The article compares and contrasts the regulatory requirements for herbal medicinal products (HMPs), herbal-based medical devices and botanical food supplements in the EU. It is part 2 of a two-part article – Part 1 presented the definitions, main regulations, and documentation requirements for placing the products on the market; Part 2 will address quality, the strength of evidence supporting the safety and efficacy, and postmarket surveillance (PMS) requirements across...

Feature articles during October included an in-depth look at the linguistic review process in Europe and  reviews of the regulatory pathways for herbal medicinal products, medical devices, and supplements in the EU and for advanced therapies in the Asian-Pacific region. Also included was an article on the challenges of data integrity remediation in cGMP facilities.   Linguistic review and herbal product regulation The linguistic review process for centrally authori...

This article compares and contrasts the regulatory requirements for herbal medicinal products, herbal-based medical devices, and botanical food supplements in the EU. It provides an overview of the current framework, highlights areas of controversy, and presents recent regulatory developments. The article is the first of two on this topic. The current article presents the definitions, main regulations, and documentation requirements for placing the products on the market;...

This article explains some of the terminology relating to advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs), including gene and cell-based therapies, tissue-engineered products, and combined ATMPs. The author explains the key EU regulations and guidance documents for each therapy type and discusses marketing authorization, accelerated regulatory pathways, and market access. He advises companies navigating this complex regulatory environment to engage with the regulatory agencies...

This article discusses IT approaches to support a gap analysis and implementation of the upcoming Identification of Medicinal Products (IDMP) standards with regard to generating, collecting and mapping accurate and correct data prior to submission in an effort to prevent delays in a product reaching the market. This is the final installment in a four-part series on the IDMP standards and their respective implementation guidelines. 1-10 The first three articles explained...

This is part two of a series on the Identification of Medicinal Products (IDMP) standards and their respective implementation guidelines. 1-9 Part two reports on current IDMP activities and provides the plans and timelines in the IDMP implementation process. Part one 10 presented the reasons for the new standard, the driving forces behind IDMP and the concepts behind the standard. Current Status of ISO Activities A new version of the International Organization for...

This is part one of a four-part series on the Identification of Medicinal Products (IDMP) standards and their respective implementation guidelines. 1-9 This segment reviews the steps needed to prepare for their global implementation and offers technical solution options for the industry. Why IDMP? Despite clear progress in the development of increasingly specific and complex drugs, health authorities worldwide say they have observed a steady and alarming increase in ...

Welcome to our Asia Regulatory Roundup, our weekly overview of the top regulatory news in Asia. India Starts Review of Drug Recall Guidelines The Drugs Consultative Committee (DCC) of India has committed to reviewing the guidelines on drug recalls to ensure substandard products are effectively removed from the market. Officials want to make manufacturers monitor the quality of drugs in the supply chain and hold them responsible for voluntarily recalling products that ...

For those tracking the contentious debate over drug and biologic price hikes in the US, an IMS Health report released on Monday offers the latest evidence yet that a robust biosimilars market can not only lower prices across drug classes but also increase patient uptake of such treatments. “The increased competition affects not just the price for the directly comparable product but also has an effect on the price of the whole product class,” the report says. “In countr...

This article discusses Identification of Medicinal Products (IDMP) as a new way of conducting business, the benefits gained by adopting the IDMP model and how IDMP can be implemented to help businesses run more efficiently. To support the continuous improvement of pharmacovigilance oversight within the EU, the European Commission (2012) has mandated pharmaceutical companies to submit product information according to ISO IDMP standards. 1 The standards are global and o...

This article discusses compliance challenges pharmaceutical companies face with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Identification of Medicinal Products (IDMP) standard for structured substance information. To support continuous pharmacovigilance oversight improvement within the EU, the European Commission has mandated pharmaceutical companies’ adherence to ISO IDMP standards by 1 July 2016 . 1 These standards collectively outline the data ...

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has released a new reflection paper discussing how products are classified as advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs). Background In the EU, medicinal products derived from genes, cells or tissues are classified as ATMPs. Because these areas of biomedicine are still in early stages of development and are fundamentally different from other types of medicine, the European Commission (EC) regulates them differently. ATMPs are define...