On March 23, 2023, a General Assembly of the Latvian Medicines Verification Organisation (LZVO) was held, where the report on the most significant work done in 2022 was presented, as well as the most pressing issues related to the verification system were discussed. While discussing the actualities of future performance, the General Assembly paid the most attention to the need to renew and supplement the existing crisis and business continuity plans.
Among the members of the General Assembly, there were active discussions about the financial risks and their evaluation (principles of good management), as well as security issues of LZVO and the medicines verification system, taking into account the current experience and geopolitical risks – to evaluate the critical infrastructure of LZVO, its availability, social and economic impact, as also its potential to ensure the operation of LZVO and medicines verification system in various crisis conditions.
As stated by Inese Erdmane, Chairwomen of the Board of LZVO, a business continuity plan has been already developed for the medicines verification system, which is provided by the developer and maintainer of the IT program – Arvato Systems GmbH. Also, LZVO, together with other National Medicines Verification Organisations, has conducted and audit of the IT system’s developer and verified the existence of a business continuity plan and its use. One of the proposals agreed upon by the members of the General Assembly was to review the security processes developed so far and the planning and implementation procedures of security measures and business continuity, if necessary, using the accumulated financial resources to implement new security measures and business continuity processes or to improve existing security measures.
The Association “Latvian Medicines Verification Organisation” (LZVO) was established in December 2016 with the aim to establish, maintain and manage the Latvian Medicines Verification System in accordance with the requirements of the European Medicines Verification System, the Falsified Medicines Directive, and the Delegated Regulation. The founders of the association are professional associations of medicines manufacturers, wholesalers, pharmacies, and other industries involved in the circulation of medicines: Association of International Research-based Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, the Latvian Generic Medicines Association, the Latvian National Medicines Supply Association, the Pharmaceutical Care Association of Latvia, and the Latvian Medicines Parallel Import Association.