Martina Schüssler-Lenz re-elected as chair of Committee for Advanced Therapies

24 January 2020

At its January meeting, EMA’s Committee for Advanced Therapies (CAT) re-elected
Dr Martina Schüssler-Lenz as its chair, for a second three-year mandate.

Dr Martina Schüssler-Lenz is the Deputy Head of the Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products Section at the Paul-Ehrlich Institute (PEI) in Langen, Germany. Before becoming chair, she served as vice-chair of the CAT from March 2014 to February 2017.

"The number of new advanced therapies coming for marketing authorisation application has steadily grown over the last few years and we have put in place an ambitious workplan to better manage this increase,” says Dr Schüssler-Lenz. “Over the next three years, I will continue the work we have already undertaken to strengthen the CAT’s interaction with EMA's committee for human medicines, as well as other committees and working parties and to make the Committee’s expertise more visible. Strong interaction with all relevant players in the EU medicines regulatory network and with stakeholders will ultimately facilitate access to advanced therapies that can transform patients’ lives." 

The CAT is responsible for assessing the quality, safety and efficacy of advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) and following scientific developments in the field. ATMPs are medicines for human use that are based on genes or cells. They offer ground-breaking new opportunities for the treatment of disease and injury. The Committee prepares a draft opinion on each ATMP application submitted to EMA, before the Agency’s committee for human medicines (CHMP) adopts a final opinion on the marketing authorisation of the medicine concerned.