News about GMP/cGMP

On 14 April 2021 the US FDA has published a new guidance “Remote Interactive Evaluations of Drug Manufacturing and Bioresearch Monitoring Facilities During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency”. This in fact was long overdue.  It outlines 

• how remote interactive evaluations will be requested by the FDA and 

• how they will be conducted for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On 16 April 2021, Swissmedic announced that it is seeking harmonization with EU regulations regarding the handling of nitrosamine impurities.

On 12 April 2021, Dr Janet Woodcock, acting head of the US FDA, announced Dr Patrizia Cavazzoni's new role as director of CDER.

The European Union has published the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/457 in its Official Journal on 17 March 2021. It amends the Delegated Regulation (VO) 2016/161 on safety features necessary for the packaging of medicinal products for human use. The amendment is to exempt the obligation for wholesalers to deactivate the unique identifier of medicinal products exported to the United Kingdom, being considered a third country now.

EMA published Revision 3 of the Q&A on the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland on 5 March 2021. The 11-page document contains 28 pairs of questions and answers. It is updated regularly and will be of interest to all GMP professionals who have business relationships with companies in Northern Ireland.

The CMDh (EMA's Coordination Group for Mutual Recognition and Decentralized Procedures) has approached one of the EMA's Safety Working Parties (SWPs) with the following two questions regarding chlorobutanol:

1. Can the Safety Working Party confirm that the levels of chlorobutanol commonly used in medicinal products are safe from a toxicological point of view?
2. Is it possible to determine acceptable intake levels of chlorobutanol?

The EMA published the 15-page SWP response document to these questions on March 17, 2021.

The MHRA announces its return  to on-site risk based GxP inspections starting from 29 March 2021. However, it is planned to use a combined approach of both, remote and on-site inspections.

The Medical Device Coordination Group (MDCG) published an eight-page Q&A document titled Questions and Answers on Custom-Made Devices & considerations on Adaptable medical devices and Patient-matched medical devices (MDCG 2021-3) on 15 March 2021.

The European Commission published a Notice this January dealing with the legal framework for medicinal products marketed in Northern Ireland. On 9 March 2021, the UK MHRA, for its part, followed up and also addressed the issue. 

On 4 March 2021, Swissmedic announced the numbers on medicinal products illegally imported into Switzerland. In 2020, 6733 illegal imports were recorded. Compared to the previous year, the number has decreased only slightly.  Among the countries of origin, Singapore has replaced India, which has long been in the lead. It was followed by Western European countries such as the UK and Germany in particular.

Singapore is increasingly being used as a hub by suppliers of illegal medicinal products.

WHO published a 31-page draft guideline, "GMP for investigational radiopharmaceutical products", in March 2021. It offers recommendations for minimum standards in the manufacture of new radiopharmaceuticals for Phase I-III clinical trials that do not have a marketing authorization (MAA).

As reported earlier, the European Pharmacopoeia Commission implemented five new sartan monographs in a rapid procedure at the end of February. They are scheduled to become effective already on 1 April 2021. For holders of a Certification of Suitability (CEP), this may, but does not necessarily, mean adjusting their control strategies for nitrosamine impurities. EDQM has now published supplemental information on this topic:

On 23 February 2021, the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM) announced that five monographs on sartans have been revised. They will be effective immediately as of 1 April 2021. 

On 22 February 2021, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) published a 14-page implementation plan dealing with the prevention of nitrosamine impurities. It is based on the results of the CHMP's scientific review of the subject.   

On 15 February 2021, the European Commission published a 13-page document on the management of legacy devices. It clarifies questions on how these will be identified in EUDAMED or how the different Unique Device Identifiers (UDI) will be generated or assigned.  

On 24 February 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a revision to its September 3, 2020, Guidance for Industry, Control of Nitrosamine Impurities in Human Drugs. The revision extends the recommended timeframe for manufacturers to assess the risk of nitrosamines in active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and drug products from 6 to 7 months.

On 17 February 2021, Swissmedic announced that it will now permanently support the "Orbis" project. Orbis enables manufacturers to submit their marketing authorization applications submitted to the US FDA simultaneously to other international regulatory authorities, provided they participate in the project.

The WHO published a 29-page draft guideline on Good Manufacturing Practices for Medical Gases in February 2021. The reason given for this step is a sharp increase in the demand for medical gases, particularly oxygen used to provide respiratory care to covid patients.

As announced by the European Commission on 18 February 2021, the Italian Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS) has been designated as the 19. Notified Body under the EU Medical Devices Regulation (MDR) 2017/745.

EMA published the document "GMP requirements applicable to the early manufacturing steps for comminuted plants and herbal extracts used as active substances" in February 2021.

Following the detection of 1-nitroso-4-methyl-piperazine (MeNP) impurities in some batches of rifampicin in February 2021, the EMA is requesting manufacturers to test the drug for the presence of MeNP. 

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has launched an initiative to collaborate with non-EU authorities and WHO to drive the evaluation processes for COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics.

As announced on 26 January 2021, the Jordan Food & Drug Administration (JFDA) has submitted a complete application for membership to the PIC/S.

In January 2021, the Japanese Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) published the English translation of the document on remote inspections, Procedure for Remote Inspection as a Part of Compliance Inspection on Drugs and Regenerative Medical Products.

This year's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) list of guidance documents scheduled for publication includes 18 categories with a total of 105 documents.

PIC/S has updated the following four Aide-Mémoires, which became effective on 1 January, 2021:

Dr. Janet Woodcock has been appointed as acting commissioner of the FDA. The previous commissioner, Dr. Stephen M. Hahn, stepped down from his role at the start of President Biden's term of office.

Questions about the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which will apply from January 1, 2021, were clarified by the European Commission in a 39-page Q&A on the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement on December 24, 2020. In total, it consists of 133 pairs of questions and answers.

The competent authorities of the Russian Federation submitted a complete membership application to PIC/S in Geneva on 13 January 2021. The rapporteur(s) will be appointed in written procedure or at the next meeting of the PIC/S Committee.

In the second week of January, the European Commission (EC) published a list of members appointed to the MDR and IVDR expert panels. On 10 September 2019, the 12 expert panels were designated by the Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/1396.

On 5 January 2021, the UK MHRA published a joint statement by the UK and Canada, which applies on an interim basis and is intended to avoid trade disruptions as a result of the Brexit. 

The transition period until Brexit came into effect ended on 31 December 2020. The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has published another batch of documents for the processes that are now starting. They cover all aspects of the regulation of medicinal products and medical devices in the UK.

On 11 January 2021, the European Commission (EC) announced what needs to be considered when Notified Bodies conduct remote audits of medical device and in vitro diagnostic manufacturers due to the COVID-19 situation.

Shortly before the end of the year, WHO published a 38-page draft with twelve chapters and two appedices on technology transfer in pharmaceutical manufacturing.

In December 2020, the Medical Device Coordination Group (MDCG) of the European Commission published a six-page Q&A document on Notified Body audits of medical device manufacturers during the COVID 19 pandemic. 

As announced by the UN Commission on 2 December 2020, cannabis was removed from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs following WHO's recommendation.

What should a crisis-proof drug supply in Europe resemble? In this regard, the European Commission presented a 25-page pharmaceutical strategy on November 25, 2020. It was awaited with great interest. One thing is for certain: the implementation of the strategy will not leave the EU pharmaceutical legislation unaffected.

As the PIC/S announced on 30 November 2020, the Brazilian National Health Authority 'Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária' (ANVISA) has become the 54th member of PIC/S. 

The European Commission (EC) designated the German company TÜV Rheinland as a Notified Body under the In Vitro Diagnostics (IVDR) Regulation on 1 December 2020.

Swissmedic clarified on 20 November 2020 that GMP certificates issued after routine inspections in 2017 or 2018 are valid until 2021 or until the conduct of the next routine inspection.  

In November 2020, the WHO published a first draft on GMP for research and development facilities.

In a statement dated 13 November 2020, EMA announces that its CHMP (Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use) has aligned recommendations for limiting nitrosamine impurities in sartan medicines with recent recommendations it issued for other classes of medicines.

Emer Cooke from Ireland began her mandate as Executive Director of the EMA on November 16, 2020. On June 25, 2020 she was the first woman nominated for this position (we reported).

The WHO published a draft on GMP for investigational products in November 2020. The 28-page working document comprises 18 chapters and can be commented on until 6 January 2021. The guideline currently in force and consisting of 12 pages was published in 1996.  

On 9 November 2020, Swissmedic announced to further extend the deadline for the completion of a risk evaluation for medicinal products for human use with a risk of nitrosamine formation or (cross)contamination to 31 March 2021. For biological medicinal products, the final date for the completion of an evaluation is 1 July 2020. Switzerland is thus following the EU, which announced an extension of the deadline in early October.
 

Given the changed situation regarding COVID-19 and the differing measures introduced by the various cantons in Switzerland, Swissmedic has decided to adapt the way inspections in the healthcare field are carried out. As of 3 November 2020, inspections will only be performed after prior clarification of possible COVID-19-related capacity problems.

On 27 October 2020, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) published an implementation plan to reduce nitrosamine impurities in medicinal products.

All marketing authorisation holders for metformin-containing medicines will be asked by the EMA or the national competent authorities to test their medicines for the presence of nitrosamines before releasing them to the market. This is to be a preventive measure, as stated in the notification on the EMA website.

The European Commission announces that the EUDAMED Actor Registration Module  will go live on 1 December 2020. Meanwhile a website has been set up to explain all the necessary steps to register  for access to EUDAMED and the following modules.

The ACSS Consortium, a joint initiative of the regulatory authorities of Australia (TGA), Canada (HC), Singapore (HSA) and Switzerland (Swissmedic) announces a new membership: the British MHRA. Following as short observatory role, the MHRA will officially start to work with the consortium partners on January 1, 2021.Along with this, the group has changed its name to accommodate the new partner, and will be known as the "Access Consortium". The new name reflects the group’s key aim of providing patients with timely ‘access’ to high quality, safe and effective therapeutic products across the five countries.