EU-FDA MRA: Soon all States on board
Recommendation

2/3 September 2026
Copenhagen, Denmark
When “Human Error” isn’t enough: Successful Failure Investigation
The Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) with the USA was supplemented by two further countries: Poland and Slovenia. Now 22 countries are already recognised. Among other countries, Germany is still missing . On a dedicated webpage of the EMA there is an excellent overview. By 15 July 2019, however, all authorities and countries should have been inspected and approved.
If the agreement is fully in force (and only then!), the additional full testing of a drug imported from the USA will no longer be necessary. This also applies to countries that have already been recognised.
No more inspections?
In exceptional cases, the FDA will continue to travel to the EU for inspections, among other things within the framework of approval procedures (so-called pre-approval inspections). This also became clear at an ECA conference in November 2018, where participants from Spain, Austria and Denmark reported on announced inspections for the year 2019.
Related GMP News
01.07.2026Should TGA publish GMP Certificates?
24.06.2026Quality Unit (QU) in the Focus of a Warning Letter: Oversight Failures and FDA Expectations
03.06.2026GMP Auditor Association Developments January through April 2026
20.05.2026CAPA and Root Cause Analysis - why FDA keeps calling them out
20.05.2026FDA Pilots One-Day Inspectional Assessments to Expand Oversight


