PROCEDURE FOR THE VERIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH BUENAS PRÁCTICAS DE MANUFACTURA FOR MEDICINAL PRODUCTS FOR HUMAN USE.
l. OBJECTIVE To establish the rules concerning the verification process for compliance with Buenas Prácticas de Manufactura of Medicinal Products in order to guarantee the quality of the medicinal products, as one of the factors to reduce the risks associated with manufacturing.
2. SCOPE OF APPLICATION It applies to the manufacturing plants belonging to national or foreign laboratories that manufacture or market pharmaceutical products in the national territory, for the purpose of guaranteeing the quality of the medicinal products.
3. REFERENCES For the proper interpretation and application of this procedure, the following documents must be consulted:
3.1 Decreto Ejecutivo No. 38732-S-COMEX-MEIC of July 2, 2014, which Publishes Resolución Nº 339-2014 (COMIECO-LXVII) of April 25, 2014, and its Annexes: Reglamento Técnico Centroamericano RTCA 11.03.42:07 Productos Farmacéuticos. Medicamentos Para Uso Humano. Buenas Prácticas de Manufactura para la Industria Farmacéutica.
3.2 Decreto Ejecutivo No. 38414-COMEX-MEIC-S of February 28, 2014, which Publishes Resolución No. 333-2013 (COMIECO-LXVI) dated December 12, 2013. Reglamento Técnico Centroamericano RICA 11.03.59: 11 Productos Farmacéuticos. Medicamentos para uso humano. Requisitos de registro sanitario.
4. DEFINITIONS For the purposes of this procedure, the following definitions are established:
4.1 Regional reference regulatory authorities (Autoridades reguladoras de referencia regional): competent and efficient national regulatory authorities in the performance of health regulation functions, recommended by PAHO/WHO, to guarantee the quality, safety, and efficacy of medicinal products and biological products, described in Anexo A.
4.2 Stringent regulatory authorities (Autoridades reguladoras estrictas): those defined in the WHO pharmaceutical product prequalification process, described in Anexo B.
4.3 PIC/S member regulatory authorities: those described in http://www.picscheme.om/members.php which have been accepted as part of the initiative, after satisfactorily completing a competence evaluation (Anexo C).
4.4 Buenas Prácticas de Manufactura: a set of procedures and standards aimed at guaranteeing the uniform production of batches of pharmaceutical products that meet quality standards.
4.5 Inspection report (Informe de inspección): a written document whose purpose is to describe objective information, in a clear and orderly manner, about the circumstances observed during the inspection of the medicinal product manufacturing laboratory (laboratorio fabricante).
4.6 Inspection (Inspección): a field activity, whose objective is to verify that a manufacturing laboratory (laboratorio fabricante) complies with all the elements of the Buenas Prácticas de Manufactura of the current pharmaceutical industry.
4.7 Inspectors (Inspectores): professionals with the technical knowledge and in manufacturing laboratories (laboratorios fabricantes), using the Verification Guides defined by the Ministry of Health.
4.8 Manufacturing laboratory (Laboratorio fabricante): an authorized entity with designed facilities to perform all operations involving the manufacture of medicinal products.
4.9 Ministry: Ministry of Health of Costa Rica.
4.10 PIC/S: An informal cooperation agreement between Regulatory Authorities in the field of Buenas Prácticas de Manufactura of Medicinal Products for Human and Veterinary Use (BPM). It is open to any Authority that has a BPM inspection system comparable to the rest of the participating authorities.
4.11 Pharmaceutical product or medicinal product: Simple or compound substance, natural, synthetic, or a mixture thereof, with a defined pharmaceutical form, used to diagnose, treat, prevent diseases, or modify a physiological function of human beings.
4.12 Authorized Third Parties (Terceros Autorizados): Natural and/or legal persons with technical competence for health inspection, control, and surveillance; who must be accredited as an inspection unit before the Ente Costarricense de Acreditación or other accrediting bodies previously recognized by the ECA through multilateral recognition agreements.
5. SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS 5.1 BPM: Buenas Prácticas de Manufactura.
5.2 ECA: Ente Costarricense de Acreditación.
5.3 OMS: World Health Organization.
5.4 OPS: Pan American Health Organization.
5.5 PIC/S: Pharmaceutical Inspection Convention and Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme (jointly referred to as such by their acronym in English).
6. PROVISIONS FOR INSPECTION.
To guarantee the quality of the medicinal products, the Ministry of Health may verify compliance with the Buenas Prácticas de Manufactura by such means as it considers necessary, including inspection at the facilities of the manufacturing laboratories (laboratorios fabricantes) established within and outside the country, applying Decreto Ejecutivo No. 38732-S-COMEXMEIC of July 2, 2014, which publishes Resolución No. 339-2014 (COMIECO LXVll) of 25/04/2014 and its Annexes: "Reglamento Técnico Centroamericano RTCA 11/.03.42:07 Productos Farmacéuticos. Medicamentos Para Uso Humano. Buenas Prácticas de Manufactura para la Industria Farmacéutica".
The Regulatory Authority may request from the regional reference regulatory authorities and stringent regulatory authorities (autoridades reguladoras estrictas) the verification of compliance with Buenas Prácticas de Manufactura of pharmaceutical laboratories that they have inspected, as well as to consider the need to carry out the inspection.
6.1. Select the means for the verification of compliance with the Buenas Prácticas de Manufactura.
When the Ministry considers that, to guarantee the quality of the medicinal products, it is necessary to verify compliance with BPM through an inspection, the product holder or their legal representative and the manufacturing laboratory (laboratorio fabricante) will be notified, indicating the objective, scope, and methodology of the inspection, and that they must choose one of the following options:
a. Inspection by the Ministry of Health: Receive the inspection carried out by the health authorities of the Ministry of Health of Costa Rica, assuming the costs thereof as indicated in Anexo D, in which case the Ministry must indicate the proposed period for the inspection, sending the inspection plan and scope, the constitution of the inspection team, and the costs and payment conditions associated with said inspection.
b. Inspection by other authorities: Submit within a period not exceeding three months a certified copy of the inspection reports for compliance with BPM issued by the Stringent Regulatory Authorities (Autoridades Reguladoras Estrictas) or the PIC/S member regulatory authorities, which includes the aspects indicated in the notified objective and scope of the inspection. The inspection reports issued by these Authorities must be the most recent available for the manufacturing laboratory (laboratorio fabricante). In case they were issued outside the national territory, they must be legalized or apostilled in the country of the manufacturing site, in the country of the product holder, or in the country or countries of the authorities that carried out the inspection. The reports will be accepted in Spanish or English.
In the event that the report contains confidential information that is not known to the holder, the Ministry of Health may accept that the report be sent directly to it by the manufacturing laboratory (laboratorio fabricante).
c. Inspection by authorized third parties (terceros autorizados): Submit within a period not exceeding three months a certified copy of the Buenas Prácticas de Manufactura inspection report issued by an authorized third party (tercero autorizado) that includes the aspects indicated in the notified objective and scope of the inspection. The inspection reports issued by the authorized third party (tercero autorizado) must not be more than one year from having been issued, and in case they were signed outside the national territory, they must be legalized or apostilled. The authorized third party (tercero autorizado) must not have conflicts of interest with the inspected laboratory. The costs and fees for the inspection shall be agreed upon between the authorized third party (tercero autorizado) and the product holder or the laboratory to be inspected.
6.2 Notify the Ministry of the selected alternative:
The product holder or their legal representative shall notify within a period not exceeding 20 business days the selected alternative, submitting, according to the alternative, the following requirements:
a. Inspection by the Ministry of Health: A document signed by the legal representative of the product holder, expressing the commitment to cover, within a period not exceeding three months after approval according to point 6.3, the costs indicated by the Ministry for the purpose of the BPM verification inspection.
b. Inspection by other authorities: A document indicating the commitment to submit the certified copy of the inspection report carried out by one of the Stringent Regulatory Authorities (Autoridades Reguladoras Estrictas) or the PIC/S member regulatory authorities, indicating the name of the evaluating authority, the inspection period, and that the result is satisfactory for the objective and scope of the inspection notified by the Ministry according to point 6.1.
c. Inspection by authorized third parties (terceros autorizados): A document indicating the commitment to submit the certified copy of the inspection report carried out by one of the authorized third parties (terceros autorizados), indicating the name of the authorized third party (tercero autorizado), the inspection period, and that the result is satisfactory for the objective and scope of the inspection notified by the Ministry according to point 6.1. It must also submit a sworn statement (declaración jurada) where the authorized third party (tercero autorizado) indicates the non-existence of conflicts of interest with the inspected laboratory, in accordance with Anexo E.
6.3 Approval of the alternative:
The Ministry evaluates the proposed alternative and within a period of 10 business days shall notify the administered party of its acceptance or non-acceptance.
In the event that the Ministry rejects the alternative, it must accompany the notification with a reasoned justification, indicating the alternative or alternatives that are applicable. In such a case, the administered party shall have the right to appeal such resolution in accordance with the Ley General de Administración Pública.
6.4 Execution of the approved alternative:
For the verification of compliance with BPM, the procedure shall proceed according to the approved alternative as indicated below:
a. Inspection by the Ministry of Health: The inspection must be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the inspection plan and the period indicated by the Ministry, following the BPM verification guide established in the "Reglamento Técnico Centroamericano RTCA 11.03.42:07 Productos Farmacéuticos. Medicamentos Para Uso Humano. Buenas Prácticas de Manufactura para la Industria Farmacéutica," and the procedure MS.NI.FIMPR.02.02.25 Inspection of Buenas Prácticas de Manufactura at manufacturing laboratories (laboratorios fabricantes) of medicinal products.
b. Inspection by other authorities: The inspection must be in accordance with the objective and scope of the inspection requested by the Ministry of Health, and the report thereof must clearly demonstrate compliance with the Buenas Prácticas de Manufactura of said authority.
c. Inspection by authorized third parties (terceros autorizados): The inspection must be in accordance with the objective and scope of the inspection requested by the Ministry of Health, and the report thereof must clearly demonstrate compliance with the Buenas Prácticas de Manufactura according to the BPM verification guide established in the "Reglamento Técnico Centroamericano RTCA 11.03.42:07 Productos Farmacéuticos. Medicamentos Para Uso Humano. Buenas Prácticas de Manufactura para la Industria Farmacéutica." 6.5 Approval of the inspection reports.
Once the inspection is completed or the supplied documentation reviewed, the Ministry has a period of 20 business days to issue the corresponding resolution.
6.6. Verification of remedial plans.
Following the issuance of the resolution, if the Ministry requests the submission of a remedial plan to correct the non-conformities found, the product holder or their legal representative shall have fifteen business days to submit said plan, which will be reviewed to be approved or rejected by the Ministry within the fifteen business days following its receipt. If necessary, the Ministry may carry out a new verification to confirm compliance with the commitments established in the approved remedial plan, applying the provisions of this Regulation.
7. APPLICATION OF HEALTH MEASURES.
7.1 In the event of non-compliance with the approval criteria established in the current regulations, and in the event that such non-compliance involves a critical criterion, the Ministry may suspend the sanitary registration (registro sanitario) of the products manufactured in said plant of the manufacturing laboratory (laboratorio fabricante), under the scope of the inspection carried out, until it demonstrates that it has corrected the non-conformities found in the inspection.
7.2 In the event that non-compliance with the quality guarantees persists, as indicated in the previous point, generating a foreseeable risk to the health or safety of persons, the Ministry shall proceed to cancel the sanitary registrations (registros sanitarios) of the medicinal products manufactured in said plant.
7.3 In the event that, for reasons attributable to the manufacturer, the Ministry cannot carry out the inspection or receive the satisfactory reports, and if the doubt regarding the quality guarantees or a foreseeable risk to the health or safety of persons persists, the sanitary registrations (registros sanitarios) of the medicinal products manufactured by said plant of the manufacturing laboratory (laboratorio fabricante) shall be suspended until the situation is resolved.
(Informative) PAHO Level IV Authorities (Autoridades Nivel IV de la OPS) 1. ANMAT: Administración Nacional de Medicamentos, Alimentos y Tecnología Médica (Argentina) 2. ANVISA: Agencia Nacional de Vigilancia Sanitaria (Brazil) 3. COFEPRIS: Comisión Federal para la Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios (Mexico) 4. INVIMA: Instituto Nacional de Vigilancia de Medicamentos y Alimentos (Colombia) 5. ISP: Instituto de Salud Pública (Chile) 6. CEMCED: Centro para el Control Estatal de Medicamentos, Equipos y Dispositivos Médicos (Cuba) Note: This list may vary according to updates made by PAHO. The lists will be published on the website of the Ministry of Health at the address: www.ministeriodesalud.go.cr
(Informative) Stringent regulatory authorities (Autoridades reguladoras estrictas).
1. EMA. European Medicines Agency 2. FDA. Food and Drug Administration of the United States of America 3. Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan 4. Swissmedic: Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products.
5. Health Canada.
6. TGA: Therapeutic Goods Administration of Australia.
7. IMCA: Icelandic Medicines Control Agency.
8. Norwegian Medicines Agency.
9. Office of Health/Department of Medicines of Liechtenstein Note: This list may vary according to the updates made by the WHO. The lists will be published on the website of the Ministry of Health at the address: www.ministeriodesalud.go.cr
(Informative) PIC/S member regulatory authorities.
1. ANMAT: Instituto Nacional de Medicamentos of Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Medicamentos (INAME).
2. TGA: Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration. Department of Health. Office of Manufacturing Quality 3. AGES: Austrian Medicines and Medical Devices Agency. Österreichische Agentur für Gesundheit und Ernährungssicherheit.
4. AFMPS: Belgian Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products. Agence Fédérale des Médicaments et des Produits de Santé. Federaal Agentschap voor Geneesmiddelen en Gezondheidsproducten (FAGG).
5. Health Canada: Canadian Health Products and Food Branch Inspectorate (HPFBI).
6. TFDA: Taiwan Food and Drug Administration. Department of Health 7. HALMED: Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices of Croatia. Agencija za lijekove i medicinske proizvode.
8. CyPHS: Cypriot Pharmaceutical Services. Ministry of Health.
9. SÚKL: Czech State Institute for Drug Control. Státní Ústav pro Kontrolu Léčiv.
10. ISCVBM: Czech Institute for State Control of Veterinary Biologicals and Medicines.
11. DHMA: Danish Health and Medicines Authority.
12. SAM: Estonian State Agency of Medicines.
13. FIMEA: Finnish Medicines Agency. Finland 14. ASNM: French National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety. Agence nationale de sécurité du médicament et des produits de santé (ANSM) 15. ANSES: French Agency for Food, Environmental & Occupational Health Safety. Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail.
16. BMG: German Federal Ministry of Health. Bundesministerium für Gesundheit (BMG) 17. ZLG: Central Authority of the Laender for Health Protection regarding Medicinal Products and Medical Devices. Zentralstelle der Länder für Gesundheitsschutz bei Arzneimitteln und Medizinprodukten, which comprises:
Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thüringen 18. EOF: Greek National Organisation for Medicines. Εθνικός Οργανισμός Φαρμάκων (EOF) 19. PPBHK: Pharmacy and Poisons Board of Hong Kong.
20. NIPN: Hungarian National Institute of Pharmacy and Nutrition.
21. IMA: Icelandic Medicines Agency.
22. NADFC: Indonesian National Agency for Drug and Food Control. Badan Pengawas Obat dan Makanan Republik Indonesia.
23. HPRA: Health Products Regulatory Authority. Ireland.
24. ISCP: Israeli Institute for Standardization and Control of Pharmaceuticals.
25. AIFA: Italian Medicines Agency, Agenzia Italiana del Farmaco.
26. MHLW: Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
27. PMDA: Japanese Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency.
28. MFDS: Korea Republic of Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.
29. ZVA: State Agency of Medicines of the Republic of Latvia.
30. AG: Liechtenstein's Office of Healthcare. Amt für Gesundheit.
31. SMCA: Lithuanian State Medicines Control Agency.
32. NPCB: Malaysian National Pharmaceutical Control Bureau (NPCB) 33. MAM: Maltese Medicines Authority.
34. IGZ: Dutch Health Care Inspectorate. Inspectie voor de Gezondheidszorg (IGZ) 35. Medsafe: New Zealand's Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority.
36. NOMA: Norwegian Medicines Agency.
37. MPI: Polish Main Pharmaceutical Inspectorate.
38. INFARMED IP: Portuguese National Authority of Medicines and Health Products, IP 39. Autoridade Nacional do Medicamento e Produtos de Saúde IP.
40. NAMMD: Romanian National Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices.
41. HAS: Singapore's Health Sciences Authority.
42. SIDC: Slovak State Institute for Drug Control.
43. JAZMP: Slovenian Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices. Javna agencija Republike Slovenije za zdravila in medicinske pripomočke.
44. MCC: South African Medicines Control Council.
45. AEMPS: Agencia Española de Medicamentos y Productos Sanitarios (AEMPS) 46. MPA: Swedish Medical Products Agency.
47. Swissmedic: Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products.
48. SAUMP: Ukrainian State Administration on Medicinal Products.
49. MHRA: Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
50. US FDA: U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
(Normative) Conditions for Carrying Out GMP Inspections by the Ministry of Health of Costa Rica The manufacturing laboratories (laboratorios fabricantes) inspected by the Ministry shall cover the corresponding costs for carrying out the inspections. Such amounts shall be governed by the Law regulating travel expenses and expenses for transportation for all State officials, Law No. 3462 of November 26, 1964, and the current Reglamento de Gastos de Viaje y de Transporte for public officials issued by the Contraloría General de la República, and must be deposited into the dollar or colones account of Fideicomiso 872-3, MINISTERIO DE SALUD, CT AMS-BNCR, within a period not exceeding 1 month for laboratories located in the country and not exceeding 3 months for foreign laboratories, counting from the notification of the resolution to start the inspection process.
The bank accounts of Fideicomiso Ministerio de Salud - CTAMS - Banco Nacional de Costa Rica, into which the deposit must be made for inspections of laboratories located in national territory or abroad, as the case may be, are those cited below:
1. Account in colones 000-213715-6 Fideicomiso 872-BNCR-Ministerio de Salud.
2. Account in US dollars 000-617477-5 Fideicomiso 872-BNCRMinisterio de Salud.
If the plant of the manufacturing laboratory (laboratorio fabricante) is located outside the country, the airline tickets must be provided by it prior to approval of the itinerary by the Ministry.
The laboratory must provide a translator to facilitate the inspection when the language in the country where the laboratory is located is other than Spanish. It must also submit all its operating procedures, manufacturing guides, analytical techniques, and any other technical document required within the scope of the inspection, in Spanish or English.
(Normative) Format of Sworn Statement (Declaración Jurada) of No Conflict of Interest DECLARACIÓN JURADA OF NO CONFLICT OF INTEREST I, ____________, with identification number _____, in my capacity as INSPECTOR ACCREDITED AS AN INSPECTION UNIT BEFORE THE ENTE COSTARRICENSE DE ACREDITACIÓN (ECA) OR BEFORE ANOTHER ACCREDITING ENTITY PREVIOUSLY RECOGNIZED BY THE ECA THROUGH MULTILATERAL RECOGNITION AGREEMENTS, TO CARRY OUT VERIFICATION INSPECTIONS OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE BUENAS PRÁCTICAS DE MANUFACTURA FOR MEDICINAL PRODUCTS established in the current regulations in Costa Rica, declare that during the time I am carrying out the corresponding functions:
. I declare that I do not have any situation of actual, potential, or apparent conflict of interest, including any financial or other interest or other relationship, with the establishment to be inspected named _________ .
. I commit to notify the Ministry of any change in the aforementioned circumstances.
I hereby accept and agree to the conditions and provisions contained in this document, aware of the legal responsibilities that I may incur for non-compliance.
PLACE AND DATE:
NAME AND SIGNATURE: