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DRAP invited Comments from Stakeholders on the Draft Therapeutic Goods (Advertisement) Rules, 2022

Ijaz Mustafa Advertisements, Drugs, Notifications, Publications

Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan Act, 2012 under section 7 (c)(iii) and (x) mandated the DRAP for the regulation of Advertisements, enforcement and monitoring of advertisement rules and ban on false advertisement. Schedule II- B of the DRAP Act, 2012 prohibits the advertisements of any therapeutic goods except in accordance with the prescribed conditions.

The current changing trend of advertisement and promotional activities by pharmaceutical companies and the requirement of extension of scope from drugs to therapeutic goods has led to the development of these draft rules. These draft rules contain provisions almost similar to the ones given in Rule 31 of the Drugs (Licensing, Registering & Advertising) Rules 1976, included but not limited to; amended Schedule with the list of drugs permissible for advertisement as earlier consulted with stakeholders, Schedule with diseases for which advertisement is prohibited, schedule with the details on advertisement or promotional material keeping in consideration the ethical criteria; Forms for submitting applications of advertisement approval, Formats for granting approval for advertisement and schedule with details on advertisement or promotional material keeping in consideration the ethical criteria.
These draft Therapeutic Goods (Advertisement) Rules, 2022 were uploaded on the official website of DRAP dated 21st November, 2022, seeking comments and suggestions from stakeholders on the draft rules. Stakeholders can submit their comments and suggestions within 14 days of uploading this draft using prescribed format, (further information on comments submission can be accessed on this link). Comments and suggestions can be forwarded via email to aamar.latif∂dra.gov.pk , copying at aqsa.hashmi∂dra.gov.pk , or can be posted at mailing address, Additional Director, Division of Legal Affairs, Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, 1st floor, TF Complex, 7th Mauve Area, G-9/4, Islamabad.

Click here to View/Download the draft Therapeutic Goods (Advertisement) Rules, 2022

Draft-Therapeutic-Goods-Advertisement-Rules-2022Download

DRAP finalizes Guidelines on the Preparation of Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC)

Asad Ullah Drugs, Regulatory Updates

The Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) are the basic information for healthcare professionals on the use of drug products to ensure safety, efficacy and quality, and also provides a basis for preparation of the Patient Information Leaflet (PiL). SmPC describes the set of characteristics of a drug product as determined through the assessment process during registration of a drug product.

SmPC guidelines are intended to provide supportive information for preparation of Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) for registration / market authorization of pharmaceutical and biological products of all types including New drug products, Generic drug products and Biosimilars.

Rule 26 of the Drugs (Licensing, Registering & Advertising) Rules, 1976, as amended vide S.R.O 713(I)/2018 dated 8th June 2018, under 26(1) section 1.5.14 requires that in order to obtain registration/marketing authorization of drug product, a Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) is required to be included in the application dossier. The SmPC is part of drug registration / marketing authorization approval, and its contents can only be changed with the approval of Competent Authority. In this context, Registration Board has deliberated the contents of summary of Product Characteristics for pharmaceutical and biological drug products. This document transforms the decisions and advices of Registration Board into a guidance document for preparation of SmPC with application dossier submission in the CTD module.

The draft guidelines were prepared three years ago and was available on the DRAP’ s website. Stakeholders have submitted their comments on the draft document and accordingly guidelines have been finalized after careful consideration of stakeholder’s comments.

Please click to view the final document, GUIDELINES ON Preparation of Summary of Product Characteristics

For more information on Regulatory Guidelines published by DRAP, please navigate to Publications tabs on our website.

Notification: Applications for Registrations of Pharmaceutical drugs submitted on Form 5/5D requiring submission of Product Stability Data

Asad Ullah Drugs, Notifications, Regulatory Updates ,

Registration Board in 320th meeting held on 29th – 31st August 2022 has issued a direction with regards to the applications received on Form 5 / 5-D for registration of pharmaceutical drugs, which requires submission of stability study data for further processing. The list of such applications is available on official website of DRAP (link).

The decision of Registration Board is notified and attached hereunder for information and compliance by all relevant stakeholders.

Notification-Form-5Download

Policy for Inspection of Manufacturing Site Abroad

Asad Ullah Drugs, News & Updates, Notifications, Regulatory Updates

Policy Board of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has given policy guidelines for inspections of manufacturers keeping in view the suggestions/guidelines of WHO for reliance on other regulatory authorities. Accordingly, the revised “Policy for inspections of manufacturers abroad” as approved by the Policy Board under Section 11 (I) (a) of the DRAP Act, 2012, as under:-

Current-Policy-fo-inspectionDownload

Proposed amendments in the Rules : DRAP invites comments from stakeholders and public on the draft amendments in the Drugs (Licensing, Registering and Advertising) Rules, 1976;

Asad Ullah Drugs, Legislation, Licensing and Inspections, Regulatory Updates, SROs ,

The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has issued a proposal to amend the current version of the Drugs (Licensing, Registering and Advertising) Rules, 1976. The proposed amendments relates to the minimum area requirement for establishment of a pharmaceutical manufacturing units and adoption of Pharmaceutical Inspection Cooperation / Scheme (PIC/S) Guidelines for Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), in order to further align more closely with the international standards and best practices, as practiced by many other regulatory authorities around the world.

The DRAP proposes to do so primarily by incorporating the provisos to enable manufactures and regulators to follow principles set by the Pharmaceutical Inspection Cooperation / Scheme (PIC/S) to maintain the quality standards at an acceptable level. PIC/s guidelines provide comprehensive guidance for both industry and regulators on various aspects of Good Manufacturing Practices.

DRAP has the mandate to issue guidelines and to monitor enforcement of licensing of manufacture of therapeutic goods and to implement internationally recognized standards under Section 7(c)(i) & (ix) of the DRAP Act, 2012. Control of environmental conditions for pharmaceutical industry is essential to manufacture quality products. and implementation of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) guidelines is critical to ensure the proper design, monitoring, and control of the manufacturing processes and facilities.

Stakeholders can submit their comments within 14 (fourteen) days of the publication of this Notification in the official Gazette of Pakistan using prescribed format, via email to aamar.latif∂dra.gov.pk, or can be posted at mailing address, Deputy Director, Division of Legal Affairs, Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, 1st floor, TF Complex, 7th Mauve Area, G-9/4, Islamabad. Further information on comments submission can be accessed on this link.

SRO 778 (I)/2022 dated 10th June, 2022

SRO-778-of-2022-PIC-GMPDownload

DRAP invites comments of stakeholders on the draft Guidelines on Good Distribution Practices for Pharmaceutical and Biological Products

Ijaz Mustafa Drugs, Publications, Regulatory Updates ,

Distribution of drug products includes all activities consisting of procuring, storage / holding, supplying, importing, and / or exporting of products. Such activities are carried out by the marketing authorization /registration holder including manufacturers/importers or their authorized distributors, which supply products to the pharmacies/licensed drug sale outlets and healthcare institutions which are entitled to dispense drug products.

Good Distribution Practice (GDP) is the set of standards of quality assurance for sourcing, handling, storage, and transportation of pharmaceutical and biological drug products under appropriate conditions, as required by the marketing authorization (MA) / registrant, or product specifications. To maintain the quality of pharmaceutical and biological products, every activity in the supply chain and distribution network should be carried out according to the principles of Good Distribution and Storage Practices.

These guidelines are drafted to provide appropriate systems and structures to assist manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers in fulfilling their responsibilities of planning and conducting various activities in the distribution and supply chain, which will be helpful in prevention of proliferation of unauthorized/unregistered, substandard and falsified products in the market.

This draft guideline is uploaded on the official website of DRAP dated 28th May, 2022, for seeking comments and suggestions from stakeholders on the draft document. Stakeholders can submit their comments and suggestions within 15 days of uploading this document using prescribed format, (further information on comments submission can access on this link. Comments and suggestions can be forwarded via email to ajmal.sohail∂dra.gov.pk, copying at akbar.ali∂dra.gov.pk , or can be posted at mailing address, Additional Director, Quality Assurance & Lab Testing, Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, 3rd floor, TF Complex, 7th Mauve Area, G-9/4, Islamabad.

Please click to view the draft Guidelines-on-Good-Distribution-PracticesDownload

Stakeholder Comments are invited on draft guidance for Categorization of deficiencies in Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)

Ijaz Mustafa Drugs ,

Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) aims at providing a comprehensive guidance to the inspectors for categorizing the GMP non-compliances found during inspections. This document is intended to inform stakeholders regarding the principles used to classify GMP deficiencies and provide examples of the classification of different types of deficiencies.

The key objectives of categorizing the GMP non-compliances during report writing are:-

The harmonization of the classification of GMP deficiencies to facilitate synchronized reporting of GMP deficiencies from inspections across the inspectorate. Harmonization will help ensure that there is a consistent view across the inspectorate of what constitutes a “Critical” deficiency and what constitutes a “Major” deficiency. Risk management principles will be applied to the categorization of these deficiencies dependent on the type of product manufactured or process.

This guidance document is also intended to:

  1. provide actions to be taken by inspectorates in response to the reporting of critical and major deficiencies;
  2. enhance communication, information sharing and scientific exchange to promote increased consistency and predictability in regulatory
  3. to provide a tool to support the risk-based classification of GMP deficiencies from inspections and to establish consistency amongst Inspectorates.

This guidance will enable Industry to be informed of the principles used to classify GMP deficiencies and also provide examples of the classification of
different types of deficiencies. Notwithstanding, this approach is not binding as the classification takes also into account the context of the finding and the quality history of the site. It does not remove the responsibility of the company in assessing the impact of he finding on the products already on the market and/or on their quality system.

Consistency of classification of GMP deficiencies will assist in the following:

  1. Improve consistency in reporting and facilitate communication between inspectors;
  2. Harmonize inspectorate response and management of deficiencies classified as “Critical”, “Major” and “Other”;
  3. Provide transparency in how the deficiencies are classified; and
  4. Simplify deficiency trend analysis based on harm

This draft guideline is uploaded on the official website of DRAP dated 28th May, 2022, for seeking comments and suggestions from stakeholders on the draft document. Stakeholders can submit their comments and suggestions within 15 days of uploading this document using prescribed format, (further information on comments submission can access on this link. Comments and suggestions can be forwarded via email to ajmal.sohail∂dra.gov.pk, copying at hasan.afzaal∂dra.gov.pk , or can be posted at mailing address, Additional Director, Quality Assurance & Lab Testing, Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, 3rd floor, TF Complex, 7th Mauve Area, G-9/4, Islamabad.

Please click to view the Draft Guidance on categorization of deficiencies in GMPDownload

DRAP asks stakeholders to comment on the draft guidelines on Bio-availability & Bio-equivalence studies for generic drug products

Yasir Mahmood Drugs, Regulatory Updates

The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) ensures that all pharmaceutical drug products conform to acceptable standards of safety, efficacy and quality. This guidance will be applicable to orally administered generic drug products as well as to non-orally administered pharmaceutical products for which systemic exposure measures are suitable for documenting bioequivalence.

This document will provides guidance to the industry for in vivo and in vitro requirements to assure interchangeability of the generic product without compromising the safety, quality and efficacy of the pharmaceutical product.

Stakeholders can submit their comments and suggestions with 15 days of uploading of this document using prescribed format to submit comments (link to access table of comments), and forward via email to abdullah.diyo∂dra.gov.pk, copying at muneeb.cheema∂dra.gov.pk, or can post at mailing address Additional Director, Pharmaceutical Evaluation and Registration, 4th floor TF Complex, 7th Mauve Area, G-9/4, Islamabad.

Please click to view the “Draft Guidelines on Bio-Equivalence (BE) / Bioavailability (BA) Studies for Generic Drug Products”

Stakeholders comments are invited on draft Guidelines for Labeling & Packaging of finished drug products.

Yasir Mahmood Drugs

This guidelines are aimed to assist industry (marketing authorization holders) in drawing up the label and package leaflet for their products in compliance with the Drugs (Labelling and Packing) Rules 1986. This documents will provide specific requirements for the labelling and packaging of pharmaceutical and biological drug products.

The purpose of the guidelines are:-

  1. To provide guidance on how to ensure that the information on the label and package leaflet is accessible to and can be understood by those who receive it, so that they can use their medicine or ensure its use safely and appropriately.
  2. To help achieve consistency, transparency, clarity, efficiency and high quality in both the content and management of reviews.
  3. This guideline is written to assist applicants and marketing authorization holders when drawing up the label and package leaflet

Stakeholders can submit their comments and suggestions with 15 days of uploading of this document using prescribed format to submit comments (link to access table of comments), and forward via email to abdullah.diyo∂dra.gov.pk, copying at muneeb.cheema∂dra.gov.pk, or can post at mailing address Additional Director, Pharmaceutical Evaluation and Registration, 4th floor TF Complex, 7th Mauve Area, G-9/4, Islamabad.

Please click here to view draft guidance document Draft Guidelines on Labelling and Packaging of Drug Products