EudraPharm � the European medicines database

Contributed by Bernard GOUGET, SFBC-FESCC representative, FESCC advisory board member

The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has launched a new public database designed to facilitate access to information about medicines available in the European Union. The database, called EudraPharm, is a long-term project to give on-line access to information about all medicines, both human and veterinary, available to EU citizens. The database can be accessed at: www.eudrapharm.eu. In the first phase the database gives access to information about medicines that have been authorised by the European Commission following assessment by the EMEA. These are mainly innovative new medicines, intended for treatment of diseases such as different types of cancer, AIDS/HIV, diabetes, neurodegenerative disorders and rare conditions (�orphan drugs�). All of these so-called �centrally authorised medicines� are approved for use in each of the 25 EU Member States and also in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The database includes the summary of product characteristics, package leaflets and the labelling of medicinal products. It currently gives access to information only in English, but information in the other official EU languages will be available at a later phase.