Import vs. Manufacturing: Any Differences in the EU?
What does it mean that, in the European Union (EU), all of the requirements for and obligations of Manufacturing Authorisation holders (MIAHs) also apply to importers?
2D Matrix Codes: which countries are already connected to the European Hub?
There is not much time left until the safety features have to be implemented. These features are required to comply with the Falsified Medicines Directive, which will enter into force on 9 February, 2019. Meanwhile, a number of national data storage and retrieval systems have joined the EU Hub, as the European Medicines Verification Organisation (EMVO) reported.
The FDA has published a draft guidance which is to standardise the data traceability of products. Find out how long traceability data for products need to be stored according to the new FDA guideline "Standardization of Data and Documentation Practices for Product Tracing".
Data Integrity is still a hot topic in GMP inspections. And in the GDP area data integrity is also increasingly becoming a subject, as some examples from the MHRA show.
Falsified Medicines Directive - securPharm status report for 2018
There isn't much time left until the safety features required in the future will have to be implemented in order to comply with the Falsified Medicines Directive which will enter into force on 9 February, 2019. The German initiative securPharm has published a status report in this issue for the year 2018. Read more about the "securPharm Status report 2018".
ICMRA recommendations on track & trace implementation
In October 2017, the ICMRA adopted recommendations on the implementation of Track and Trace (T&T) Systems to emphasise the importance of the complexity of these systems. This is relevant for regulatory authorities as well as for the pharmaceutical industry. Find out more about the ICMRA T&T recommendations.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) published a draft guideline on the responsibilities of the sponsor with regard to handling and shipping of IMPs. Read more about the proposed guideline which lays down the principles for the two-step release and shipping of IMPs.
Version 9 of the EU Q&As on Safety Features published
Safety features, which will be mandatory in the future to put the Falsified Medicines Directive into practice, must be implemented by 9 February, 2019. The European Commission has published version 9 of their questions and answers on safety features in February 2018. Find more information on the EU's revised Q&A document on safety features.
Final GDP Guidance on Interpretation and Implementation published
The final GDP Guidance on Interpretation and Implementation has been published as a joint publication of the ECA Foundation and the Pharmaceutical Quality Group of the Chartered Quality Institute.
USA: when is a product suspicious, when is it illegitimate?
A new FDA guideline is supposed to help the industry in identifying suspicious or illegitimate products. All trade partners are asked to initiate specific actions if such products turn up. Find out more about the FDA instructions in suspicious and illegitimate products.
The GMP/GDP IWG at EMA is currently discussing actions required after an inspection concludes that a manufacturing site does not comply with GMP, and how to make risk based decisions to avoid drug shortages.
During the last year, the notifications on mechanical defects and reported suspicions of counterfeits increased. Distributors should also be interested in these figures.
GDP inspections by supervisory authorities have grown in number and intensity. Many partners in the distribution chain also have customer audits to face. What does the ideal preparation for a GDP inspection look like?