Call for preserving specialized knowledge and contributions of the CAT to advancing ATMPs in Europe

With the proposal for major reform of the pharmaceutical legislation (Regulation (EU) 2023/0131, Directive (EU) 2023/0132) in April 2023, the foundations of Europe's regulatory architecture are being reshaped. The revised legislation proposes the removal of specialized committee functions (e.g., Committee for Advanced Therapies-CAT) by integrating their remit into other regulatory bodies, such as the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) and Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) and expert working groups. This decision may further challenge innovation in Europe, particularly in the field of advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs), which has already experienced a notable decline in global clinical trial activity over the past decade. This article emphasizes the importance of involving multistakeholder consortia such as T2EVOLVE in shaping pharmaceutical legislation to prevent the loss of specialized knowledge and the need for robust mechanisms that preserve developers' access to ATMP regulatory expertise.