Lorraine Nolan has been chosen as the new head of the European Union Drugs Agency. She is expected to take up the post in January.
Since 2016, Dr Nolan, has been Chief Executive of Ireland’s Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA), the national agency responsible for the regulation of medicines, medical devices and other health products.
In April the HPRA announced that Nolan would be stepping down at the end of the year.
“During her tenure, she has successfully guided the [HPRA] through a significant transformation of its key regulatory functions and an expansion of its operations, elevating the standing of the HPRA on national, European and international levels. In addition, her determined and strategic leadership during Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic ensured the national regulator for medicines and medical devices made a vital contribution to the successful navigation of these challenges”, the Irish authority said at the time.
Based in Portugal, the EU’s drag agency is responsible for monitoring the flow and impact of narcotics.
“We assist the EU institutions and Member States in anticipating and responding effectively to drug-related threats. We issue health and security alerts and risk communications, share knowledge and recommend evidence-based policies and actions to address problems efficiently”, the agency says.
Dr Nolan has a long career in the health sector. As well as leading the HPRA, she has also been Chair of the Management Board of the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
According to the agency she previously play a leading role in drugs policy at Ireland’s Department of Health.
Lorraine Nolan has a PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from Trinity College Dublin. She previously worked as a forensic scientist for Ireland’s Department of Justice where she carried out “forensic profiling of illicit drugs and interacted with the National Drugs Unit of the police force.”
Earlier this month, the European Union Drugs Agency warned that a rapid shift in Europe’s drug market is underway which is creating “new health and security risks and challenging the region’s capacity to respond.”