Mutual Recognition promises new framework for pharmaceutical inspections for United States and European Union
The United States and the European Union (EU) completed an exchange of letters to amend the Pharmaceutical Annex to the 1998 U.S.-EU Mutual Recognition Agreement. Under this agreement, U.S. and EU regulators will be able to utilize each other’s good manufacturing practice inspections of pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities.
Since May 2014, the FDA and the EU have been collaborating to evaluate the way they each inspect drug manufacturers and assessing the risk and benefits of mutual recognition of drug inspections.
The FDA was invited to observe the EU’s Joint Audit Programme, in which two EU nations audit the inspectorate – the regulatory authority – of another EU country. The FDA first observed the audit of Sweden’s inspectorate by auditors from the United Kingdom and Norway. Since then, the FDA has observed 13 additional audits of drug inspectorates across the EU with more audit observations planned through 2017.
Back