News FAMHP

Based on the evolution of the pilot project for the new Clinical Trial Regulation, the FAMHP made an update on the guidance document to assist clinical trials sponsors as part of the pilot project for clinical trials.

Circular No. 635 of 4 May 2018 details the approval procedure for risk minimisation activities (RMA). Certain paragraphs of this circular could be misinterpreted and specific situations were not considered. Therefore, the FAMHP would like to provide details on the RMA material included in the medicine package and on the addition / modification of RMA material for a medicine that is already available on the market.

The FPS Public Health and the FAMHP would like to invite you to take part in the public consultation on a clinical trial testing the genetically modified drug Nous-PEV (formed by the experimental drugs GAd-PEV and MVA-PEV) for the treatment of certain lung and skin cancers. The public consultation will run from 10 November 2020 to 10 December 2020.

During the end-of-year period the FAMHP will be closed from Friday 25 December 2020 up to and including Sunday 3 January 2021. Deadlines have been set for the submission of different types of files.

EMA’s human medicines committee (CHMP), in which the FAMHP takes part, has started the first ‘rolling reviews’ of COVID-19 vaccines. The review concerns the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford and the vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer.

Because of COVID-19, it is even more important to vaccinate at-risk groups, including older people, as widely as possible against seasonal flu. All people aged 50 years and older can get the flu vaccine in pharmacies without a prescription issued by the doctor (general practitioner).

In the context of the COVID-19 crisis, the European Union adopted a regulation providing for a temporary derogation from European legislation on genetically modified organisms.

In anticipation of the European regulations on medical devices (Regulation (EU) 2017/745) and in vitro diagnostic medical devices (Regulation (EU) 2017/746), the FAMHP has updated the “My company” and “My activities” applications in its web portal.

Sales of paracetamol remain stable, which is why the restriction of only one box per patient is being lifted. The quotas for pharmaceutical companies and wholesalers have already been abolished. Only the intravenous form remains subject to restriction.

The FAMHP's evaluators have finalised version 8 of the note “International non-proprietary name prescriptions – Operational rules for INN prescriptions in medical and pharmaceutical practice and in the electronic medical record”.