María Jesús Lamas Díaz

Maria Lamas, Director, Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products 

María Jesús Lamas Díaz is executive director of the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS) since 2018 and, as such, she is responsible for its direction, management, and coordination of actions. She is also a member of the network of Heads of European medicine agencies (HMA) and the Management Board of the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Furthermore, she is the representative of Spain in the HERA Board (European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority), and it should be noted that she represents Spain on the Steering Board of the European Vaccine Strategy led by the European Commission. She is a member also of the Executive Steering Group on Shortages and Safety of Medicinal Products (MSSG) and its equivalent in Medical Devices (MDSSG), both aimed to prevent and manage the shortages of medicines and medical devices, respectively. In the field of health technology assessments, she is a member of the Heads of HTA Agencies Group (HAG). She leads several working groups within the regulatory network.

She got a Ph.D. in Pharmacogenetics from the University of Santiago de Compostela, she is a clinical specialist in hospital pharmacy and holds a certificate in clinical oncology pharmacy from the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties (BPS) and the American Pharmaceutical Association (APhA).

Until she took over the direction of the AEMPS, she was the head of the Pharmacy department at the University Hospital in Santiago de Compostela. During her clinical career, she funded her research Group on Pharmacology at the Health Research Institute (IDIS – ISCIII), where she also coordinated the Platforms and Methodology Area. Formerly, she was Director of Research at the learned Spanish Society of Hospital Pharmacy (SEFH) from 2012 to 2016.

Updated September 2023