The Extraordinary General Meeting of Associates of the Spanish Association of Orphan and Ultra Orphan Drug Laboratories (AELMHU), held on 13 October, has agreed to appoint Josep Maria Espinalt, CEO of Alexion Pharma Spain, as its new president. He replaces Luis Cruz, who was CEO of CSL Behring Laboratories in Spain. The management team will be led by Francisco Vivar, CEO of Genzyme, and Javier Urcelay, CEO of Shire, as vice-presidents. "AELMHU will continue to work to promote general awareness of rare diseases and to ensure rapid and equitable access to innovative treatments. Our goal is to improve the health and quality of life of patients with rare and ultra-rare diseases, acting as an interlocutor with society, the scientific community and public and political institutions," declared the new president.