• The European Medicines Verification System (EMVS) went live across Europe on 9th February 2019 and has been successfully operating for 1 year.
• Prescription medicines dispensed in Europe must bear safety features and be verified for their authenticity via the EMVS.
• Community pharmacies, hospitals, hospital pharmacies and other points of dispense are working to verify these medicines before they are given to patients.

About the EMVS

The EMVS protects patients from the risk of falsified medicines through an end-to-end verification of medicinal packs.

The EMVS implements the Falsified Medicines Directive 2011/62/EU (FMD) which requires the placing of two safety features on the packaging of some (mainly prescription) medicines for human use for the purpose of their identification and verification of their authenticity via an interoperable digital system across the whole EU.

The EMVS is also a unique collaboration model where the stakeholders of the pharmaceutical supply chain connect 28 national systems (Italy and Greece have longer transition periods), operated and managed by the National Medicines Verification Organisations, to a European Hub, operated and managed by EMVO.

EMVO'S President and General Manager

Adrian van Den Hoven, President of EMVO, comments: “The EMVS is a monumental project, connecting 28 EEA countries and more than 2500 Marketing Authorisation Holders (MAHs) and over 100000 wholesalers, pharmacists and hospitals to the system. The first year of the EMVS has seen substantial collaboration between all stakeholders in the pharmaceutical supply chain to get this project up and running successfully and this will continue as we ramp up the system over the next few years”.

Andreas Walter, General Manager of EMVO, states: “The teams of EMVO and of the National Medicines Verification Organisations have worked tirelessly over the past 12 months to improve patient safety through the establishment of a successful system. Our organisation will continue to be the central point for the EMVS, working at a European level with EMVO’s stakeholders and with each National Medicines Verification Organisation to fulfil the verification mission entrusted to us by regulatory authorities.”

More details:

EMVO Website: www.emvo-medicines.eu

EMVO stakeholders:

• European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations https://www.efpia.eu/
• Medicines for Europe https://www.medicinesforeurope.com/
• European Association of Euro-Pharmaceutical Companies https://www.eaepc.org/
• European Healthcare Distribution Association http://girp.eu/
• Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union https://www.pgeu.eu/en/
• European Association of Hospital Pharmacists http://www.eahp.eu/
• European Hospital and Healthcare Federation http://www.hope.be/