Director General’s review and Fimea’s sustainability policies

Finnish Medicines Agency Fimea supervises medicines, medical devices, blood and tissue products and biobanks, and is involved in the development of the pharmaceutical sector. Fimea is tasked with various licensing and supervision duties in the pharmaceutical sector, research and development, and the production and forwarding of information on medicines in order to improve pharmaceutical services and pharmacotherapy. 

Fimea is part of the European network of pharmacovigilance authorities, which includes not only the European Commission and the European Medicines Agency but also national pharmaceutical regulatory authorities. The European pharmaceutical regulatory network has a number of shared procedures and processes in place that are developed in committees and working groups formed of national experts. In these, Fimea operates through its expert members and also seeks executive and influential chairmanships in its strategic focus areas.

Fimea’s social sustainability is based on our statutory duties, and it aims at safeguarding the well-being of the population and services and benefits in a sustainable manner. Responding to the needs of users of medicines and medicinal products for human and veterinary use, social and health care professionals and veterinarians is a primary sustainability goal in our official duties. Alongside other central government, Fimea is committed to promoting in its activities the global UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG, Agenda 2030) that guide sustainable development globally. From the perspective of its activities and stakeholders, Fimea has identified the four most essential UN SDGs that it can particularly influence through its activities:

Goal 2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.

Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.

Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

         

Fimea’s sustainability work is linked not only to these four UN Sustainable Development Goals, but also to Fimea’s strategy, which was revised in 2021. Based on these goals, Fimea’s sustainability policies are:

In spring 2021, Fimea’s sustainability working group began its look into sustainability and impact at Fimea. The sustainability working group consisted of experts from each of Fimea’s areas of sustainability. In addition, the group includes expertise on procurement and communications. 

During the second reporting period, Fimea updated its sustainability policies to better meet the selected UN SDGs. The working group has surveyed both societal impact and indicators describing Fimea’s impact. The promotion of the objectives of sustainability work together with the agencies’ performance targets has also been discussed with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and other agencies in the administrative sector.

Fimea’s operations are impactful when medicines are safe and used appropriately and when citizens are able to use them correctly.

The performance agreement between the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and Fimea includes the production and monitoring of indicators of Fimea’s impact. In Fimea’s strategy, key functions include promoting the sensible use of medicines and medication safety as well as curbing the increase in medicine costs. Fimea’s operations are impactful when medicines are safe and used appropriately and when citizens are able to use them correctly. If this succeeds, there will also be a positive consequential effect in the consumption and cost of medicines.