After the resignation of Giorgio Palù from the presidency of the Italian Medicines Agency (Aifa), in open controversy with the Minister of Health Orazio Schillaci, a transition phase begins for the new Aifa, born from the reform strongly supported by Palù himself. It happens less than a month after the entry into force of the new AIFA Regulation and with Palù’s farewell the totonomi reopens for the candidate who will replace him at the top of the body and hypotheses return about professionals already known in the world of medicine with institutional roles behind it.
According to the new Regulation, which came into force on 30 January, “in the event of the president’s absence or legitimate impediment – article 6 states – his functions are temporarily carried out by the board member designated by the Minister of Health“. The reins, while waiting for a new president, should therefore pass to the member of the Board of Directors appointed by the minister who, however, has not yet been designated.
The president is appointed through a decree of the Minister of Health, in agreement with the State-Regions Conference, and with the consent of the Minister of Economy and Finance. There are already various names circulating and about which hypotheses are being made. In pole position seems to be Guido Rasi, former director of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and former director general of the Italian Medicines Agency from 2008 to 2011 and member of the board of directors from 2004 to 2008. He is a full professor of Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology at the University of Rome Tor Vergata and since January 2023 he has been Consultant to the Minister of Health, Orazio Schillaci, with the role of expert in the pharmaceutical sector. But, in addition to Rasi, the names of EMA representatives such as Marco Cavaleri, responsible for the strategy for health threats and vaccines at the European Medicines Agency, are also mentioned. In the field, according to some, there could finally also be the hypothesis of an internal solution within the Agency or that of focusing on a female figure.
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