Prof. Palù as President of Aifa. In addition to the loss of a figure of certain professionalism and competence, Palù’s words are quite disconcerting, as he speaks of a lack of harmony with the minister and of the absence of responses from of the Government – the MPs write in a note 5 Star Movement of the Social Affairs Commissions of the Chamber and Senate – But the resigning President does not stop here and accuses Schillaci of a total lack of listening regarding the choices made for Aifa. This is an unfortunate situation, which pins the minister to yet another sidereal distance between his promises and the reality of the facts. Schillaci had in fact repeatedly glorified the Aifa reform, but now we find ourselves with the Italian Medicines Agency in disarray. We believe it is necessary and urgent for the minister to come to Parliament to report on the matter and tell us how he intends to remedy it to truly put Aifa at the center of the government’s political action.”
“With Palù’s resignation from Aifa, yet another chapter of a farce is being staged today which reveals only one thing: the total absence of institutional culture of the right and its political exponents. Palù resigns because he feels humiliated for being been extended for just one year. The fate of this fundamental public institution, let’s talk about the Italian medicines agency, no one in the government or the majority seems to care about anything. We are witnessing a pure clash of power and armchair interests. – says Senator Sandra Legs, group leader of the Democratic Party in the Social Affairs, Health and Work Commission. – There is reason to feel indignant and worried if you consider that the functioning of Aifa was blown up with an amendment to the first budget of the Meloni government because the reform was extremely urgent. From then on there was chaos. An unspeakable shame.”
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