Health Canada, Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), and Medicines & Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) recently launched an innovative, new pilot focused on Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). The Single Inspection Program is designed to help rationalize the number of inspections needed to increase efficiency during the regulatory process.
A primary objective is to maintain regulatory standards by eliminating redundancies and providing a more “global approach to GMP inspections of third-country manufacturers”. Additionally, the program design is intended to increase existing collaborative GMP arrangements to allow for:
- More efficient inspection reliance processes
- Reduced regulatory burden on healthcare industry
- Enhanced regulatory oversight of global supply chains
Regulatory Authorities
In a proactive step toward harmonization, the three regulatory bodies will begin accepting a single inspection for a Canadian, Australian and British regulatory application (based on the drug establishment license, or DEL). The long-term strategy includes leveraging the inspection assets of each regulatory authority to collectively collaborate when additional data is available.
Additionally, by maximizing the global regulatory reach of multiple agencies, the pharmaceutical industry will benefit from fewer inspections needed at the same site or manufacturing facility. This should increase both the speed of the regulatory process and patient access to medical products. Both are a win-win for the life science industry as the regulatory process becomes more streamlined than previously experienced.
GMP Practices
All three regulatory bodies are members of the Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme (PIC/S). PIC/S is an international, non-binding cooperative between Regulatory Authorities in the field of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). Additionally, PIC/S membership is focused on companies that develop medicinal products for human or veterinary use, and over 50 countries from around the world currently participate.
Finally, the mission of the current membership is to lead the “development, implementation, and maintenance of harmonized GMP standards and quality systems”. A more efficient inspection process will allow drug manufacturers to reduce any type of disruption to operations that multiple audits may induce.
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