HMPWG minutes

Homeopathic Medicinal Products Working Group (HMPWG) minutes of their meeting 10-11 November 2016  are now available online.

Transparency

Of particular interest to ECHAMP was the discussion on transparency, prompted by a letter from ECHAMP to HMPWG. A well-functioning regulatory environment with an efficient transparent umbrella regulatory institution is essential if our industry is to meet the growing demand for its medicinal products.

ECHAMP acknowledges the work done by the HMPWG within difficult organisation conditions in the past years. Their documents are mostly called ‘Points to Consider,’ yet in practice, they seem to set a strict framework of guidance for the medicines agencies.

Nevertheless, the working methods and processes lack transparency as regards communication towards the stakeholders in this sector; there is no real exchange of expert opinions between companies and HMPWG experts. The written consultation process does not seem to be a suitable mechanism for finding solutions which are satisfactory for all sides. A much greater degree of transparency and a much livelier forum for exchange with stakeholders are needed.

In September, ECHAMP addressed these issues with HMPWG, requesting a transparency policy comparable to the one of analogous EU standard setting governing bodies. The response from the HMA, outlined in the minutes, simply referred us to the HMPWG mandate and rules of procedure, without acknowledging the importance of the issues raised.

Homeopathy Research Institute (HRI) - translation of the FAQs

The HMPWG minutes also acknowledged ECHAMP’s communication drawing attention to the translation of the Frequently Asked Questions section on the website of the Homeopathy Research Institute into four languages - French, German, Italian and Spanish, as sponsored by ECHAMP. These take commonly repeated statements about homeopathy and see how accurate they are according to the scientific evidence we have so far.  The minutes acknowledge these FAQs as reliable and up-to-date scientific answers.