Paediatric Committee re-elects chair

16 September 2016

Dr Dirk Mentzer nominated for second three-year term

The European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Paediatric Committee (PDCO) has re-elected Dr Dirk Mentzer as its chair during its meeting in September 2016.

Dr Mentzer, who is Head of Pharmacovigilance at the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut in Frankfurt, Germany and a paediatrician by training, has been the chair of the PDCO since September 2013. This is his second and final mandate as the rules of procedure of the PDCO foresee a maximum of two terms.

“Over the past almost ten years, the PDCO has gained unique expertise in guiding the development of safe and effective medicines that address the needs of paediatric patients,” said Dr Mentzer.

“As PDCO chair I would like to continue the interaction with other scientific committees at EMA, as well as with academia and patient/parent groups to ensure that the PDCO plays an active role across the whole life-cycle of medicines for children.”

The main role of the PDCO is to assess the content of paediatric investigation plans (PIPs) and adopt opinions on them. This includes the assessment of applications for a full or partial waiver and for deferrals.