Registration and Harmonisation in the Area of Medical Products in Switzerland

Registration and Harmonisation Registration and Harmonisation in the Area of Medical Products in the Area of Medical Products in Switzerlandin Switzerland

Swiss Russian Health ForumBasel, 10./11. September 2012

Dr. Petra DörrHead of Management Services & NetworkingMember of the Management BoardSwissmedic, Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products

OverviewOverview

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• Swissmedic: a short Introduction• Marketing Authorisation in Switzerland• International Cooperation and Harmonisation• Summary

Swissmedic: a short IntroductionSwissmedic: a short Introduction

Mission

Our competence – for your trust in therapeutic products

We are the Swiss agency for the authorisation and supervision of therapeutic products. We fulfil our legal mandate and work with partner authorities on a national and international basis.

We endeavour to ensure that authorised therapeutic products are of high quality, effective and safe. By doing so, we make a considerable contribution towards protecting the health of humans and animals, and we also participate in safeguarding Switzerland as a location for industry and research.

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• Established in January 2002 as the first Federal authority on therapeutic products along with the coming into force of the Act on Therapeutic Products

• Prior to 2002, regulation of medicinal products was a cantonal responsibility

• Scope of products• Medicinal products for human and veterinary use (Chemical,

biotechnology, biologic, stable blood products, transplant products, traditional and herbal medicines, …)

• Medical devices (based on EU system, Notified Bodies and CE-marking)

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Areas of responsibility• Marketing authorisation (medicinal products)• Market surveillance (medicinal products and medical devices)• Inspections, licenses• Control of narcotics• Laboratory controls / Official Medicines Control Laboratory• Enforcement / Criminal penalisation• Drafting of laws and standards• Provision of information on therapeutic products

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Marketing Authorisation in Switzerland:Marketing Authorisation in Switzerland:Basics/Background Basics/Background

National marketing authorisation• Medicinal products have to be authorised by Swissmedic

before they can be marketed in Switzerland • Switzerland – not being a member of EU/EEA – does not

participate in EU-marketing authorisation procedures

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Marketing Authorisation in Switzerland:Marketing Authorisation in Switzerland:Approach Approach

• Applications for innovative medicinal products, e.g. with new active substances• Swissmedic conducts its own assessment (as a general rule)

• Applications for non-innovative medicinal products, e.g. generics/ known active substances• Swissmedic should consider assessments of other well-

recognised regulatory authorities, such as European Medicines Agency (EMA), US-Food and Drug Administration (US-FDA), etc.

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Marketing Authorisation in Switzerland:Marketing Authorisation in Switzerland:Procedures Procedures

• Swissmedic currently applies two basic procedures • Regular marketing authorisation procedure• Fast-track procedure

• Criteria: treatment of life-threatening or chronically debilita-ting illness, no or no sufficient treatment options available, high expected therapeutic benefit (“unmet medical need”)

• In 2013, an additional route will become available: the procedure with advance notification for innovative medicines, not fulfilling the criteria for a fast-track procedure

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Marketing Authorisation in Switzerland:Marketing Authorisation in Switzerland:Procedures Procedures

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Swissmedic times (Submission to decision): Regular Procedure: 330 calendar daysProcedure with advance notification (2013): 270 calendar daysFast-track procedure: 140 calendar days

Company time

Swissmedic-time

*AD = Amendment of documentation

Marketing Authorisation in Switzerland:Marketing Authorisation in Switzerland:Requirements Requirements

• Documentation• Common Technical Document (International Conference on

Harmonisation; ICH CTD)• “State of the Art”

• ICH Guidelines • EMA/FDA technical guidelines

• Specifics• Labelling (2-3 languages)

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International Cooperation & International Cooperation & HarmonisationHarmonisation

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Why international cooperation?• Implementation of international treaties• Ensuring drug safety/mutual benefit from early risk-communication• Building mutual trust• Increasing efficiency/create synergies• Harmonisation of requirements• Reduction of technical barriers to trade• Maintaining international reputation• Motivation of staff

Need to network globally on an agency level as regulated industry is also operating globally


Swissmedic: Basis for international cooperation• Act on Therapeutic Products (Art. 64 ATC: International

Administrative Assistance• Mandate (Federal Council; four years; strategic goals)• Service Agreement (Department of the Interior; objectives on

an annual basis)• Strategy paper on national and international cooperation

(approved by the Council of the Institute in May 2008)

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Swissmedic Strategy• Prioritisation/selection: we are small - we have to focus on key

partners/activities• … towards global leading agencies: consideration/reliance, staff

and information exchange, peer review • … towards partner agencies: consideration/reliance, staff and

information exchange, peer review, towards work sharing• … towards developing agencies: provision of information/training• Support of WHO activities• Harmonisation of requirements: collaboration in international

standard setting organisations

FDASwissmedic

HSA Swiss-medic

XXX Swiss-medic


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Bilateral activities• Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRA):

• Canada, EU, EEA/EFTA

• Memoranda of Understanding (MOU): • Food and Drug Administration, USA (2003)

• Health Products and Food Branch, Canada (2006)

• Therapeutic Goods Administration, Australia (2006)

• Health Sciences Authority, Singapore (2008)

• Medsafe, New Zealand (2009)

• Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare/Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency, Japan (2010)

• Irish Medicines Board, Ireland (2011)

• Paul-Ehrlich Institut, Germany (2012)


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Multilateral activities• International Regulators Consortium (Australia, Canada,

Singapore, Switzerland)• World Health Organization:

• Pre-Qualification, trainings, Blood Regulators Network, Paediatric medicines Regulators Network

• PFIPC (Permanent Forum on International Pharmaceutical Crime)

• Council of Europe/European Pharmacopoeia


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Harmonisation & standard setting organisations• International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH, www.ich.org)

• Harmonised requirements for the registration of medicinal products for human use

• Global Harmonisation Task Force (GHTF, www.ghtf.org)• Harmonised requirements for medical devices

• Pharmaceutical Inspection Cooperation Scheme (PIC/S), World Health Organisation (WHO), Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), …

http://www.ich.org/

http://www.ghtf.org/

SummarySummary

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• Swissmedic’s mandate comprises medicinal products and medical devices and is based on the Act on Therapeutic Products

• Swissmedic does not participate in EU-marketing authorisation procedures but grants national Swiss marketing authorisations

• Swissmedic conducts an independent assessment for innovative medicines

• International cooperation between regulators is paramount, as industry is also globalised

• International cooperation has to be focussed and tailored to the specific national situation

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Thank you for your attention…Questions?

Dr. Petra Dö[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Documents

Registration and Harmonisation in the Area of Medical Products in Switzerland