Regulation 2012/1027 - Amendment of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 as regards pharmacovigilance - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 316/38

In order to ensure transparency on the surveillance of authorised medicinal products, the list of medicinal products subject to additional monitoring established by Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 laying down Community procedures for the authorisation and supervision of medicinal products for human and veterinary use and establishing a European Medicines Agency (3), should systematically include medicinal products that are subject to certain post-authorisation safety conditions.

In addition, voluntary action by the marketing authorisation holder should not lead to a situation where concerns relating to the risks or benefits of a medicinal product authorised in the Union are not properly addressed in all Member States. Therefore, the marketing authorisation holder should be obliged to inform the European Medicines Agency of the reasons for withdrawing or interrupting the placing on the market of a medicinal product, for requesting that a marketing authorisation be revoked, or for not renewing a marketing authorisation.

Since the objective of this Regulation, namely to provide for specific rules on pharmacovigilance and improve the safety of medicinal products for human use authorised pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 726/2004, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.

Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 should therefore be amended accordingly,

in Article 13(4), the second subparagraph is replaced by the following:

‘The marketing authorisation holder shall notify the Agency if the product ceases to be placed on the market of a Member State, either temporarily or permanently. Such notification shall, other than in exceptional circumstances, be made no less than two months before the interruption in the placing on the market of the product. The marketing authorisation holder shall inform the Agency of the reasons for such action in accordance with Article 14b.’;

the following Article is inserted:

‘Article 14b

• 1. 

  The marketing authorisation holder shall notify the Agency forthwith of any action the holder takes to suspend the marketing of a medicinal product, to withdraw a medicinal product from the market, to request the withdrawal of a marketing authorisation or not to apply for the renewal of a marketing authorisation, together with the reasons for such action. The marketing authorisation holder shall in particular declare if such action is based on any of the grounds set out in Article 116 or Article 117(1) of Directive...