Press Release: EMEA holds first meeting of Committee for Advanced Therapies (CAT)

The European Medicines Agency, in January 2009, announced the formal creation of its sixth scientific committee, the Committee for Advanced Therapies (CAT), which met for the first time on 15 January 2009. The CAT’s main role will be to prepare a draft opinion on each advanced-therapy medicinal product submitted to the EMEA for evaluation as part of a marketing-authorisation application, prior to the adoption of a final opinion by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), which retains overall responsibility for scientific evaluation of human medicines at the EMEA. The CAT will play a central role in the assessment of innovative medicines based on gene therapy, somatic cell therapy and tissue engineering – advanced medical technologies that promise to deliver groundbreaking new treatment options for patients suffering from serious diseases or injuries.

European Medicines Agency: EMEA Committees: Committee for Advanced Therapies (CAT) http://www.emea.europa.eu/htms/general/contacts/CAT/CAT.html

European Medicines Agency: Questions and answers on the regulation of advanced therapy medicinal products, January 2009 http://www.emea.europa.eu/pdfs/human/cat/Q&A_1432709en.pdf

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