Following the COVID-19 pandemic and the relatively slow approval of vaccines in the EU versus other key jurisdictions, as part of the EU’s General Pharmaceutical Legislation amendment proposal, published on 26 April 2023, the European Commission has proposed to introduce temporary emergency marketing authorizations (“TEMAs”) for use when there is a “public health emergency.” 
Medicinal Products
EU Pharma Legislation Review Series: National MA Procedures Including the Mutual Recognition Procedure and Decentralized Procedure
The European Commission (the “Commission”) wants to “avoid unnecessary administrative and financial burdens for applicants and competent authorities.” As such, the Commission’s proposal for a revised Directive on the Union Code Relating to Medicinal Products for Human Use (the “Directive”) retains the Decentralized Procedure (“DCP”) and Mutual Recognition Procedure (“MRP”). Chapter III of…
EU Pharma Legislation Review Series: Decentralized Manufacturing
The EU’s General Pharmaceutical Legislation amendment proposal, which was published on 26 April 2023 (“the Proposal”), is introducing new measures to regulate decentralized manufacturing, which is increasingly used for certain categories of medicinal products. In particular, the Proposal introduces new obligations for manufacturers and for national competent authorities overseeing decentralized sites. In this blog…
EU Pharma Legislation Review Series: Supply Security and Shortages Control
As part of the EU’s General Pharmaceutical Legislation amendment proposal, published on 26 April 2023 (“the Proposal”), the European Commission (“Commission”) has introduced a series of measures aimed at securing the supply of critical medicinal products across the EU and at preventing shortages. In particular, there are new obligations for Marketing Authorization Holders (“MAH”)…
EU Pharma Legislation Review Series: Bolar Exemption under Patent Rights
The latest draft pharmaceutical legislation published by the European Commission (“Commission”) is set to shake up the regulatory exclusivity protections available to innovator pharmaceutical companies operating in the EU (as discussed in further in our previous blog). As part of these developments, the Commission has clarified the concept of the Bolar exemption…
EU Pharma Legislation Review Series: Access to Documents and Transparency of R&D Funding
The EU’s latest draft pharmaceutical legislation contains some interesting developments on transparency matters, both in relation to access to documents and transparency around the funding of research and development of medicinal products.
1. Draft Regulation – Further Clarity Regarding Public Access to Documents
Disclosure of documents in response to an access request under the EU…
EU Pharma Legislation Review Series: GMO Medicines
“Delays in clinical trials result in delays of potentially life-saving treatments”
The European Commission is streamlining the rules for clinical trials of medicines consisting of, or containing genetically modified organisms (“GMOs”). Under the current EU GMO framework, getting authorization for clinical trials of GMO medicines is a long and costly process. Industry groups have vocally criticized it; and the Commission itself has voiced the need for change.
The Commission proposes a single, centralized application for clinical trials of GMO medicines. The sponsor will include a detailed environmental risk assessment with the application. In turn, the Commission will exempt clinical trials from the scope of many GMO rules. The new system will be leaner, greener and will get potentially life-saving treatments to patients with less administrative delay.
The changes are part of the EU’s new package of revisions to the bloc’s common pharmaceutical regime, set out in a draft Regulation and a draft Directive, published by the Commission on 26 April 2023. The new GMO medicines rules are just one part of a range of environment‑focused reforms to EU pharmaceutical law set out in the proposals — for more information, see our post here.Continue Reading EU Pharma Legislation Review Series: GMO Medicines
EU Pharma Legislation Review Series: AMR and Transferable Exclusivity Vouchers
The European Commission has proposed specific measures to increase the supervision and monitoring of the use of antimicrobial medicinal products (or “antimicrobials”), with the aim to counter the spread of antimicrobial resistance (“AMR”). At the same time, the measures are also aimed at promoting and incentivizing the development of new priority antimicrobials through the use…
EU Pharma Legislation Review Series: Addressing Environmental Risks
Pharmaceutical companies take note: the EU plans to refuse marketing authorizations for environmentally-unfriendly medicines.
The EU has published a package of revisions to the bloc’s common pharmaceutical regime. Many revisions aim to reduce the environmental impact of human medicinal products. The key environmental measures include:
- Pre-authorization — Environment-related refusals: The European authorities will be able to refuse a marketing authorization application where the accompanying Environmental Risk Assessment (“ERA”) is not adequate, or if the environmental risks have not been sufficiently addressed.
- Post-authorization — Environment-related monitoring and conditions of use: The European authorities will be able to impose environment‑related conditions of use on authorized medicines, including limiting the product to prescription-only or requiring additional post-authorization ERAs. They will also be able to suspend, revoke or vary marketing authorizations where a medicine presents a serious risk to the environment.
- Awareness and knowledge building — Warnings and environmental risk databases: Companies will be required to include additional information on environmental impact in a medicine’s EPAR, and additional awareness‑raising information in the product packaging of antimicrobials.
In this post, we lay out what pharmaceutical companies need to know about the key environmental measures.Continue Reading EU Pharma Legislation Review Series: Addressing Environmental Risks
EU Pharma Legislation Review Series: Pharmacy and Hospital Exemptions
The existing EU pharmaceutical legislation provides for a number of specific exemptions from the marketing authorisation requirement, including products supplied on a named patient or compassionate use bases; products compounded and dispensed in pharmacies (magistral and officinal formulations) and also for products necessary to respond to public health emergencies. Given that a key policy goal…