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Presented

Home Office vs. Office “I had to get used to the emptiness.”

Case manager Cornelia Bigler spent most of the recent months working from home in Sélestat (France) – Beat Leuenberger (Operational Support Services), on the other hand, worked from his desk in Bern the whole time. A discussion about work from different perspectives.

Focused

Medical Devices The mask issue

Medical face masks: a focus of public attention from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Few topics were discussed so heatedly. The problem: a dearth of supply on the market. Numerous distributors hastened to import the scarce item into Switzerland. The result was a flood of non-compliant masks – and Swissmedic had to step in. Yann Amstutz, Medical Devices Inspector in the Medical Devices Surveillance Department, was in the midst of the action.

Examined

Supply of medicinal products in Switzerland “Out-of-stock requests are processed promptly when supply problems arise.”

Andreas Pfenninger heads the Stakeholder Engagement Division at Swissmedic. In other words, he coordinates the national and international activities – including those relating to the security of supply of medicines and vaccines in Switzerland. For Visible he presents the possible lifecycle of an antibiotic – including the potential supply bottlenecks.

Accompanied

Social Media Interacting with social channels

How do you establish a social media network for a government body? Which channels can be used? Who decides what gets published – and, more importantly, what doesn’t? What type of content do you use for which topic? We asked Ilana Bischof. Hailing from eastern Switzerland, she has been setting up and expanding social media activities at Swissmedic since May 2020.

Highlighted

Facts & Figures

Highlighted

The work of the HMEC The Expert Committee

In scientific questions concerning the authorisation of medicinal products, Swissmedic obtains specialist advice from experts. Where human medicines and people's health are concerned, the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products is supported by the HMEC. In recent years, oncology drugs (medicines for the treatment of cancer) have been the subject of particular focus. An expert in this field is Professor Emeritus Thomas Cerny MD – the renowned oncologist spoke to "Visible" about his work as a member of the HMEC.

Globalised

The pharmacopoeia The handbook of medicinal product quality

The task of Swissmedic is to ensure that only high-quality, safe and effective therapeutic products are placed on the market. The pharmacopoeia, which contains binding quality regulations, plays a major role in this undertaking. In Switzerland, the pharmacopoeia comprises both a European and a Swiss volume. As head of the Pharmacopoeia Department, Tobias Gosdschan is responsible for this area. From June 2016 to June 2019 he had the great honour of chairing the European Pharmacopoeia Commission.

Probed

Interview with Swissmedic Agency Council Chair Lukas Bruhin “We do what we promise.”

Appointed Chair on 1 August 2020, Lukas Bruhin heads the seven-member Agency Council of Swissmedic. According to the Therapeutic Products Act, the Agency Council is the strategic body of Swissmedic and supervises the Management Board. Although it is not responsible for authorisation decisions, the Agency Council is well aware of the expectation that COVID-19 vaccines should be made available in Switzerland as quickly as possible. Lukas Bruhin views the Agency Council as a “sparring partner” here, too, and as both a generator and recipient of initiatives.