Loizos Panagi
Permanent Secretary
Ministry of Justice and Public Order







Biographical statement
Dr Louis Panayi, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice and Public Order

Dr Louis Panayi was appointed to the position of Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice and Public Order on the 1st September 2020.
Dr Panayi studied Pharmacy at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Boston, from where he graduated in December 1984 as the Valedictorian with a GPA of 3.94/4.00 (the highest GPA since the founding of the University in 1823). In September of 1985 he was hired as a pharmacist by the Pharmaceutical Services. With a scholarship from the World Health Organisation in 1988, he returned to the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Boston, where he was awarded a doctorate title in Clinical Pharmacy in 1992. In 1998, he was awarded an MBA from City University in Seattle.

Dr Louis Panayi was promoted to the position of Senior Pharmacist of the Pharmaceutical Services in 1995, to the position of Chief Pharmacist in 1999 and he has held the position of Director of the Pharmaceutical Services for 18 years.

Dr Louis Panayi has served a number of terms, following appointments from the Ministerial Council and the Minister of Health, as the Registrar and Member of the Drugs Council, President of the Pharmaceutical Council, President of the Drugs Price Control Committee, President of the Medicines Committee and President of the Named Patient Requests Committee.

Dr Louis Panayi has served, from 2014 up till 2020, as a Member of the Management Board of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and a Member of the Heads of Medicine Agencies (HMA) Network in Europe. Furthermore, he has served as a Member of the EMA Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) , a member of the Pharmaceutical Committee of the European Committee, a Member of the Committee of National Bodies in the EU for the Pricing and Reimbursement of Medicines, a Member of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement information (PPRI) Network and the Head of the Cypriot representation within the Valletta Technical Committee as well as a Member of the Steering Committee for the Joint Procurement between EU Member States of a Vaccine for COVID-19.

Dr Louis Panayi has led a number of missions of the Ministry of Health, drafted dozens of studies and is the author of a number of articles and legislations, including the Regulations for the Cultivation and Production of Medicinal Cannabis in Cyprus and the Law and Regulations for the Establishment of the National Medicines Authority.