About the European QP Association

The Qualified Person's function and responsibility is unique The European approach requires the QP not only to be highly qualified but also to always have the latest information on current developments in the area of GMP/GDP and regulatory compliance. For this reason the ECA Foundation Advisory Board Members decided at their annual meeting on 7 July 2006 to establish a new group: the European QP Association. With this association the ECA wants to provide QPs in Europe with a platform allowing them to exchange their experience, discuss the latest regulatory requirements, to identify and address difficulties and challenges and to support a harmonised European approach. Today the European QP Association is led by Dr Ulrich Kissel, Germany (Chairman), Dr Susanne Ding, Germany, David Cockburn, UK, Georg Göstl, Austria, Cheryl Chia, The Netherlands, and Ewa Rybak, Poland. In addition, the QP Association's IMP Working GroupThis Live Online Training on 21 May 2025 is intended to provide guidance on the format, content and submission procedures for drug substances within the newly implemented CEP 2.0. Take advantage of the extensive experiences of our speakers and send us your questions and challenges linked to the CEP 2.0 prior to the Live Online Training. is led by a Leadership Team with Dr Susanne Ding, Patryk Jegorow, Ireland, Katrien Himpens, Belgium, and Rebecca Haywood, UK. Two Members from the Authority Advisory Board support the Association and the Board of Directors as Advisors: Dr Rainer Gnibl from the German District Government of Upper Bavaria and from Mag.pharm. Andreas Kraßnigg from the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, Austria. << Charter of the European QP Association >>

Board of Directors Dr Ulrich Kissel Qualified Person, Germany Chairman Dr Susanne Ding Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma, Germany Qualified Person David Cockburn Formerly of EMA, U.K. Georg Göstl Takeda, Austria and Chair of the Austrian QP Association aqpa Cheryl Chia BeiGene, The Netherlands Senior Director Distribution Quality Ewa Rybak JJP Biologics, Poland Quality Assurance Head/QP Past Chair of the EQPA Board Dr Bernd Renger Deceased (25 November 2024) Bernd was one of the architects and founding member of the EQPA, chairman and recognized energetic opinion leader for QPs all over Europe. EQPA will recognize his heritage and build on it. Please also see the tribute to Bernd on the ECA Foundation website.

Authority Advisory Board The Authority Advisory Board is not part of the legal structure. The Advisory Board Members support the Association on a case by case decision and not for all activities of the Association. The following Board Members of the ECA Foundation Board support the European QP Association: Dr Rainer Gnibl Government of Upper Bavaria, Germany Mag.pharm. Andreas Kraßnigg AGES (Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety), Austria

Please find here all Members of the Authority Board of the ECA Foundation. Part of the organisation's activities is the organising annual forums as a platform to discuss current developments and challenges. The inaugural QP Forum was held in Prague, Czech Republic, from 30 November to 1 December 2006. More than 150 delegates from 26 countries attended to be part of this first meeting of European Qualified Persons. The goal of the first meeting was to establish a platform for sharing experience and discussing the critical areas of the QP's daily work as well as roles and responsibilities of the QP with representatives from EMEA and national authorities. You will find more information about the Forums held so far in the News/Publications Section.