Dear readers

The purpose of this annual report is to present the achievements, opportunities and challenges of the past year. In it we share the many successes of the Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products (FAMHP), and highlight some of the individual and collective talents that have contributed to them. Throughout we ensure the complete transparency and reliability of the data shared.

Each year, we struggle to choose which subjects to highlight in this report, such is the intense and varied nature of the agency’s work. 2023 was no exception. It even represents a pivotal time.

Indeed, in 2023, we experienced our first change of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) since the creation of the FAMHP. Xavier De Cuyper, CEO since 2007, made a huge contribution to our organisation. He notably extended his term of office to ensure continuity of service and, in particular, to participate in the collective effort to deal with the coronavirus crisis, before taking a well-deserved retirement. On 1 September 2023, I succeeded him with an equal measure of pride and eagerness. On this subject, I invite you to read the article on my few months as Chief Executive Officer.

Another highlight for the agency in 2023 was participation in the fifth Benchmarking of European Medicines Agencies (BEMA V) exercise. The very positive conclusions of this benchmarking exercise reflect a high level of international recognition. These “top marks” in the areas of drug availability and our efficiency in managing critical situations, as well as in the areas of training and development, and internal audit, are the fruit of the exceptional work of our teams.

As you know, Belgium holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2024. The preparation for this presidency also required a considerable amount of work on our part. One of the main themes of the presidency is the fight against antimicrobial resistance. In this context, the agency was once again able to demonstrate its engagement in this area, at both human and veterinary level, by taking part in numerous actions under the Belgian national “One World, One Health” plan.

This focus on Europe has not made us lose sight of one of the agency’s priorities: to make the day-to-day lives of healthcare professionals and citizens easier, in particular by offering them modern, easy-to-use and effective tools. To meet this objective, the FAMHP has launched Narcoreg, an application that enables pharmacists, manufacturers, wholesale distributors and FAMHP staff to declare transfers of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances more quickly. To facilitate cooperation with our stakeholders, we also developed a web portal for dispensaries open to the public.

Citizens and patients, for their part, were able to discover PharmaInfo. It is an easy-to-use website offering official, understandable, reliable and impartial information on medicines and health products available on the Belgian market.

Finally, in terms of FAMHP operations, this year was also marked by internal collaboration thanks to the Personnel and Organisation Division and its “Meet the expert” project. . The agency also saw some changes to its organisation chart. However, this report is presented according to the previous organisation chart, which was in effect for most of 2023.

I would like to thank all FAMHP staff for their conscientiousness and professionalism , and all our external partners for their support and trust. It is thanks to their commitment that we can maintain our essential role in protecting public health.

I hope you find this report an interesting read.

Hugues Malonne
Chief Executive Officer of the FAMHP