Welcome to our European Regulatory Roundup, our weekly overview of the top EU regulatory news. Ireland Creates Innovation Office to Provide Regulatory Advice The Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) of Ireland has created an Innovation Office to give advice to developers of novel health products and technologies. HPRA sees the office facilitating the timely development of innovative interventions by providing regulatory input early in the process. Staff ...

With the restoration of diplomatic relations betweeen the US and Cuba in late 2014, the island is prepping for a wave of new and generic US pharmaceuticals and biologics, the head of the Havana-based regulatory agency, known as the Center for State Control of Drugs, Medical Devices (CECMED), told  Focus  in an exclusive interview. Rafael Pérez Cristiá, director general of CECMED, who oversees 300 staffers, said that as relations between the two countries continue to no...

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has granted four new drugs eligibility to its PRIority MEdicines (PRIME) scheme, bringing the total number of drugs accepted to the program to eight. Like the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) breakthrough therapy program, PRIME aims to streamline the development of promising new therapies through earlier scientific advice and increased engagement between EMA and sponsors in order to facilitate an accelerated product assessme...

Welcome to our Asia Regulatory Roundup, our weekly overview of the top regulatory news in Asia. India Caps Prices of Drug-Eluting and Bare-Metal Stents The Indian government has decided to cap the prices of drug-eluting and bare-metal stents. Officials reached the decision, which follows years of debate about the subject, after a subcommittee of cardiologists recommended that coronary stents be categorized as essential medical devices.  Members of the subcommittee ...

Welcome to our Asia Regulatory Roundup, our weekly overview of the top regulatory news in Asia. CFDA Calls on Regional Regulators to Work to Resolve Vaccine Shortages The China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) has called on its regional offices to take steps to resolve the country’s vaccine supply shortage. The request comes at a time when CFDA and the vaccine industry it regulates are adapting to the changes that were proposed in response to the scandal that rece...

The public-private vaccine alliance known as Gavi on Thursday pledged $27.5 million to a pilot project that the World Health Organization is running to introduce a malaria vaccine candidate into sub-Saharan Africa. As part of the project, WHO, GlaxoSmithKline, the developer of the vaccine, and the nonprofit PATH will collaborate to donate doses of the vaccine candidate, known as RTS,S, for use in the WHO pilots. In addition to the Gavi funds, WHO will provide about $17 ...

Welcome to our Asia Regulatory Roundup, our weekly overview of the top regulatory news in Asia. CFDA Posts Guide to Implementing Revised Vaccine Distribution Regulations China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) has released a guide to the implementation of its revised vaccine procurement and distribution regulations. The updated policy calls for vigilant record keeping by organizations in the supply chain and stronger regulatory oversight of each step in the pr...

Fifteen batches of Sanofi’s chemotherapy Taxotere (docetaxel) have been recalled due to a problem in the manufacturing process that could have led to vials being too concentrated, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said in an updated alert on the possible shortage on Thursday. A failure in the filling process at Sanofi’s manufacturing site in Germany has led to Taxotere vials being up to 5% over-concentrated, EMA said. The drug is used to treat breast cancer, non-s...

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday announced it’s forging a cooperative agreement with the World Health Organization (WHO) to support further regulatory systems strengthening, development of new norms and standards and research to advance global access to safe and effective biologics that meet international standards. FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) anticipates providing up to $2 million in FY 2016 to support the project, as w...

Welcome to our Asia Regulatory Roundup, our weekly overview of the top regulatory news in Asia. Indian Committee Rejects Sanofi’s Request for Dengue Vaccine Trial Waiver A top-ranking Indian health committee has rejected Sanofi’s request to bring its dengue vaccine to market without data from locally run Phase III trials. The ruling by the health apex committee follows positive responses from two other panels, which felt the waiving the requirement for a local Phase I...

The US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) on Thursday announced the availability of an electronic submission system for companies to submit adverse events linked to vaccines. The launch of the system, which is part of the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) run jointly by FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, follows guidance released in August 2015 that offers recommendations on the ele...

Welcome to our Asia Regulatory Roundup, our weekly overview of the top regulatory news in Asia. DCGI Seeks Feedback on Proposal to Phase Out Gelatin-Based Capsules The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) is seeking feedback on a proposal to replace gelatin with cellulose in drug capsules. If enforced, the transition would represent a major change for the capsule manufacturing industry, the output of which is currently dominated by gelatin-based products. DCGI i...