Monday, November 2, 2026

Dr. Stefanie Weber will take over as vice president of Germany’s Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, BfArM, on 1 November 2026. She succeeds Prof. Dr. Werner Knöss, who is retiring.

BfArM links the appointment to its expanding role in digitalisation, health data and the development of regulatory frameworks. For pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, these areas matter because data standards, registries and interoperable structures increasingly shape how care, research, pharmacovigilance and regulation are organised in practice.

Focus on data structures and interoperability

Weber most recently headed BfArM’s “Coding Systems and Registries” department. In that role, she was responsible for work on semantic interoperability, medical terminologies and classifications, as well as European cooperation on health data. Her remit also included the development of the organ donation register.

According to the institute, key tasks include implementing the European Health Data Space, expanding interoperable data structures and using data-based methods for research, healthcare and drug safety. In the BfArM announcement, president Prof. Dr. Karl Broich pointed to Weber’s scientific and regulatory experience.

For the sector, the appointment keeps attention on the interface between traditional authority work and digital data infrastructure. Shared terminology, classifications and registries are not merely technical issues, but building blocks for reliable communication between regulators, healthcare providers, research organisations and industry.