Training programmes, collaborative studies, expert meetings – the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut publishes its first annual report as WHO collaborating centre

Langen, 30 November 2006; Now, in late November 2006, the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut (PEI) is able to submit its first annual report as 'WHO Collaborating Centre for Quality Assurance of Blood Products and in vitro Diagnostic Devices'. This report comprises the period between June 2005 and September 2006. In June 2005, the PEI received its designation as a collaborating centre from the World Health Organization (WHO).

The President of the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Professor Johannes Löwer, indicates that the starting phase has been very successful: "The report clearly shows the personal commitment and high motivation of many staff members at the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut with which they support the WHO in the field of quality assurance of blood products and in vitro diagnostic devices."

The activities of the WHO collaborating centre include:

1. Moderation of the working group “Regulation of blood and blood-derived products: global challenges” at the International Conference of Drug Regulatory Authorities (ICDRA) in spring this year.
2. Participation in expert meetings and working groups of the WHO
3. A training programme for colleagues from regulatory authorities which are still being set up
4. Initialization and organization of standardization projects for biological reference materials
5. Participation in worldwide collaborative studies in the field of blood-derived medicinal products and in vitro diagnostic products
6. Collaboration in preparing regulatory documents (WHO guidelines)
7. Long-term secondments of PEI experts to the WHO in Geneva

"The Paul-Ehrlich-Institut has made major contributions in the past decades to national and European quality standards. The report shows that we consider it important to make them usable on a worldwide basis – in the interest of the patients", says Professor Rainer Seitz, head of the collaboration centre and the Division of Haematology/Transfusion Medicine.

A copy of the annual report (available in English only) can be requested from the Press Office at the PEI, or can be downloaded from the PEI homepage as a PDF file.

top