TITLE IX

PHARMACOVIGILANCE
CHAPTER 3

Recording, reporting and assessment of pharmacovigilance data
Section 2

Periodic safety update reports
Article 107b
1
Marketing authorisation holders shall submit to the Agency periodic safety update reports containing:
a
summaries of data relevant to the benefits and risks of the medicinal product, including results of all studies with a consideration of their potential impact on the marketing authorisation;
b
a scientific evaluation of the risk-benefit balance of the medicinal product;
c
all data relating to the volume of sales of the medicinal product and any data in possession of the marketing authorisation holder relating to the volume of prescriptions, including an estimate of the population exposed to the medicinal product.
The evaluation referred to in point (b) shall be based on all available data, including data from clinical trials in unauthorised indications and populations.
The periodic safety update reports shall be submitted electronically.
2
The Agency shall make available the reports referred to in paragraph 1 to the national competent authorities, the members of the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use and the coordination group by means of the repository referred to in Article 25a of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004.
3
By way of derogation from paragraph 1 of this Article, the holders of marketing authorisations for medicinal products referred to in Article 10(1), or Article 10a, and the holders of registrations for medicinal products referred to in Articles 14 or 16a, shall submit periodic safety update reports for such medicinal products in the following cases:
a
where such obligation has been laid down as a condition in the marketing authorisation in accordance with Article 21a or Article 22; or
b
when requested by a competent authority on the basis of concerns relating to pharmacovigilance data or due to the lack of periodic safety update reports relating to an active substance after the marketing authorisation has been granted. The assessment reports of the requested periodic safety update reports shall be communicated to the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, which shall consider whether there is a need for a single assessment report for all marketing authorisations for medicinal products containing the same active substance and inform the coordination group or the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use accordingly, in order to apply the procedures laid down in Article 107c(4) and Article 107e.
Article 107c
1
The frequency with which the periodic safety update reports are to be submitted shall be specified in the marketing authorisation.
The dates of submission according to the specified frequency shall be calculated from the date of the authorisation.
2
Holders of marketing authorisations which were granted before
21 July 2012
, and for which the frequency and dates of submission of the periodic safety update reports are not laid down as a condition to the marketing authorisation, shall submit the periodic safety update reports in accordance with the second subparagraph of this paragraph until another frequency or other dates of submission of the reports are laid down in the marketing authorisation or determined in accordance with paragraphs 4, 5 or 6.
Periodic safety update reports shall be submitted to the competent authorities immediately upon request or in accordance with the following:
a
where a medicinal product has not yet been placed on the market, at least every 6 months following authorisation and until the placing on the market;
b
where a medicinal product has been placed on the market, at least every 6 months during the first 2 years following the initial placing on the market, once a year for the following 2 years and at three-yearly intervals thereafter.
3
Paragraph 2 shall also apply to medicinal products which are authorised only in one Member State and for which paragraph 4 does not apply.
4
Where medicinal products that are subject to different marketing authorisations contain the same active substance or the same combination of active substances, the frequency and dates of submission of the periodic safety update reports resulting from the application of paragraphs 1 and 2 may be amended and harmonised to enable a single assessment to be made in the context of a periodic safety update report work-sharing procedure and to set a Union reference date from which the submission dates are calculated.
This harmonised frequency for the submission of the reports and the Union reference date may be determined, after consultation of the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, by one of the following:
a
the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, where at least one of the marketing authorisations for the medicinal products containing the active substance concerned has been granted in accordance with the centralised procedure provided for in Chapter 1 of Title II of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004;
b
the coordination group, in other cases than those referred to in point (a).
The harmonised frequency for the submission of the reports determined pursuant to the first and second subparagraphs shall be made public by the Agency. Marketing authorisation holders shall submit an application for a variation of the marketing authorisation accordingly.
5
For the purposes of paragraph 4, the Union reference date for medicinal products containing the same active substance or the same combination of active substances shall be one of the following:
a
the date of the first marketing authorisation in the Union of a medicinal product containing that active substance or that combination active substances;
b
if the date referred to in point (a) cannot be ascertained, the earliest of the known dates of the marketing authorisations for a medicinal product containing that active substance or that combination of active substances.
6
Marketing authorisation holders shall be allowed to submit requests to the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use or the coordination group, as appropriate, to determine Union reference dates or to change the frequency of submission periodic safety update reports on one of the following grounds:
a
for reasons relating to public health;
b
in order to avoid a duplication of the assessment;
c
in order to achieve international harmonisation.
Such requests shall be submitted in writing and shall be duly justified. The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use or the coordination group shall, following the consultation with the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, shall either approve or deny such requests. Any change in the dates or the frequency of submission of periodic safety update reports shall be made public by the Agency. The marketing authorisation holders shall accordingly submit an application for a variation of the marketing authorisation.
7
The Agency shall make public a list of Union reference dates and frequency of submission of periodic safety update reports by means of the European medicines web-portal.
Any change to the dates of submission and frequency of periodic safety update reports specified in the marketing authorisation as a result of the application of paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 shall take effect 6 months after the date of such publication.
Article 107d
The national competent authorities shall assess periodic safety update reports to determine whether there are new risks or whether risks have changed or whether there are changes to the risk-benefit balance of medicinal products.
Article 107e
1
A single assessment of periodic safety update reports shall be performed for medicinal products authorised in more than one Member State and, in the cases of paragraphs 4 to 6 of Article 107c, for all medicinal products containing the same active substance or the same combination of active substances and for which a Union reference date and frequency of periodic safety update reports has been established.
The single assessment shall be conducted by either of the following:
a
a Member State appointed by the coordination group where none of the marketing authorisations concerned has been granted in accordance with the centralised procedure provided for in Chapter 1 of Title II of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004; or
b
a rapporteur appointed by the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, where at least one of the marketing authorisations concerned has been granted in accordance with the centralised procedure provided for in Chapter 1 of Title II of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004.
When selecting the Member State in accordance with point (a) of the second subparagraph, the coordination group shall take into account whether any Member State is acting as a reference Member State, in accordance with Article 28(1).
2
The Member State or rapporteur, as appropriate, shall prepare an assessment report within 60 days of receipt of the periodic safety update report and send it to the Agency and to the Member States concerned. The Agency shall send the report to the marketing authorisation holder.
Within 30 days of receipt of the assessment report, the Member States and the marketing authorisation holder may submit comments to the Agency and to the rapporteur or Member State.
3
Following the receipt of the comments referred to in paragraph 2, the rapporteur or Member State shall within 15 days update the assessment report taking into account any comments submitted, and forward it to the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee. The Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee shall adopt the assessment report with or without further changes at its next meeting and issue a recommendation. The recommendation shall mention the divergent positions with the grounds on which they are based. The Agency shall include the adopted assessment report and the recommendation in the repository set up under Article 25a of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 and forward both to the marketing authorisation holder.
Article 107f
Following the assessment of periodic safety update reports, the national competent authorities shall consider whether any action concerning the marketing authorisation for the medicinal product concerned is necessary.
They shall maintain, vary, suspend or revoke the marketing authorisation as appropriate.
Article 107g
1
In the case of a single assessment of periodic safety update reports that recommends any action concerning more than one marketing authorisation in accordance with Article 107e(1) which does not include any marketing authorisation granted in accordance with the centralised procedure provided for in Chapter 1 of Title II of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004, the coordination group shall, within 30 days of receipt of the report of the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, consider the report and reach a position on the maintenance, variation, suspension or revocation of the marketing authorisations concerned, including a timetable for the implementation of the agreed position.
2
If, within the coordination group, the Member States represented reach agreement on the action to be taken by consensus, the chairman shall record the agreement and send it to the marketing authorisation holder and the Member States. The Member States shall adopt necessary measures to maintain, vary, suspend or revoke the marketing authorisations concerned in accordance with the timetable for implementation determined in the agreement.
In the event of a variation, the marketing authorisation holder shall submit to the national competent authorities an appropriate application for a modification, including an updated summary of product characteristics and package leaflet within the determined timetable for implementation.
If an agreement by consensus cannot be reached, the position of the majority of the Member States represented within the coordination group shall be forwarded to the Commission which shall apply the procedure laid down in Articles 33 and 34.
Where the agreement reached by the Member States represented within the coordination group or the position of the majority of Member States differs from the recommendation of the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, the coordination group shall attach to the agreement or the majority position a detailed explanation of the scientific grounds for the differences together with the recommendation.
3
In the case of a single assessment of periodic safety update reports that recommends any action concerning more than one marketing authorisation in accordance with Article 107e(1) which includes at least one marketing authorisation granted in accordance with the centralised procedure provided for in Chapter 1 of Title II of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use shall, within 30 days of receipt of the report of the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, consider the report and adopt an opinion on the maintenance, variation, suspension or revocation of the marketing authorisations concerned, including a timetable for the implementation of the opinion.
Where this opinion of the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use differs from the recommendation of the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use shall attach to its opinion a detailed explanation of the scientific grounds for the differences together with the recommendation.
4
On the basis of the opinion of the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use referred to in paragraph 3, the Commission shall:
a
adopt a decision addressed to the Member States concerning the measures to be taken in respect of marketing authorisations granted by the Member States and concerned by the procedure provided for in this section; and
b
where the opinion states that regulatory action concerning the marketing authorisation is necessary, adopt a decision to vary, suspend or revoke the marketing authorisations granted in accordance with the centralised procedure provided for in Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 and concerned by the procedure provided for in this section.
Articles 33 and 34 of this Directive shall apply to the adoption of the decision referred to in point (a) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph and to its implementation by the Member States.
Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 shall apply to the decision referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph. Where the Commission adopts such decision, it may also adopt a decision addressed to the Member States pursuant to Article 127a of this Directive.
Substituted by Directive 2010/84/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2010 amending, as regards pharmacovigilance, Directive 2001/83/EC on the Community code relating to medicinal products for human use (Text with EEA relevance).