Commission Directive 2009/9/ECShow full title

C. CONTROL OF STARTING MATERIALS U.K.

1. General requirements U.K.

For the purposes of this paragraph, “starting materials” shall mean all the constituents of the veterinary medicinal product and, if necessary, of its container including its closure, as referred to in Section A, point 1, above.

The dossier shall include the specifications and information on the tests to be conducted for quality control of all batches of starting materials.

The routine tests carried out on each batch of starting materials must be as stated in the application for marketing authorisation. If tests other than those mentioned in a pharmacopoeia are used, this shall be justified by providing proof that the starting materials meet the quality requirements of that pharmacopoeia.

Where a Certificate of Suitability has been issued by the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and HealthCare for a starting material, active substance or excipient, this Certificate constitutes the reference to the relevant monograph of the European Pharmacopoeia.

Where a Certificate of Suitability is referred to, the manufacturer shall give an assurance in writing to the applicant that the manufacturing process has not been modified since the granting of the certificate of suitability by the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and HealthCare.

Certificates of Analysis shall be presented for the starting materials in order to demonstrate compliance with the defined specification.

1.1. Active substances U.K.

The name, address, and responsibility of each manufacturer and each proposed production site or facility involved in manufacturing and testing of an active substance shall be indicated.

For a well-defined active substance, the active substance manufacturer or the applicant may arrange for the following information to be supplied in a separate document directly to the competent authorities by the manufacturer of the active substance as an Active Substance Master File:

(a)

a detailed description of the manufacturing process;

(b)

a description of the quality control during manufacture;

(c)

a description of the process validation.

In this case, the manufacturer shall however provide the applicant with all the data which may be necessary for the latter to take responsibility for the veterinary medicinal product. The manufacturer shall confirm in writing to the applicant that he shall ensure batch to batch consistency and not modify the manufacturing process or specifications without informing the applicant. Documents and particulars supporting the application for such a change shall be supplied to the competent authorities those documents and particulars shall also be supplied to the applicant where they concern the applicant’s part of the Active Substance Master File.

Additionally, information on the method of manufacture, on quality control and on impurities as well as evidence of the molecular structure shall be provided where a Certificate of Suitability for the active substance is not available:

1.

Information on the manufacturing process shall include a description of the active substance manufacturing process that represents the applicant’s commitment for the manufacture of the active substance. All materials needed in order to manufacture the active substance(s) shall be listed, identifying where each material is used in the process. Information on the quality and control of those materials shall be provided. Information demonstrating that materials meet standards which are appropriate for their intended use shall be provided.

2.

Information on quality control shall contain tests (including acceptance criteria) carried out at every critical step, information on the quality and control of intermediates and process validation and/or evaluation studies as appropriate. It shall also contain validation data for the analytical methods applied to the active substance, where appropriate.

3.

Information on impurities shall indicate predictable impurities together with the levels and nature of observed impurities. It shall also contain information on the safety of these impurities where relevant.

4.

For biotechnological veterinary medicinal products, evidence of molecular structure shall include the schematic amino acid sequence and relative molecular mass.

1.1.1. Active substances listed in pharmacopoeias U.K.

The general and specific monographs of the European Pharmacopoeia shall be applicable to all active substances appearing in it.

Constituents fulfilling the requirements of the European Pharmacopoeia or the pharmacopoeia of one of the Member States shall be deemed to comply sufficiently with Article 12(3)(i). In this case the description of the analytical methods and procedures shall be replaced in each relevant section by an appropriate reference to the pharmacopoeia in question.

In cases where a specification contained in a monograph of the European Pharmacopoeia or in the national pharmacopoeia of a Member State is insufficient to ensure the quality of the substance, the competent authorities may request more appropriate specifications from the applicant, including limits for specific impurities with validated test procedures.

The competent authorities shall inform the authorities responsible for the pharmacopoeia in question. The marketing authorisation holder shall provide the authorities of that pharmacopoeia with the details of the alleged insufficiency and the additional specifications applied.

In the absence of a European Pharmacopoeia monograph for an active substance, and where the active substance is described in the pharmacopoeia of a Member State, that monograph may be applied.

In cases where an active substance is described neither in the European Pharmacopoeia nor in the pharmacopoeia of a Member State, compliance with the monograph of a third country pharmacopoeia may be accepted if its suitability is demonstrated; in such cases, the applicant shall submit a copy of the monograph accompanied by a translation where appropriate. Data to demonstrate the ability of the monograph to adequately control the quality of the active substance shall be presented.

1.1.2. Active substances not in a pharmacopoeia U.K.

Constituents which are not given in any pharmacopoeia shall be described in the form of a monograph under the following headings:

(a)

the name of the constituent, meeting the requirements of Section A point 2, shall be supplemented by any trade or scientific synonyms;

(b)

the definition of the substance, set down in a form similar to that used in the European Pharmacopoeia, shall be accompanied by any necessary explanatory evidence, especially concerning the molecular structure. Where substances can only be described by their manufacturing method, the description shall be sufficiently detailed to characterise a substance which is constant both on its composition and in its effects;

(c)

methods of identification may be described in the form of complete techniques as used for production of the substance, and in the form of tests which ought to be carried out as a routine matter;

(d)

purity tests shall be described in relation to each individual predictable impurity, especially those which may have a harmful effect, and, if necessary, those which, having regard to the combination of substances to which the application refers, might adversely affect the stability of the medicinal product or distort analytical results;

(e)

tests and limits to control parameters relevant to the finished product, such as particle size and sterility shall be described and methods shall be validated where relevant;

(f)

with regard to complex substances of plant or animal origin, a distinction must be made between the case where multiple pharmacological effects render chemical, physical or biological control of the principal components necessary, and the case of substances containing one or more groups of principles having similar activity, in respect of which an overall method of assay may be accepted.

Those data shall demonstrate that the proposed set of test procedures is sufficient to control the quality of the active substance from the defined source.

1.1.3. Physico-chemical characteristics liable to affect bioavailability U.K.

The following items of information concerning active substances, whether or not listed in the pharmacopoeias, shall be provided as part of the general description of the active substances if the bioavailability of the veterinary medicinal product depends on them:

• crystalline form and solubility coefficients,

• particle size, where appropriate after pulverisation,

• state of hydration,

• oil/water coefficient of partition,

• pK/pH values.

The first three indents are not applicable to substances used solely in solution.

1.2. Excipients U.K.

The general and specific monographs of the European Pharmacopoeia shall be applicable to all substances appearing in it.

Excipients shall comply with the requirements of the appropriate European Pharmacopoeia monograph. Where such a monograph does not exist reference may be made to the pharmacopoeia of a Member State. In the absence of such a monograph reference may be made to the pharmacopoeia of a third country. In this case the suitability of this monograph shall be demonstrated. Where appropriate, additional tests to control parameters such as particle size, sterility, residual solvents shall supplement the requirements of the monograph. In the absence of a pharmacopoeial monograph a specification shall be proposed and justified. The requirements for specifications as set out in section 1.1.2 (a to e) for the active substance shall be followed. The proposed methods and their supporting validation data shall be presented.

Colouring matters for inclusion in veterinary medicinal products shall satisfy the requirements of Directive 78/25/EEC, except for certain veterinary medicinal products for topical use, such as insecticidal collars and ear tags, where the use of other colouring matters is justified.

Colouring matters shall meet the purity criteria as laid down in Commission Directive 95/45/EC(1).

For novel excipients, that is to say excipient(s) used for the first time in a veterinary medicinal product or by a new route of administration, details of manufacture, characterisation, and controls, with cross references to supporting safety data, both clinical and non-clinical, shall be provided.

1.3. Container-closure systems U.K.

1.3.1. Active substance U.K.

Information on the container-closure system for the active substance shall be given. The level of information required shall be determined by the physical state (liquid, solid) of the active substance.

1.3.2. Finished product U.K.

Information on the container-closure system for the finished product shall be given. The level of information required shall be determined by the route of administration of the veterinary medicinal product and the physical state (liquid, solid) of the dosage form.

Packaging materials shall comply with the requirements of the appropriate European Pharmacopoeia monograph. Where such a monograph does not exist reference may be made to the pharmacopoeia of a Member State. In the absence of such a monograph reference may be made to the Pharmacopoeia of a third country. In this case the suitability of this monograph shall be demonstrated.

In the absence of a pharmacopoeial monograph, a specification shall be proposed and justified for the packaging material.

Scientific data on the choice and suitability of the packaging material shall be presented.

For novel packaging materials in contact with the product, information on their composition, manufacture and safety shall be presented.

Specifications and, if appropriate, performance data shall be presented for any dosing or administration device supplied with the veterinary medicinal product.

1.4. Substances of biological origin U.K.

Where source materials such as microorganisms, tissues of either plant or animal origin, cells or fluids (including blood) of human or animal origin or biotechnological cell constructs are used in the manufacture of veterinary medicinal products, the origin and history of starting materials shall be described and documented.

The description of the starting material shall include the manufacturing strategy, purification/inactivation procedures with their validation and all in-process control procedures designed to ensure the quality, safety and batch to batch consistency of the finished product.

When cell banks are used, the cell characteristics shall be shown to have remained unchanged at the passage level used for the production and beyond.

Seed materials, cell banks and pools of serum and, whenever possible, the source materials from which they are derived shall be tested for extraneous agents.

When starting materials of animal or human origin are used, the measures used to ensure freedom from potentially pathogenic agents shall be described.

If the presence of potentially pathogenic extraneous agents is inevitable, the material shall be used only when further processing ensures their elimination and/or inactivation, and this shall be validated.

Documentation shall be supplied to demonstrate that the seed materials, cell seeds, batches of serum and other material originating from animal species relevant for the transmission of TSE comply with the Note for Guidance on minimising the risk of transmitting animal spongiform encephalopathy agents via human and veterinary medicinal products(2), as well as with the corresponding monograph of the European Pharmacopoeia. Certificates of Suitability issued by the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and HealthCare, with reference to the relevant monograph of the European Pharmacopoeia, may be used to demonstrate compliance.

(1)

OJ L 226, 22.9.1995, p. 1.

(2)

OJ C 24, 28.1.2004, p. 6.