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A decade of RSNN: an interview with four RSNN pioneers
In 2025, the Regulatory Science Network Netherlands (RSNN) marked its ten-year anniversary.
To close off the year, we are looking back at the successful first decade of RSNN together with four of its pioneers: Christine Gispen-de Wied, Bert Leufkens, Just Weemers, and Peter van Meer. Each of them played an important role in shaping the network - whether by playing a pivotal role in its founding, guiding its governance, or providing other significant contributions throughout the years.
A decade of RSNN provides the opportunity to reflect not only on its past achievements but also on how it has fundamentally reshaped the way Dutch regulators, academia, industry, and patient stakeholders engage with one another. What began as a modest initiative has matured into a recognised platform where complex regulatory questions can be explored in an open, informed, and constructive manner.
Christine Gispen-de WiedOver the past 10 years, the network has really matured, and there are much more communication and dialogue between stakeholders.
Looking back at 10 years of RSNN
The RSNN was founded in 2015, during the FIGON Dutch Medicines Days. The Medicines Evaluation Board (MEB) started the initiative together with the TI Pharma Escher project, and the Dutch Society of Pharmaceutical Medicine. The goal was to consolidate and strengthen national research networks in the field of regulatory science.
In its early years, not all parties were eager to join. Industry organisations did initially not see the need, regulators feared being seen as too close to industry, and academic voices sometimes assumed little value could come from cross-sector exchange. Christine Gispen-de Wiedrecalls this initial hesitation vividly: “The reluctance to speak with each other has improved enormously. Over the past 10 years, the network has really matured, and there are much more communication and dialogue between stakeholders.”
This shift did not happen overnight. It emerged through consistent, informal, well-structured meetings like the expert meetings, where scientific issues were the central topic. Participants gradually discovered that they share the same challenges, the same uncertainties, and the same responsibility towards patients. Trust grew as dialogue deepened, with Lygature as critical enabling catalyst, and RSNN became a recognised space to question assumptions embedded in the regulatory system.
Strengths of RSNN
One of the strengths of RSNN is that its network meetings are not about specific products, making it possible to have open conversations about strategies, regulatory principles and the underlying science, and current issues. Bert Leufkens sees this as a key contribution of the network. RSNN, he explains, deliberately removed product-specific discussions from the table: “By taking the product out of the conversation, you take away the sting. The focus turns to shared issues, strategies, and the system as a whole, not on individual dossiers or commercial interests.”
This design choice had far-reaching consequences. It opened space for participants to speak as experts rather than as representatives bound by institutional positions. According to Just Weemers, this changed everything: “You are not facing a company or an authority, but you are talking to regulatory experts. That removes tension and allows all perspectives to be explored.” Peter van Meer adds: “The goal of RSNN was to signal challenges in the regulatory field that could be relevant for all stakeholders and to discuss the way forward.”
The RSNN is a pioneer in the field of regulatory science, and its approach is now being implemented also in different organisations within and outside of the Netherlands. Peter echoes this perspective, noting that RSNN’s influence is now visible beyond the Netherlands. The European Medicines Agency, for example, is beginning to organise more stakeholder-based scientific dialogues, a development that mirrors RSNN’s approach.
Bert LeufkensIt is in the DNA of RSNN to find and challenge each other with the ultimate goal to try to make a difference for the patient.
The future of RSNN
The coming years RSNN will play a key role in the multidisciplinary discussion of the latest technologies. To discuss where we are going and what is important to consider, so that we can respond proactively rather than reactively.
The regulatory landscape is being reshaped by gene and cell therapies, personalised medicine, digital data infrastructures, and changing societal expectations. These innovations raise challenging questions: how do we deal with one-time potentially curative therapies or how do we balance affordability with access? For Just, these questions show exactly why RSNN matters now more than ever: “The challenges ahead require multidisciplinary reflection. RSNN is the place to discuss them proactively, instead of waiting until problems arrive.”
As RSNN enters its second decade, its mission remains clear: to advance an efficient and effective regulatory system that supports medicines development, marketing authorization, access, and appropriate use of medicines. In doing so, it ensures that regulatory science continues to evolve. Bert: “It is in the DNA of RSNN to find and challenge each other with the ultimate goal to try to make a difference for the patient.”