1. Marketing authorisation holders shall record all suspected adverse reactions in the Union or in third countries which are brought to their attention, whether reported spontaneously by patients or healthcare professionals, or occurring in the context of a post-authorisation study.
Marketing authorisation holders shall ensure that those reports are accessible at a single point within the Union.
By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, suspected adverse reactions occurring in the context of a clinical trial shall be recorded and reported in accordance with Directive 2001/20/EC.
2. Marketing authorisation holders shall not refuse to consider reports of suspected adverse reactions received electronically or by any other appropriate means from patients and healthcare professionals.
3. Marketing authorisation holders shall submit electronically to the database and data-processing network referred to in Article 24 of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 (hereinafter referred to as the “ Eudravigilance database ” ) information on all serious suspected adverse reactions that occur in the Union and in third countries within 15 days following the day on which the marketing authorisation holder concerned gained knowledge of the event.
Marketing authorisation holders shall submit electronically to the Eudravigilance database information on all non-serious suspected adverse reactions that occur in the Union, within 90 days following the day on which the marketing authorisation holder concerned gained knowledge of the event.
For medicinal products containing the active substances referred to in the list of publications monitored by the Agency pursuant to Article 27 of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004, marketing authorisation holders shall not be required to report to the Eudravigilance database the suspected adverse reactions recorded in the listed medical literature, but they shall monitor all other medical literature and report any suspected adverse reactions.
4. Marketing authorisation holders shall establish procedures in order to obtain accurate and verifiable data for the scientific evaluation of suspected adverse reaction reports. They shall also collect follow-up information on these reports and submit the updates to the Eudravigilance database.
5. Marketing authorisation holders shall collaborate with the Agency and the Member States in the detection of duplicates of suspected adverse reaction reports.
1. Each Member State shall record all suspected adverse reactions that occur in its territory which are brought to its attention from healthcare professionals and patients. Member States shall involve patients and healthcare professionals, as appropriate, in the follow-up of any reports they receive in order to comply with Article 102(c) and (e).
Member States shall ensure that reports of such reactions may be submitted by means of the national medicines web-portals or by other means.
2. For reports submitted by a marketing authorisation holder, Member States on whose territory the suspected adverse reaction occurred may involve the marketing authorisation holder in the follow-up of the reports.
3. Member States shall collaborate with the Agency and the marketing authorisation holders in the detection of duplicates of suspected adverse reaction reports.
4. Member States shall, within 15 days following the receipt of the reports of serious suspected adverse reactions referred to in paragraph 1, submit the reports electronically to the Eudravigilance database.
They shall, within 90 days from the receipt of reports referred to in paragraph 1, submit reports of non-serious suspected adverse reactions electronically to the Eudravigilance database.
Marketing authorisation holders shall access those reports through the Eudravigilance database.
5. Member States shall ensure that reports of suspected adverse reactions arising from an error associated with the use of a medicinal product that are brought to their attention are made available to the Eudravigilance database and to any authorities, bodies, organisations and/or institutions, responsible for patient safety within that Member State. They shall also ensure that the authorities responsible for medicinal products within that Member State are informed of any suspected adverse reactions brought to the attention of any other authority within that Member State. These reports shall be appropriately identified in the forms referred to in Article 25 of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004.
6. Unless there are justifiable grounds resulting from pharmacovigilance activities, individual Member States shall not impose any additional obligations on marketing authorisation holders for the reporting of suspected adverse reactions.
1. Marketing authorisation holders shall submit to the Agency periodic safety update reports containing:
(a) summaries of data relevant to the benefits and risks of the medicinal product, including results of all studies with a consideration of their potential impact on the marketing authorisation;
(b) a scientific evaluation of the risk-benefit balance of the medicinal product;
(c) all data relating to the volume of sales of the medicinal product and any data in possession of the marketing authorisation holder relating to the volume of prescriptions, including an estimate of the population exposed to the medicinal product.
The evaluation referred to in point (b) shall be based on all available data, including data from clinical trials in unauthorised indications and populations.
The periodic safety update reports shall be submitted electronically.
2. The Agency shall make available the reports referred to in paragraph 1 to the national competent authorities, the members of the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use and the coordination group by means of the repository referred to in Article 25a of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004.
3. By way of derogation from paragraph 1 of this Article, the holders of marketing authorisations for medicinal products referred to in Article 10(1), or Article 10a, and the holders of registrations for medicinal products referred to in Articles 14 or 16a, shall submit periodic safety update reports for such medicinal products in the following cases:
(a) where such obligation has been laid down as a condition in the marketing authorisation in accordance with Article 21a or Article 22; or
(b) when requested by a competent authority on the basis of concerns relating to pharmacovigilance data or due to the lack of periodic safety update reports relating to an active substance after the marketing authorisation has been granted. The assessment reports of the requested periodic safety update reports shall be communicated to the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, which shall consider whether there is a need for a single assessment report for all marketing authorisations for medicinal products containing the same active substance and inform the coordination group or the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use accordingly, in order to apply the procedures laid down in Article 107c(4) and Article 107e.
1. The frequency with which the periodic safety update reports are to be submitted shall be specified in the marketing authorisation.
The dates of submission according to the specified frequency shall be calculated from the date of the authorisation.
2. Holders of marketing authorisations which were granted before 21 July 2012 , and for which the frequency and dates of submission of the periodic safety update reports are not laid down as a condition to the marketing authorisation, shall submit the periodic safety update reports in accordance with the second subparagraph of this paragraph until another frequency or other dates of submission of the reports are laid down in the marketing authorisation or determined in accordance with paragraphs 4, 5 or 6.
Periodic safety update reports shall be submitted to the competent authorities immediately upon request or in accordance with the following:
(a) where a medicinal product has not yet been placed on the market, at least every 6 months following authorisation and until the placing on the market;
(b) where a medicinal product has been placed on the market, at least every 6 months during the first 2 years following the initial placing on the market, once a year for the following 2 years and at three-yearly intervals thereafter.
3. Paragraph 2 shall also apply to medicinal products which are authorised only in one Member State and for which paragraph 4 does not apply.
4. Where medicinal products that are subject to different marketing authorisations contain the same active substance or the same combination of active substances, the frequency and dates of submission of the periodic safety update reports resulting from the application of paragraphs 1 and 2 may be amended and harmonised to enable a single assessment to be made in the context of a periodic safety update report work-sharing procedure and to set a Union reference date from which the submission dates are calculated.
This harmonised frequency for the submission of the reports and the Union reference date may be determined, after consultation of the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, by one of the following:
(a) the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, where at least one of the marketing authorisations for the medicinal products containing the active substance concerned has been granted in accordance with the centralised procedure provided for in Chapter 1 of Title II of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004;
(b) the coordination group, in other cases than those referred to in point (a).
The harmonised frequency for the submission of the reports determined pursuant to the first and second subparagraphs shall be made public by the Agency. Marketing authorisation holders shall submit an application for a variation of the marketing authorisation accordingly.
5. For the purposes of paragraph 4, the Union reference date for medicinal products containing the same active substance or the same combination of active substances shall be one of the following:
(a) the date of the first marketing authorisation in the Union of a medicinal product containing that active substance or that combination active substances;
(b) if the date referred to in point (a) cannot be ascertained, the earliest of the known dates of the marketing authorisations for a medicinal product containing that active substance or that combination of active substances.
6. Marketing authorisation holders shall be allowed to submit requests to the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use or the coordination group, as appropriate, to determine Union reference dates or to change the frequency of submission periodic safety update reports on one of the following grounds:
(a) for reasons relating to public health;
(b) in order to avoid a duplication of the assessment;
(c) in order to achieve international harmonisation.
Such requests shall be submitted in writing and shall be duly justified. The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use or the coordination group shall, following the consultation with the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, shall either approve or deny such requests. Any change in the dates or the frequency of submission of periodic safety update reports shall be made public by the Agency. The marketing authorisation holders shall accordingly submit an application for a variation of the marketing authorisation.
7. The Agency shall make public a list of Union reference dates and frequency of submission of periodic safety update reports by means of the European medicines web-portal.
Any change to the dates of submission and frequency of periodic safety update reports specified in the marketing authorisation as a result of the application of paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 shall take effect 6 months after the date of such publication.
The national competent authorities shall assess periodic safety update reports to determine whether there are new risks or whether risks have changed or whether there are changes to the risk-benefit balance of medicinal products.
1. A single assessment of periodic safety update reports shall be performed for medicinal products authorised in more than one Member State and, in the cases of paragraphs 4 to 6 of Article 107c, for all medicinal products containing the same active substance or the same combination of active substances and for which a Union reference date and frequency of periodic safety update reports has been established.
The single assessment shall be conducted by either of the following:
(a) a Member State appointed by the coordination group where none of the marketing authorisations concerned has been granted in accordance with the centralised procedure provided for in Chapter 1 of Title II of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004; or
(b) a rapporteur appointed by the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, where at least one of the marketing authorisations concerned has been granted in accordance with the centralised procedure provided for in Chapter 1 of Title II of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004.
When selecting the Member State in accordance with point (a) of the second subparagraph, the coordination group shall take into account whether any Member State is acting as a reference Member State, in accordance with Article 28(1).
2. The Member State or rapporteur, as appropriate, shall prepare an assessment report within 60 days of receipt of the periodic safety update report and send it to the Agency and to the Member States concerned. The Agency shall send the report to the marketing authorisation holder.
Within 30 days of receipt of the assessment report, the Member States and the marketing authorisation holder may submit comments to the Agency and to the rapporteur or Member State.
3. Following the receipt of the comments referred to in paragraph 2, the rapporteur or Member State shall within 15 days update the assessment report taking into account any comments submitted, and forward it to the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee. The Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee shall adopt the assessment report with or without further changes at its next meeting and issue a recommendation. The recommendation shall mention the divergent positions with the grounds on which they are based. The Agency shall include the adopted assessment report and the recommendation in the repository set up under Article 25a of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 and forward both to the marketing authorisation holder.
Following the assessment of periodic safety update reports, the national competent authorities shall consider whether any action concerning the marketing authorisation for the medicinal product concerned is necessary.
They shall maintain, vary, suspend or revoke the marketing authorisation as appropriate.
1. In the case of a single assessment of periodic safety update reports that recommends any action concerning more than one marketing authorisation in accordance with Article 107e(1) which does not include any marketing authorisation granted in accordance with the centralised procedure provided for in Chapter 1 of Title II of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004, the coordination group shall, within 30 days of receipt of the report of the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, consider the report and reach a position on the maintenance, variation, suspension or revocation of the marketing authorisations concerned, including a timetable for the implementation of the agreed position.
2. If, within the coordination group, the Member States represented reach agreement on the action to be taken by consensus, the chairman shall record the agreement and send it to the marketing authorisation holder and the Member States. The Member States shall adopt necessary measures to maintain, vary, suspend or revoke the marketing authorisations concerned in accordance with the timetable for implementation determined in the agreement.
In the event of a variation, the marketing authorisation holder shall submit to the national competent authorities an appropriate application for a modification, including an updated summary of product characteristics and package leaflet within the determined timetable for implementation.
If an agreement by consensus cannot be reached, the position of the majority of the Member States represented within the coordination group shall be forwarded to the Commission which shall apply the procedure laid down in Articles 33 and 34.
Where the agreement reached by the Member States represented within the coordination group or the position of the majority of Member States differs from the recommendation of the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, the coordination group shall attach to the agreement or the majority position a detailed explanation of the scientific grounds for the differences together with the recommendation.
3. In the case of a single assessment of periodic safety update reports that recommends any action concerning more than one marketing authorisation in accordance with Article 107e(1) which includes at least one marketing authorisation granted in accordance with the centralised procedure provided for in Chapter 1 of Title II of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use shall, within 30 days of receipt of the report of the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, consider the report and adopt an opinion on the maintenance, variation, suspension or revocation of the marketing authorisations concerned, including a timetable for the implementation of the opinion.
Where this opinion of the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use differs from the recommendation of the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use shall attach to its opinion a detailed explanation of the scientific grounds for the differences together with the recommendation.
4. On the basis of the opinion of the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use referred to in paragraph 3, the Commission shall:
(a) adopt a decision addressed to the Member States concerning the measures to be taken in respect of marketing authorisations granted by the Member States and concerned by the procedure provided for in this section; and
(b) where the opinion states that regulatory action concerning the marketing authorisation is necessary, adopt a decision to vary, suspend or revoke the marketing authorisations granted in accordance with the centralised procedure provided for in Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 and concerned by the procedure provided for in this section.
Articles 33 and 34 of this Directive shall apply to the adoption of the decision referred to in point (a) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph and to its implementation by the Member States.
Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 shall apply to the decision referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph. Where the Commission adopts such decision, it may also adopt a decision addressed to the Member States pursuant to Article 127a of this Directive.
1. Regarding medicinal products authorised in accordance with this Directive, national competent authorities in collaboration with the Agency, shall take the following measures:
(a) monitor the outcome of risk minimisation measures contained in risk management plans and of the conditions referred to in Articles 21a, 22 or 22a;
(b) assess updates to the risk management system;
(c) monitor the data in the Eudravigilance database to determine whether there are new risks or whether risks have changed and whether those risks impact on the risk-benefit balance.
2. The Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee shall perform the initial analysis and prioritisation of signals of new risks or risks that have changed or changes to the risk-benefit balance. Where it considers that follow-up action may be necessary, the assessment of those signals and agreement on any subsequent action concerning the marketing authorisation shall be conducted in a timescale commensurate with the extent and seriousness of the issue.
3. The Agency and national competent authorities and the marketing authorisation holder shall inform each other in the event of new risks or risks that have changed or changes to the risk-benefit balance being detected.
Member States shall ensure that marketing authorisation holders inform the Agency and national competent authorities in the event of new risks or risks that have changed or when changes to the risk-benefit balance have been detected.
1. A Member State or the Commission, as appropriate, shall initiate the procedure provided for in this section, by informing the other Member States, the Agency and the Commission when urgent action is considered necessary, as a result of the evaluation of data resulting from pharmacovigilance activities, in any of the following cases:
(a) it considers suspending or revoking a marketing authorisation;
(b) it considers prohibiting the supply of a medicinal product;
(c) it considers refusing the renewal of a marketing authorisation;
(d) it is informed by the marketing authorisation holder that, on the basis of safety concerns, he has interrupted the placing on the market of a medicinal product or has taken action to have a marketing authorisation withdrawn, or that he intends to do so;
(e) it considers that a new contraindication, a reduction in the recommended dose, or a restriction to the indications is necessary.
The Agency shall verify whether the safety concern relates to medicinal products other than the one covered by the information, or whether it is common to all products belonging to the same range or therapeutic class.
Where the medicinal product involved is authorised in more than one Member State, the Agency shall without undue delay inform the initiator of the procedure of the outcome of this verification, and the procedures laid down in Articles 107j and 107k shall apply. Otherwise, the safety concern shall be addressed by the Member State concerned. The Agency or the Member State, as applicable, shall make information that the procedure has been initiated available to marketing authorisation holders.
2. Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article, and Articles 107j and 107k, a Member State may, where urgent action is necessary to protect public health, suspend the marketing authorisation and prohibit the use of the medicinal product concerned on its territory until a definitive decision is adopted. It shall inform the Commission, the Agency and the other Member States no later than the following working day of the reasons for its action.
3. At any stage of the procedure laid down in Articles 107j to 107k, the Commission may request Member States in which the medicinal product is authorised to take temporary measures immediately.
Where the scope of the procedure, as determined in accordance with paragraph 1, includes medicinal products authorised in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 726/2004, the Commission may, at any stage of the procedure initiated under this section, take temporary measures immediately in relation to those marketing authorisations.
4. The information referred to in this Article may relate to individual medicinal products or to a range of medicinal products or a therapeutic class.
If the Agency identifies that the safety concern relates to more medicinal products than those which are covered by the information or that it is common to all medicinal products belonging to the same range or therapeutic class, it shall extend the scope of the procedure accordingly.
Where the scope of the procedure initiated under this Article concerns a range of medicinal products or therapeutic class, medicinal products authorised in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 which belong to that range or class shall also be included in the procedure.
5. At the time of the information referred to in paragraph 1, the Member State shall make available to the Agency all relevant scientific information that it has at its disposal and any assessment by the Member State.
1. Following receipt of the information referred to in Article 107i(1), the Agency shall publicly announce the initiation of the procedure by means of the European medicines web-portal. In parallel, Member States may publicly announce the initiation on their national medicines web-portals.
The announcement shall specify the matter submitted to the Agency in accordance with Article 107i, and the medicinal products and, where applicable, the active substances concerned. It shall contain information on the right of the marketing authorisation holders, healthcare professionals and the public to submit to the Agency information relevant to the procedure and it shall state how such information may be submitted.
2. The Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee shall assess the matter which has been submitted to the Agency in accordance with Article 107i. The rapporteur shall closely collaborate with the rapporteur appointed by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use and the Reference Member State for the medicinal products concerned.
For the purposes of that assessment, the marketing authorisation holder may submit comments in writing.
Where the urgency of the matter permits, the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee may hold public hearings, where it considers that this is appropriate on justified grounds particularly with regard to the extent and seriousness of the safety concern. The hearings shall be held in accordance with the modalities specified by the Agency and shall be announced by means of the European medicines web-portal. The announcement shall specify the modalities of participation.
In the public hearing, due regard shall be given to the therapeutic effect of the medicinal product.
The Agency shall, in consultation with the parties concerned, draw up Rules of Procedure on the organisation and conduct of public hearings, in accordance with Article 78 of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004.
Where a marketing authorisation holder or another person intending to submit information has confidential data relevant to the subject matter of the procedure, he may request permission to present that data to the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee in a non-public hearing.
3. Within 60 days of the information being submitted, the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee shall make a recommendation, stating the reasons on which it is based, having due regard to the therapeutic effect of the medicinal product. The recommendation shall mention the divergent positions and the grounds on which they are based. In the case of urgency, and on the basis of a proposal by its chairman, the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee may agree to a shorter deadline. The recommendation shall include any or a combination of the following conclusions:
(a) no further evaluation or action is required at Union level;
(b) the marketing authorisation holder should conduct further evaluation of data together with the follow-up of the results of that evaluation;
(c) the marketing authorisation holder should sponsor a post-authorisation safety study together with the follow up evaluation of the results of that study;
(d) the Member States or marketing authorisation holder should implement risk minimisation measures;
(e) the marketing authorisation should be suspended, revoked or not renewed;
(f) the marketing authorisation should be varied.
For the purposes of point (d) of the first subparagraph, the recommendation shall specify the risk minimisation measures recommended and any conditions or restrictions to which the marketing authorisation should be made subject.
Where, in the cases referred to in point (f) of the first subparagraph, it is recommended to change or add information in the summary of product characteristics or the labelling or package leaflet, the recommendation shall suggest the wording of such changed or added information and where in the summary of the product characteristics, labelling or package leaflet such wording should be placed.
1. Where the scope of the procedure, as determined in accordance with Article 107i(4), does not include any marketing authorisation granted in accordance with the centralised procedure provided for in Chapter 1 of Title II of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004, the coordination group shall, within 30 days of receipt of the recommendation of the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, consider the recommendation and reach a position on the maintenance, variation, suspension, revocation or refusal of the renewal of the marketing authorisation concerned, including a timetable for the implementation of the agreed position. Where an urgent adoption of the position is necessary, and on the basis of a proposal by its chairman, the coordination group may agree to a shorter deadline.
2. If, within the coordination group, the Member States represented reach agreement on the action to be taken by consensus, the chairman shall record the agreement and send it to the marketing authorisation holder and the Member States. The Member States shall adopt necessary measures to maintain, vary, suspend, revoke or refuse renewal of the marketing authorisation concerned in accordance with the implementation timetable determined in the agreement.
In the event that a variation is agreed upon, the marketing authorisation holder shall submit to the national competent authorities an appropriate application for a variation, including an updated summary of product characteristics and package leaflet within the determined timetable for implementation.
If an agreement by consensus cannot be reached, the position of the majority of the Member States represented within the coordination group shall be forwarded to the Commission which shall apply the procedure laid down in Articles 33 and 34. However, by way of derogation from Article 34(1), the procedure referred to in Article 121(2) shall apply.
Where the agreement reached by the Member States represented within the coordination group or the position of the majority of the Member States represented within the coordination group differs from the recommendation of the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, the coordination group shall attach to the agreement or majority position a detailed explanation of the scientific grounds for the differences together with the recommendation.
3. Where the scope of the procedure, as determined in accordance with Article 107i(4), includes at least one marketing authorisation granted in accordance with the centralised procedure provided for in Chapter 1 of Title II of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use shall, within 30 days of receipt of the recommendation of the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, consider the recommendation and adopt an opinion on the maintenance, variation, suspension, revocation or refusal of the renewal of the marketing authorisations concerned. Where an urgent adoption of the opinion is necessary, and on the basis of a proposal by its chairman, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use may agree to a shorter deadline.
Where the opinion of the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use differs from the recommendation of the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use shall attach to its opinion a detailed explanation of the scientific grounds for the differences together with the recommendation.
4. On the basis of the opinion of the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use referred to in paragraph 3, the Commission shall:
(a) adopt a decision addressed to the Member States concerning the measures to be taken in respect of marketing authorisations that are granted by the Member States and that are subject to the procedure provided for in this section; and
(b) where the opinion is that regulatory action is necessary, adopt a decision to vary, suspend, revoke or refuse renewal of the marketing authorisations granted in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 and subject to the procedure provided for in this section.
Articles 33 and 34 of this Directive shall apply to the adoption of the decision referred to in point (a) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph and to its implementation by the Member States. However, by way of derogation from Article 34(1) of this Directive, the procedure referred to in Article 121(2) thereof shall apply.
Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 shall apply to the decision referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph. However, by way of derogation from Article 10(2) of that Regulation, the procedure referred to in Article 87(2) thereof shall apply. Where the Commission adopts such decision, it may also adopt a decision addressed to the Member States pursuant to Article 127a of this Directive.
The Agency shall make public the final assessment conclusions, recommendations, opinions and decisions referred to in Articles 107b to 107k by means of the European medicines web-portal.]