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September 16, 2004
Reference is made to the Confidentiality Arrangements concluded on 12 September 2003 between the EU (European Commission and EMEA) and the U.S. FDA of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the context of regulatory co-operation and transparency between the U.S. Government and the European Commission.
In order to allow for a successful exchange of information and documents between the EU and the FDA in accordance with the terms of these Confidentiality Arrangements, this Implementation Plan is agreed. The objective of this Implementation Plan is to describe at high-level the processes by which each party will undertake the exchange of information and documents as envisioned by the Confidentiality Arrangements, as well as a process for the monitoring of the implementation of this Implementation Plan.
The outcomes of preliminary discussions of these matters at recent EU/FDA bilateral meetings have been taken into account when drafting this Implementation Plan.
II.1 Extent of the Regulatory Co-operation
The Confidentiality Arrangements concluded on 12 September 2003 establish a framework for, among other things, the possible exchange of information on advance drafts of legislation and regulatory guidance documents, as well as non-public information related to ensuring the quality, safety and efficacy of medicinal products for human and veterinary use, including orphan medicinal products, authorised or under review both in the USA and the EU.
It should be noted that the sharing of product-related information is limited to medicinal products evaluated or authorised in accordance with the EU Centralised Procedure, as well as medicinal products authorised at national level by the EU Member States, that are subject to arbitration or referral in accordance with European Community procedures.
In order to utilise the framework established by the Confidentiality Arrangements, a step-wise approach is envisaged. In the initial phase, a limited implementation programme will be established. At a later stage, the scope of information sharing and other regulatory co-operative activities can be reconsidered in accordance with the Confidentiality Arrangements and on the basis of accumulated experience.
II.2 Regulatory Co-operation between the European Commission, the EMEA, and the US FDA/DHHS
The regulatory co-operation between the European Commission’s Directorate General Enterprise and the US FDA/DHHS may include the ad-hoc exchange of
II.3 Regulatory Co-operation between the EMEA and the US FDA/DHHS
Initial Phase
It is agreed that the implementation programme - in its initial phase - will consist of the following pillars:
This educational initiative should lead to a culture of increased awareness at all impacted staff levels at both the FDA and EMEA about the strengthening of regulatory co-operation between both organisations permitted by the Confidentiality Arrangements, with particular emphasis on the limitations of the scope of such co-operation and on the agreed processes for requesting and responding to requests for documents/information covered by the Confidentiality Arrangements.
Two types of exchange are envisaged: regular exchange and ad-hoc exchange.
By their very nature, ad-hoc exchanges are not subject to planning, however they should, nonetheless, be tracked and documented and provide mutual benefit. During 2004 and 2005, the scope of ad-hoc exchanges should be limited in order to obtain as much experience as possible with the regulatory cooperation. Therefore, in 2004 and 2005, staffs will be asked to limit their non-emergency ad hoc exchanges to the following areas, i.e.:
At the level of each organisation, a primary contact point will be responsible for tracking the regular and ad-hoc exchange of information.
Second Phase
One year after the initiation of the Initial Phase of this Implementation Plan in accordance with the Confidentiality Arrangements, the EU and the FDA will jointly develop and implement an audit plan designed to evaluate whether exchanges were timely, relevant, and mutually beneficial for the effort expended, and include recommendations for changes to the scope of the interaction, in accordance with the terms of the Confidentiality Arrangements.
Actions and Status
The actions to be undertaken in order to implement the Initial Phase of this Implementation Plan, as well as the status of such actions, are described below:
Establishment of an Educational Programme |
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Actions |
Status |
Familiarise the staffs of both the EMEA and the FDA with the elements of this Implementation Plan and the consequences of the Confidentiality Arrangements,
This should be conducted in 4 phases: |
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First phase:
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Second phase: |
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Third phase:
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Fourth phase:
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Establishment of Procedures for Requesting the Exchange of Documents / Information and for the Subsequent Exchanging of such Documents / Information |
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Actions |
Status |
The following phases are envisaged: First phase: Identification at the level of both organisations of primary contact points in order to establish the necessary link between the EMEA and the FDA and to subsequently channel both the requests for and the transmission of documents and information through such contact points. |
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Second phase: Start of exchange of documents and information: |
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Regular exchange
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Ad-hoc exchange
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Attendance by the EMEA and FDA Staff at each other’s Scientific Meetings through exchange/secondment of Staff and Experts |
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Actions |
Timeframes |
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III. Monitoring of the Implementation
In order to ensure a smooth implementation of this Implementation Plan, an appropriate organisational structure shall be established.
Such organisational structure shall consist of:
This will also include information on maximum residue limits.
The quarterly exchange of information should include (1) for pre-authorisation applications: a listing of newly submitted applications, applications still undergoing review, applications upon which a marketing authorisation decision have been made that quarter (and what the decision was); as well as (2) for post-authorisation applications: a listing of newly submitted applications, applications still undergoing review, and applications upon which a marketing authorisation decision have been made that quarter (and what the decision was), the scope of such applications being limited to issues of major public health interest, such as extensions of indications, certain additional formulations (e.g. paediatric formulations) and important safety concerns which have an impact on the use of the medicinal product.
The current concept of videoconference meetings between the EMEA/CPMP Pharmacovigilance Working Party/FDA will be reviewed in order to take into account the terms of the Confidentiality Arrangements.
This includes at EU level involvement of the EMEA Scientific Committees Members and Experts.