IMVO formally established & blueprint provider selected for Ireland

The Irish Medicines Verification Organisation (IMVO) has been formally established as a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee. This is an important step in the implementation of new EU requirements for safety features on medicines in Ireland which will provide Irish patients with reassurance against falsified medicines.

The IMVO has been established through a collaboration between key players in the prescription medicines supply chain in Ireland. Its founder members include:

• Association of Irish Pharmaceutical Parallel Distributors (AIPPD);
• Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA) representing the research-based pharmaceutical industry;
• Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) representing community pharmacists;
• Medicines for Ireland representing the generic medicines industry;
• Pharmaceutical Distributors Federation Ireland (PDF) representing full-line wholesalers.

The Hospital Pharmacists’ Association of Ireland (HPAI) and BioPharmChem Ireland (BPCI) have also been actively involved in the IMVO Steering Group since its inception in 2015 and IMVO will continue to collaborate closely with both organisations.

IMVO will work with the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) to ensure that the Irish repository system meets the highest regulatory standards. Other important stakeholder organisations for IMVO include the Department of Health, the HSE and the European Medicines Verification Organisation (EMVO).

IMVO Blueprint Provider Selected

IMVO is also pleased to announce that Solidsoft Reply Ltd has been selected as the blueprint provider for Ireland following a robust tendering process. They will be responsible for developing the Ireland repository system and connecting it to the EU Hub which is also managed by Solidsoft Reply on behalf of EMVO. Solidsoft Reply has been extremely supportive throughout the process and demonstrated all the attributes we were looking for in a long term partner. We look forward to working closely with Mark Usher and his colleagues in Solidsoft Reply over the coming months and years.

A large number of people within the IMVO stakeholder organisations have contributed significant time and effort over the last 18 months to getting the new company up and running, and to carrying out the blueprint provider selection process. The IMVO Board of Directors wishes to record its deep appreciation of these individuals’ contribution to date and looks forward to their ongoing support in the next phase of IMVO’s development. Immediate priorities for the IMVO Board of Directors include getting the new organisation up and running; engaging with wholesalers, pharmacists and other users of the Irish repository system and their software providers; agreeing an implementation plan with Solidsoft so that that piloting of new system can start at pharmacy and wholesaler level later this year; and clarifying the costs that will be payable by marketing authorisation holders whose product data will be hosted in the Irish repository.

A formal launch event is being organised to bring the work of IMVO and the plans for serialised medicines to the attention of a wider public audience in Ireland. The IMVO is in the process of registering IMVO email addresses, but in the meantime, please continue to use this email address:

LeonieClarke@ipha.ie

www.imvo.ie

Press Release from Irish Medicines Verification Organisation (IMVO), Leonie Clarke, Project Manager, 18th April 2017