Notice: Health Canada and United States Food and Drug Administration Joint Public Consultation on International Conference on Harmonisation Guidelines for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use – April 2015

April 10, 2015

Our Reference Number: 15-104199-148

On February 4, 2011, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and United States President Barack Obama announced the creation of the Canada-United States (U.S.) Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) to better align the two countries' regulatory approaches, where possible.

Under the RCC initiative, Health Canada and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are holding joint public consultation meetings on International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) guidelines currently under development. The aim of this initiative is to hold public consultation meetings prior to each bi-annual ICH face-to-face meeting, in order to seek input on areas of current regulatory disharmony and where harmonized ICH guidelines would be beneficial. Stakeholder input received through this initiative will be considered in current or future guideline development. Health Canada also intends to use these opportunities to better understand areas where Canadian requirements may differ from those in place in the U.S., with a view to minimizing these differences.

The next ICH face-to-face meeting will take place in June 2015 in Fukuoka, Japan. In preparation for this meeting, the first public consultation for Canadian and U.S. stakeholders under the RCC initiative will take place on May 15, 2015, 1-4 pm, at the White Oak campus of the U.S. FDA in Silver Spring, Maryland. If you wish to participate in this public consultation, advance  registration is required. Future meetings will alternate between Canada and the U.S., with the second meeting (which is planned to be held in Canada) to occur in Fall 2015 prior to the next scheduled ICH meeting.

A list of guidelines currently under development or undergoing revision follows below. For additional information including Concept Papers and any available draft guidelines for comment please visit the  ICH website.

Who can participate in this consultation?

In advance of the public meeting in May, Health Canada is also offering the opportunity for stakeholders to submit comments in writing for consideration by Health Canada and/or the U.S. FDA. Comments will be accepted from the date of this Notice until May 15, 2015.

How to Get Involved

Please submit comments to the following email address: HPFB_ICH_DGPSA@hc-sc.gc.ca

Guidelines under Development or Revision

• M2 - Electronic Standards for the Transfer of Regulatory Information
• M8 - Electronic Common Technical Document (eCTD)
• E2B(R3) - Data Elements for Transmission of Individual Case Safety Reports (ICSRs)
• M1 - MedDRA Points to Consider
• S1 - Rodent Carcinogenicity Studies for Human Pharmaceuticals - prospective study
• S3A - Toxicokinetics: the Assessment of Systemic Exposure in Toxicity Studies: development of Questions & Answers (Q&As)
• S5 - Detection of Toxicity to Reproduction for Medical Products and Toxicity to Male Fertility - guideline revision
• S9 - Nonclinical Evaluation for Anticancer Pharmaceuticals: development of Q&As
• S11 - Nonclinical Safety Testing in Support of Development of Paediatric Medicines - New guideline
• M7 - Assessment and Control of DNA Reactive (mutagenic) Impurities in Pharmaceuticals to Limit Potential Carcinogenic Risk - moving towards implementation
• Q3D - Guideline for Elemental Impurities - moving towards implementation
• Q7 - Good Manufacturing Practice Guide for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients: development of Q&As
• Q12 - Technical and Regulatory Considerations for Pharmaceutical Product Lifecycle Management - New guideline
• Q11 - Selection and Justification of Starting Materials for the Manufacture of Drug Substances: development of Q&As
• Q3C - Impurities: Guideline for Residual Solvents - Maintenance
• M4Q - Common Technical Document - Quality;
• M4E - Common Technical Document - Efficacy: Revision on Enhancing the Format and Structure of Benefit-Risk Information
• E6(R2) - Addendum: Good Clinical Practice
• E9(R1) - Addendum: Statistical Principles for Clinical Trials
• E17 - Multi-Regional Clinical Trials - New guideline
• E11(R1) - Addendum: Clinical Investigation of Medicinal Products in the Pediatric Population
• E18 - Genomic Sampling Methodologies for Future Use - New guideline
• E14 - Clinical Evaluation of QT/QTc Interval Prolongation and Proarrhythmic Potential for Non-Antiarrhythmic Drugs