Kox Named As IGBA Secretary General
Executive Summary
Industry veteran Suzette Kox has been nominated as secretary general of the International Generic and Biosimilar medicines Association.
Suzette Kox has been nominated as secretary general of global off-patent industry body the International Generic and Biosimilar medicines Association (IGBA). “Her main role,” the association said, “is to co-ordinate the IGBA activities as the association continues to expand its outreach relevant to its mission, priorities and operations.”
A former executive at European off-patent industry association Medicines for Europe with a particular focus on scientific affairs and biosimilars, Kox “brings with her 28 years of substantial contribution to the roles and activities of the European and international generic and biosimilar industry trade bodies”, the IGBA noted.
Her history of advocacy on behalf of the generics and biosimilars industries includes in recent years lobbying against the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) ‘biological qualifier’ proposals, which were ultimately suspended. (Also see "WHO To Pilot ‘Biological Qualifier’ Scheme Despite Protests From Biosimilars Industry" - Generics Bulletin, 28 Oct, 2016.)
Jim Keon, president of the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association (CGPA) and Biosimilars Canada, has taken over the position of IGBA Chair for 2019 from David Gaugh, senior vice-president for sciences and regulatory affairs of the US Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM).
“I am thrilled about the newly strengthened IGBA, which is needed to ensure that regulatory and science, trade and intellectual-property as well as legal developments take into account the crucial role of our industries for the benefit of patients worldwide, as well as the national healthcare systems,” Keon commented.
“The long-term sustainability of our industries and balanced intellectual-property systems are key to delivering on competition in the pharmaceutical sector” – Suzette Kox
Kox said she would “very much look forward to continuing to contribute to increased and sustainable patient access to high quality medicines worldwide, as well as to the United Nations member states universal healthcare coverage (UHC) vision by 2030”.
“The long-term sustainability of our industries and balanced intellectual-property systems are key to delivering on competition in the pharmaceutical sector, addressing the concerns of drug shortages and supply-chain security, as well as supporting the international harmonisation of standards through the International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH)”, she added. (Also see "ICH Sets Out Proposals On Harmonizing Standards For Generics" - Generics Bulletin, 7 Feb, 2019.)
Speaking for the first time in her role as IGBA secretary general, Kox recently welcomed regulatory progress towards the concept of a global comparator product for generics. (Also see "Australia Pushes For Harmonization As ICH Paper Provides Framework" - Generics Bulletin, 15 Feb, 2019.)