The European Medicines Agency is being criticized for not objecting to a pharma industry consulting gig taken by its former executive director, Thomas Lonngren, who left at the end of the December. However, he only told the EMA board of his intention to pursue consulting in a December 28 letter - and his new consulting job was to begin on January 1.

Instead of asking questions, the EMA chair, Pat O’Mahony, responded that the agency had no objections to Lonngren’s new position, according to consumer advocacy groups, which wrote a letter to the EMA to complain about its decision (here are the letters between Lonngren and O’Mahony, although the Lonngren letter is misdated). The groups charge in their own letter that the EMA board did not request details from Lönngren about his consulting plans or attempt to “impose any form of restriction to prevent a conflict of interest arising.”

“It appears that there was no ‘cooling off’ period between his former and current employment, nor any restrictions on the services he provides to NDA (the consulting firm) and its clients. This has led us to believe that the rules regarding conflicts of interest may not have been respected,” according to the Feb. 25 letter from the Alliance for Lobby Transparency and Ethics Regulation, European Consumers Organisation, European Public Health Alliance, Health Action International Europe, and the International Society of Drug Bulletins.

“We question if due consideration was given to conflicts of interests between the responsibilities and portfolios of a former Executive Director and a strategic advisor to pharmaceutical companies whose products his previous role would have evaluated and authorized,” they wrote, pointing to the Staff Regulations of the Officials of the European Communities (see page 14 here).

“We have concerns about the rigor of the authorization process followed by the EMA, which allowed Mr. Lonngren to take positions in the private pharmaceutical sector immediately upon his departure from public service at a drug regulatory agency…There are currently several high profile dossiers on pharmaceutical policies under discussion, including the revision of the Clinical Trials Directive, where we have concerns that a conflict of interest may arise involving Mr. Lonngren’s past and current employment” (here is the letter sent to EMA).

Nonetheless, the groups asked the EMA to rethink its approval. We have asked the EMA for comment and will update you accordingly if a reply is received. UPDATE: An EMA spokesman just called to say that Lonngren has sent the agency a second letter and “we’re currently looking at the contents.” He declined to specifically say whether the EMA is reviewing his consulting, which involves activities with others, not just NDA, he notes.

In his first letter, Lonngren wrote O’Mahony that “I am very conscious of my obligations and commitments to the EMA, and can assure you that in my new role there will be no conflict of interest, breach of code of conduct or any of my other legal contractual obligations, as a departing employee of the EMA. It is my intention to uphold the reputation of the EMA and myself in a highly professional manner. I hope to support the EMA as much as possible in everything I do.”