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European Coalition on Homeopathic & Anthroposophic Medicinal Products

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ECHAMP’s new President argues in favour of a new outlook for the sector for homeopathic and anthroposophic medicinal products

Brussels, 1 June 2019 ECHAMP, the European Coalition on Homeopathic & Anthroposophic Medicine, today welcomes a new President, David Reckeweg-Lecompte, unanimously elected by ECHAMP’s Board of management in Dublin in April.

David Reckeweg-Lecompte has been a Board member of ECHAMP since 2016; he is Managing Director at Dr. Reckeweg GmbH, Bensheim, Germany, a family business first established nearly 70 years ago, now with distribution in more than 40 countries worldwide. The company offers more than 250 homeopathic products, all manufactured in Bensheim, and is committed to producing effective and well-tolerated homeopathic medicines in a responsible way. David has a background in international finance and business administration and has held his role at Dr. Reckeweg since 2013.

David is looking forward to leading a committed team of ECHAMP Board members to help stimulate a new phase of growth for the industry. Welcoming his appointment, he says, “Homeopathy and anthroposophic medicine have a long history and these medicinal products have stood the test of time. Now is the time for proper integration of these therapies into our health care systems. They have a major contribution to make to the big health challenges Europe is facing today. At ECHAMP, we are increasingly determined to build stronger bridges with other stakeholders, with EU and other European and national institutions and with the national medicines agencies to make sure patients are offered genuine freedom of choice of treatment.” 

David also acknowledges the considerable contribution made by his predecessor, Dr Gesine Klein, who has been ECHAMP’s President since 2013. Looking back on the six years of her Presidency, she welcomes some progress for the sector, “Step by step, with a stronger common voice, we have seen progress on important technical issues: we thank all those involved. EU regulation for homeopathic medicinal products stems back to the early 1990s and is based on a strong foundation. ECHAMP will, I am sure, continue to intensify its efforts to find constructive and concrete solutions to shared problems.”

The next twelve months will be important for ECHAMP, with an internal transition to a new management structure for the association. Mr. Christiaan Mol also comes to the end of his term as General Secretary but will continue to hold his place on the Board, fully and personally committed to continuing ECHAMP’s work on pharmaceutical standards. He says, “Progress at European level in any area must be protected and further developed. In our sector, the foundations have been laid and the standard-setting process must go on.”

The change of management at ECHAMP coincides with a new term of office for the European Commission and Members of the European Parliament; in this context, ECHAMP calls on the institutions to continue to respect the collective wish of European voters for these medicines, to take note of the increasing body of research data substantiating this sector, to prioritise investment in research on these topics and to better consider the potential contribution of homeopathic and anthroposophic medicinal products to the big health challenges Europe is facing today.

Notes to editors

  1. ECHAMP is the European association of companies that work closely together to ensure that its members can meet the demand from users and prescribers across the EU for homeopathic and anthroposophic medicinal products. It advocates in favour of an appropriate regulatory environment for these products in the EU.
  2. Millions use the products: Homeopathy is the second largest system of medicine in the world. Three out of four Europeans know about homeopathy, and of these, 29% use it for their health care; there is growing demand for these products. Patients express very high levels of satisfaction with these treatments.
  3. They are safe: Homeopathic and anthroposophic medicinal products are used in primary and clinical care across Europe. They can be prescribed alongside other forms of medicine. Users choose these medicines because they are safe. Adverse drug reactions are reported only very rarely.
  4. ECHAMP has 41 Full Members from 16 different EU Member States and Norway and one extraordinary member from Switzerland, all companies involved in the manufacture and distribution of homeopathic and anthroposophic medicinal products.

For all press enquiries please contact Amandine Oset on (00 32) 2 649 9440 or e-mail media@echamp.eu.

Last updated on Apr 30, 2019