Publications
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2020 Workshop report – Reimagining regulatory models
As the regulatory landscape changes to meet new challenges, such as increasingly sophisticated medical innovations, fundamental questions are being raised: What is the role of a ‘modern’ regulator today? [...]
Comparison of the registration process of Zimbabwe with Australia, Canada, Singapore and Switzerland
Background: Benchmarking regulatory systems of low- and middle-income countries with mature systems provides an opportunity to identify gaps, enhance review quality, and reduce registration timelines, thereby improving patients’ access [...]
Seeking early scientific advice from HTA agencies
There is a growing trend for pharmaceutical companies to seek scientific advice on drug development from a Health Technology Assessment (HTA) perspective, to improve the efficiency of their studies, [...]
Regulatory-HTA decision-making interface: what the medical writer should know
For a new medicine to reach patients, it must achieve both regulatory marketing authorisation and reimbursement from the payer. Because regulators assess the benefits and risks of a medicine [...]
Review models and timelines in the Southern African Development Community
Introduction: Regulatory reliance, harmonization and work sharing have grown over the last few years, resulting in greater sharing of work and information among regulators, enabling efficient use of limited [...]
Good Review Practices in the Southern African Development Community
Introduction: National medicines regulatory agencies are faced with challenges including limited resources and technical capacity, resulting in countries collaborating and sharing resources to improve efficiency of the review process to [...]
2021 Project report – Monitoring implementation and adherence to ICH guidelines
Background: This study was built on the previous 2018/2019 assessment where ICH selected the Centre for Innovation in Regulatory Science (CIRS) to collaborate on the development and the conduct [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 83 – HTA outcomes in Australia, Canada and Europe 2016-2020
This Briefing presents data from HTADock, an ongoing metrics study that collects data on new active substances (NASs) appraised by eight HTA agencies and analyses synchronisation between the regulatory [...]
Keyter et al 2021 – Impact of reliance on South African review
Background: The aims of this study were to compare the overall regulatory review timelines achieved by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) in 2020 to the timelines historically [...]
2020 Workshop report – Effectiveness of the regulatory approval process
This workshop was part of a series of global development workshops that brought together mature and maturing regulatory agencies. These workshops successively built on one another and evolved from [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 82 – Regulatory reliance pathways: opportunities and barriers
An increasing number of National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) are turning to reliance as a way to conserve resources, build expertise and capacity, increase the quality of their regulatory decisions, [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 81 – New drug approvals in six major authorities 2011-2020
This Briefing presents the results from the CIRS annual analysis of New Active Substance (NAS) approvals by six major regulatory agencies: the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the US Food [...]
CIRS 2020 Annual Report
We're delighted to present our latest Annual Report, which provides a summary of CIRS projects and workshops undertaken in 2020 as well as case studies depicting CIRS’ impact on [...]
Bujar et al 2021 – Transparency in EMA and FDA decision making
Although it cannot be expected that different medicines’ regulatory agencies always reach the same review outcome, it is important that decision making is documented and communicated to ensure transparency. [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 80 – Reimagining medicine regulatory models
This R&D Briefing summarises the outputs of breakout group discussions held during a CIRS multi-stakeholder workshop in December 2020 entitled ‘Reimagining medicine regulatory models: implementing fit-for-purpose sustainable activities for [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 79 – Use of advisory committees in Colombia
This Briefing provides an overview of how advisory committees can be used to support the regulatory decision-making process and considering the context of Latin American regulatory systems, aims to [...]
Bujar et al 2021 – Value of Facilitated Regulatory Pathways
Background: Despite the growing application of facilitated regulatory pathways (FRPs), little attention has focused on assessing the perception of pharmaceutical companies regarding their usefulness beyond increasing timeliness. Objectives: The [...]
Sithole et al 2021 – Regulatory review process in Zimbabwe
Purpose: The aims of this study were to assess the current regulatory review process of the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ), identify key milestones and target timelines, evaluate [...]
Wang et al 2020 – Companies’ HTA strategies and practices
Background: Health technology assessment (HTA) has increased in importance in supporting payer decision making by assessing the relative effectiveness and cost effectiveness of new medicines. Thus, pharmaceutical companies need to [...]
Keyter et al 2020 – A proposed regulatory review model to support SAHPRA
Background: National regulatory agencies of various sizes and maturity levels, including the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), have had to revise systems and re-engineer processes in order [...]
2019 Workshop report – Optimising the regulatory review process by evaluating performance and addressing good reliance practices
This workshop was part of a series of workshops on reliance, which continues to be an important area of focus for CIRS. It builds on the outcomes of a [...]
2019 Workshop report – Identifying and understanding uncertainty during development
This workshop was a follow-on from a collaborative forum held in Utrecht in 2018 entitled What new research can enable a joint approach by regulatory and HTA agencies to [...]
Liberti et al 2020 – Evaluation of the Caribbean Regulatory System centralised assessment process
Background: The Caribbean Regulatory System is a centralized medicine assessment procedure established to serve the needs of the Member States of the CARICOM region. In order to better understand [...]
Wang et al 2020 – Benchmarking HTA agencies: methodological challenges and recommendations
Objectives: The objectives of the study were to establish a benchmarking tool to collect metrics to enable increased clarity regarding the differences and similarities across health technology assessment (HTA) [...]
Roadmap for Regulatory Performance
Every regulatory authority in the world has an ambition to improve its performance. In order to achieve this, agencies often establish performance indicators which they use for measuring and [...]
CIRS 2019 Annual Report
We're delighted to present the inaugural CIRS Annual Report, which provides a summary of projects and workshops undertaken in 2019, as well as a historical perspective of CIRS achievements [...]
An independent perspective on the East African Community Medicines Regulatory Harmonisation initiative
African regulators are taking bold transformative steps to optimise the effective and efficient use of their agency resources to assure access to quality, safe and effective medicines. In particular, [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 78 – HTA outcomes in Australia, Canada and Europe 2015-2019
This Briefing presents data from HTADock, an ongoing metrics study that collects data on new active substances (NASs) appraised by eight HTA agencies and analyses synchronisation between the regulatory [...]
Bujar et al 2020 – A Process for Evaluating Quality Decision-Making Practices
Background: The development of a medicine is not only underpinned by good science but also by Quality Decision-Making Practices (QDMPs). Indeed, it is important to ensure that all organisations [...]
Rodier et al 2020 – Use of the CPP in 18 maturing markets
Background: The certificate of pharmaceutical product (CPP) was implemented to accelerate the availability of new drugs in developing countries by providing evidence of the quality of products and reducing [...]
Keyter et al 2020 – Can standardisation of the Public Assessment Report improve benefit-risk communication?
Background: National regulatory authorities (NRAs) make the decision to register a medicine based on an assessment of its benefits and risks and publicly available assessment reports are used as [...]
Bujar et al 2020 – Documentation of Quality Decision-Making Practices
Background: Pharmaceutical companies and regulatory agencies endeavor to relate their decision making with outcomes to improve future decision making and to ensure that gained knowledge is fed back into [...]
Patel et al 2020 – Analysis of regulatory review timelines for ANVISA
Background: The Brazilian health regulatory agency (Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária, ANVISA) has embarked on transformational initiatives to fulfill its mandate to provide timely access to safe, effective, and [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 77 – New drug approvals in six major authorities
This Briefing presents the results from the CIRS annual analysis of New Active Substance (NAS) approvals by six major regulatory agencies: the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the US Food [...]
Mohd Sani et al 2020 – Evaluation of the Malaysian regulatory process using OpERA methodology
Introduction: The National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) embarked on a regulatory-strengthening program and is evaluating its processes. Optimising Efficiencies in Regulatory Agencies (OpERA) is a regulatory-strengthening program that provides [...]
Sithole et al 2020 – Evaluating the success of ZaZiBoNa
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) collaborative medicines registration initiative ZaZiBoNa is a successful regional work-sharing initiative on the African continent. This paper reviews the history of the ZaZiBoNa [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 76 – Mexican therapeutic landscape
An efficient regulatory process can be reflected in measurable positive health impacts; conversely, activities that slow or impede regulatory efficiency and predictability can be detrimental. Recent developments in the [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 75 – Emergency Use Pathways (EUPs)
It has become clear that agencies have a number of pathways that can be used during public health emergencies for the authorisation of therapeutics and vaccines. Some of these [...]
Keyter et al 2020 – Implementation of a Framework for an Abridged Review Using Good Reliance Practices: Optimising the Medicine Regulatory Review Process in South Africa
Background This study sought to identify criteria and current practices for implementing an abridged review process and understanding barriers and enablers in utilizing reliance models and to offer recommendations [...]
Mashaki Ceyhan et al 2020 – Patients’ perspectives of the pharmaceutical regulatory and reimbursement system in Istanbul, Turkey
The aim of this study was to explore patients’ knowledge and perspectives in Istanbul, Turkey about the pharmaceutical regulatory review and reimbursement processes with respect to access to new [...]
Koyuncu et al 2020 – Evaluation of the performance of the Turkish regulatory agency: recommendations for improved patients’ access to medicines
Background: This study was to evaluate the Turkish regulatory review process and timelines between 2016 and 2018 with a view to assess the changes that had taken place since [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 74 – OpERA programme
CIRS has collected regulatory assessment data for over 20 years, initially with ICH and ICH-observing countries. The OpERA programme, “Optimising Efficiencies in Regulatory Agencies (OpERA)”, was initiated through CIRS [...]
Keyter et al 2019 – Evaluation of the performance of the South African regulatory agency
Background: Timely access to new medicines may be addressed through strengthening of registration efciencies and timelines by establishing and refning value-added registration processes, resources, and systems. The aims of [...]
Kühler et al 2019 – To what degree are review outcomes aligned for new active substances between the EMA and the US FDA?
Objective To compare review outcome alignment between European Medicines Agency (EMA) and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for medicines approved by both agencies in the time period 2014–2016. Design [...]
Project report – Monitoring implementation and adherence to ICH guidelines
Background: According to the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) Articles of Association, the regulatory members of ICH are expected to implement [...]
Executive Colloquium report – What is the value and return on investment for our company to maintain a regulatory policy function?
In June 2019, the Centre for Innovation in Regulatory Science (CIRS) held an Executive Colloquium in Rockville, MD, USA that brought together representatives from multinational pharmaceutical companies to gauge [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 73 – HTA outcomes 2014-18
Timely recommendation for drug reimbursement by health technology assessment (HTA) agencies is critical to ensure that patient access to medicines of therapeutic value is not delayed. As part of an [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 71 – Trends in the regulatory landscape Latin America
To address the complex challenges in the global regulatory environment and the growing demand for patient access to new medicines, regulatory agencies in Latin America are actively engaging in regulatorystrengthening [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 72 – Trends in the regulatory landscape Asia
To address the complex challenges in the global regulatory environment and the growing demand for patient access to new medicines, regulatory agencies in Asia are actively engaging in regulatory-strengthening and [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 70 – New approvals in six regulatory authorities 2009-18
Major improvements in the regulatory environment as well as changes in strategies of multinational companies have led to a general decrease in the time to marketing authorisation and improved consistency [...]
McAuslane et al 2019 – Confluence of Accelerated Regulatory and HTA Access Pathways
There is a growing interest in aligning accelerated regulatory pathways with flexible access and reimbursement pathways to expedite the equitable availability of high-quality, safe, and effective medicines that provide [...]
Keyter et al 2019 – South African Medicines Control Council: Comparison of Its Registration Process
Introduction: Comparisons between regulatory authorities of similar size and regulatory characteristics facilitate value-added benchmarking and provide insight into regulatory performance. Such comparisons highlight areas for improvement as authorities move [...]
Bujar et al 2019 – Quality decision making in Health Technology Assessment
Background: To evaluate the quality of the decision-making processes of pharmaceutical companies during medicines development for evidence generation to support reimbursement of new medicines and the appraisal recommendation decision-making process [...]
Bujar et al 2019 – Reliability and relevance of a decision-making instrument
Introduction: The Quality of Decision-Making Orientation Scheme (QoDoS) was developed to provide organisations involved in submission, approval and reimbursement of new medicines with a tool to improve the quality [...]
2018 Forum report – Managing uncertainties for products using early access pathways
In November 2018, a collaborative forum presented by CIRS and the Utrecht University WHO Collaborating Centre for Pharmaceutical Policy and Regulation brought together regulatory, HTA, industry and academic perspectives [...]
2017 Workshop report – Flexible regulatory/access pathways
The aim of this workshop was to bring together companies, patient representatives and HTA, payer and regulatory agencies to discuss current perspectives and opportunities for Facilitated Regulatory Pathways (FRPs) [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 69: Review of HTA outcomes and timelines 2014-2017
Timely recommendation for drug reimbursement by health technology assessment (HTA) agencies is critical to ensure that patient access to medicines of therapeutic value is not delayed. As part of [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 68: Regulatory and HTA decision making and access to medicines – the consequences of sequence
Historically, every jurisdiction with some form of regulatory agency capacity has undertaken the review of medicines as a first step in the market access process. This step is intended [...]
Wang et al 2018 – Building Synergy between Regulatory and HTA Agencies
Objectives: To evaluate the current practice of companies and agencies to assess the changes made in aligning regulatory and health technology assessment (HTA) stakeholders; to identify areas of commonality [...]
2018 Workshop report – Practical implementation of reliance models
This Workshop was a follow-on from that held in 2017 in Sao Paulo entitled “Facilitating the review of new medicines through risk-based evaluations: How can a stratification process be [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 67 – New approvals in six regulatory authorities 2008-2017
Major improvements in the regulatory environment as well as changes in strategies of multinational companies have led to a decrease in the time to marketing authorisation as well as [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 66 – Benefit-Risk Assessment Tool (BRAT)
A structured approach to benefit-risk assessment is required as the cornerstone of a consistent way to evaluate and communicate observations regarding a medicine’s benefit-risk profile. The Benefit Risk Action Team [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 65 – New approvals in six regulatory authorities 2007-2016
Over the last decade, 2007-2016, convergence in approval times as well as changes in strategies of multinational pharmaceutical companies have resulted in more new active substances (NASs) being internationalised, [...]
Quality decision-making practices
This book compiles the presentations and syndicate discussions from a CIRS workshop that brought together representatives from international pharmaceutical companiesand regulatory authorities from Europe, US, Canada and Australia and [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 64: Review of HTA outcomes and timelines 2014-2015
Timely recommendation for drug reimbursement by health technology assessment (HTA) agencies is critical to ensure patient access to medicines of therapeutic value. As part of an ongoing study to [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 63: HTA process maps
This R&D Briefing summarises the background and methodology of process mapping with examples to demonstrate the steps involved in regulatory, HTA and coverage processes for new medicines. Process maps [...]
2017 Workshop report – Facilitating review through risk-based evaluations
This Workshop built on previous CIRS global development workshops as well the work being undertaken by various groups in the areas of good regulatory and review practices and focused [...]
Globally Applicable Facilitated Regulatory Pathways to Improve Equitable Access to Medicines
A variety of approaches have been developed to accelerate the regulatory review of medicines. We characterise these various expedited pathways as facilitated regulatory pathways (FRPs): regulatory pathways designed to accelerate [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 62 – New drug approvals in ICH countries 2007-2016
There have been major improvements in the regulatory environment in the International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) countries over the [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 61: Building quality into decision-making processes
In 2015, CIRS initiated a programme in Quality Decision Making with the following aims: Evaluate the current decision-frameworks and understand the characteristics of different decision-making processes Assess the quality [...]
Haqaish et al 2017 – Jordan Food and Drug Administration: Comparison of its Registration Process with Australia, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Singapore
Objective: This study compares the current regulatory review process and good review practices at the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) with those of regulatory agencies in Australia, Canada, [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 60 – Early scientific advice from HTA agencies
This R&D Briefing 60 summarises highlights from the Technical Forum convened by CIRS on 11 December 2015, Heathrow, UK. Forum objectives: Identify companies’ current approaches to seeking early scientific [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 59 – New approvals in six regulatory authorities 2006-2015
The last decade, 2006-2015, has seen a continuation of the convergence and general decrease in the approval times amongst six major regulatory authorities, namely the European Medicines Agency (EMA), [...]
Hashan et al 2016 – Saudi Arabia FDA: An Evaluation of the Registration Process and Good Review Practices in Saudi Arabia in Comparison with Australia, Canada and Singapore
Objective: This study compares the current regulatory review process and good review practices at the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) with those of regulatory agencies in Australia, Canada, [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 58: Changing regulatory environment in Latin America
The aim of this Briefing is to review and summarise the findings from the major studies and interactions carried out by CIRS in LATAM in the last decade in [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 57 – New drug approvals in ICH countries 2005-2014
There have been major improvements in the regulatory environment in the International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) countries over the [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 56: Understanding the dynamics of China’s regulatory environment
Changes have occurred in the organisation and procedural activities of the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) and the Centre for Drug Evaluation (CDE). Initiatives that were designed to [...]
Walker et al 2015 – Universal Framework for the Benefit-Risk Assessment of Medicines
A universal framework for the evaluation of the benefit-risk assessment of medicines during development by pharmaceutical companies and in the regulatory review by regulatory authorities is considered of value, [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 55 – Approvals across six major authorities 2004-2013
As part of the ongoing study to monitor regulatory performance, CIRS has analysed the trends in new medicines’ approval between 2004 and 2013 by six regulatory authorities including Health [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 54 – Approvals in ICH countries 2004-2013
In 2013, the overall number of New Active Substances (NASs) approved by EMA, FDA and PMDA was comparable across the three agencies. Nevertheless, despite this similarity, the number of [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 53 – Factors influencing drug roll out to six mature markets
Objective: To review NASs first launched between 2005‐2010 and to determine their regulatory status as of 31 December 2012 in USA, Europe, Japan, Canada, Switzerland and Australia to identify [...]
Liu et al 2013 – Characterising Good Review Practices across APEC agencies
As a first step in the implementation of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Best Regulatory Practice Project, the Centre for Innovation in Regulatory Science conducted a gap analysis survey [...]
Allen et al 2013 – Archetypes for non-ranking classification and comparison of European HTA systems
Introduction: European countries are increasingly utilising health technology assessment (HTA) to inform reimbursement decision-making. However, the current European HTA environment is very diverse, and projects are already underway to [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 52 – New drug approvals in ICH countries 2003-2012
Active Substances (NASs) approved by both the FDA and PMDA represented the largest number of new medicines approved this decade. Regulatory approvals by EMA were lower than the other [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 51 – Submission lag time in the emerging markets
Lag Time (the time from which a product has been granted market authorisation in its first market to the time that its application is submitted for review by an [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 51 – New drug approvals in ICH countries 2002-2011
In 2011, the number of New Active Substances (NASs) approved in all the ICH countries increased compared to 2010, and FDA represented the largest number of new medicines approved [...]
Salek et al 2012 – Scorecards to Assess the Quality of a Regulatory Submission and Its Review
An efficient review depends not only on timely approval but also on ensuring the quality of the process from construction of the dossier to the ultimate regulatory decision. Two [...]
Liberti et al 2010 – Progress on the development of a benefit-risk framework for evaluating medicines
CIRS authors write about benefit-risk in the March 2010 issue of Regulatory Focus by the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS). Article reproduced with the permission of RAPS. Download [...]
Hirako et al 2007 – Comparison of the drug review process at five international regulatory agencies
Regulatory approval time is a key metric that is used to evaluate the performance of regulatory agencies. A new methodology has been developed to compare the regulatory review process [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 46: Building quality into regulatory activities
The Institute for Regulatory Science is currently involved in several activities related to quality as it applies to regulatory submissions and procedures, rather than the more conventional association with [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 50 – Cross-regional comparison of regulatory environment in emerging markets
The emerging markets of Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America are becoming increasingly important to pharmaceutical companies in their global strategies for the registration of new medicines [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 49 – Accessing the regulatory environment – Latin America
The Regulatory Agencies in Latin America share a common goal with the research-based pharmaceutical companies that they regulate. This is to ensure that new medicines become available to patients [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 48 – Assessing the regulatory environment – Middle East and Africa
The regulatory agencies in the Middle East and African region that were included in this study share a common goal with the research-based pharmaceutical companies that they regulate. This [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 47 – Accessing the regulatory environment – SE Asia and Western Pacific
The regulatory agencies in South East Asia and the Western Pacific share a common goal with the research-based pharmaceutical companies that they regulate. This is to ensure that new [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 44: Global drug development and regulatory review
Although it is the goal of most major pharmaceutical companies to achieve global development for new medicines with simultaneous submission of the regulatory dossier in the three main ICH [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 43: Current strategies in global drug development
A summary of the outcome of a survey carried out by the CMR International Institute for Regulatory Science among pharmaceutical companies. Although the pharmaceutical industry is moving towards integrated [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 45: Regulatory timelines in Saudi Arabia
This unique study is the first in-depth analysis of the trends and changes in the regulatory approval times for medicines in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Not only have [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 42: Changing regulatory environment
A summary of the outcome of a survey carried out by the CMR International Institute for Regulatory Science among pharmaceutical companies and regulatory agencies. There was consensus that the [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 41 – Workshop on Regulatory Performance
Highlights from the workshop entitled 'Regulatory Performance: Critical Success Factors in Today’s Environment', held by the CMR International Institute for Regulatory Science in Washington D.C., 15-16 September 2003 In [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 40 – Pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics in drug development
Summarised results of a survey carried out among pharmaceutical companies and regulatory agencies, by the CMR International Institute for Regulatory Science Pharmacogenetic (PGt) and pharmacogenomic (PGx) technologies are being [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 83 – HTA outcomes in Australia, Canada and Europe 2016-2020
This Briefing presents data from HTADock, an ongoing metrics study that collects data on new active substances (NASs) appraised by eight HTA agencies and analyses synchronisation between the regulatory [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 82 – Regulatory reliance pathways: opportunities and barriers
An increasing number of National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) are turning to reliance as a way to conserve resources, build expertise and capacity, increase the quality of their regulatory decisions, [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 81 – New drug approvals in six major authorities 2011-2020
This Briefing presents the results from the CIRS annual analysis of New Active Substance (NAS) approvals by six major regulatory agencies: the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the US Food [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 80 – Reimagining medicine regulatory models
This R&D Briefing summarises the outputs of breakout group discussions held during a CIRS multi-stakeholder workshop in December 2020 entitled ‘Reimagining medicine regulatory models: implementing fit-for-purpose sustainable activities for [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 79 – Use of advisory committees in Colombia
This Briefing provides an overview of how advisory committees can be used to support the regulatory decision-making process and considering the context of Latin American regulatory systems, aims to [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 78 – HTA outcomes in Australia, Canada and Europe 2015-2019
This Briefing presents data from HTADock, an ongoing metrics study that collects data on new active substances (NASs) appraised by eight HTA agencies and analyses synchronisation between the regulatory [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 77 – New drug approvals in six major authorities
This Briefing presents the results from the CIRS annual analysis of New Active Substance (NAS) approvals by six major regulatory agencies: the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the US Food [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 76 – Mexican therapeutic landscape
An efficient regulatory process can be reflected in measurable positive health impacts; conversely, activities that slow or impede regulatory efficiency and predictability can be detrimental. Recent developments in the [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 75 – Emergency Use Pathways (EUPs)
It has become clear that agencies have a number of pathways that can be used during public health emergencies for the authorisation of therapeutics and vaccines. Some of these [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 74 – OpERA programme
CIRS has collected regulatory assessment data for over 20 years, initially with ICH and ICH-observing countries. The OpERA programme, “Optimising Efficiencies in Regulatory Agencies (OpERA)”, was initiated through CIRS [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 73 – HTA outcomes 2014-18
Timely recommendation for drug reimbursement by health technology assessment (HTA) agencies is critical to ensure that patient access to medicines of therapeutic value is not delayed. As part of an [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 71 – Trends in the regulatory landscape Latin America
To address the complex challenges in the global regulatory environment and the growing demand for patient access to new medicines, regulatory agencies in Latin America are actively engaging in regulatorystrengthening [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 72 – Trends in the regulatory landscape Asia
To address the complex challenges in the global regulatory environment and the growing demand for patient access to new medicines, regulatory agencies in Asia are actively engaging in regulatory-strengthening and [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 70 – New approvals in six regulatory authorities 2009-18
Major improvements in the regulatory environment as well as changes in strategies of multinational companies have led to a general decrease in the time to marketing authorisation and improved consistency [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 69: Review of HTA outcomes and timelines 2014-2017
Timely recommendation for drug reimbursement by health technology assessment (HTA) agencies is critical to ensure that patient access to medicines of therapeutic value is not delayed. As part of [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 68: Regulatory and HTA decision making and access to medicines – the consequences of sequence
Historically, every jurisdiction with some form of regulatory agency capacity has undertaken the review of medicines as a first step in the market access process. This step is intended [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 67 – New approvals in six regulatory authorities 2008-2017
Major improvements in the regulatory environment as well as changes in strategies of multinational companies have led to a decrease in the time to marketing authorisation as well as [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 66 – Benefit-Risk Assessment Tool (BRAT)
A structured approach to benefit-risk assessment is required as the cornerstone of a consistent way to evaluate and communicate observations regarding a medicine’s benefit-risk profile. The Benefit Risk Action Team [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 65 – New approvals in six regulatory authorities 2007-2016
Over the last decade, 2007-2016, convergence in approval times as well as changes in strategies of multinational pharmaceutical companies have resulted in more new active substances (NASs) being internationalised, [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 64: Review of HTA outcomes and timelines 2014-2015
Timely recommendation for drug reimbursement by health technology assessment (HTA) agencies is critical to ensure patient access to medicines of therapeutic value. As part of an ongoing study to [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 63: HTA process maps
This R&D Briefing summarises the background and methodology of process mapping with examples to demonstrate the steps involved in regulatory, HTA and coverage processes for new medicines. Process maps [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 62 – New drug approvals in ICH countries 2007-2016
There have been major improvements in the regulatory environment in the International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) countries over the [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 61: Building quality into decision-making processes
In 2015, CIRS initiated a programme in Quality Decision Making with the following aims: Evaluate the current decision-frameworks and understand the characteristics of different decision-making processes Assess the quality [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 60 – Early scientific advice from HTA agencies
This R&D Briefing 60 summarises highlights from the Technical Forum convened by CIRS on 11 December 2015, Heathrow, UK. Forum objectives: Identify companies’ current approaches to seeking early scientific [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 59 – New approvals in six regulatory authorities 2006-2015
The last decade, 2006-2015, has seen a continuation of the convergence and general decrease in the approval times amongst six major regulatory authorities, namely the European Medicines Agency (EMA), [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 58: Changing regulatory environment in Latin America
The aim of this Briefing is to review and summarise the findings from the major studies and interactions carried out by CIRS in LATAM in the last decade in [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 57 – New drug approvals in ICH countries 2005-2014
There have been major improvements in the regulatory environment in the International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) countries over the [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 56: Understanding the dynamics of China’s regulatory environment
Changes have occurred in the organisation and procedural activities of the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) and the Centre for Drug Evaluation (CDE). Initiatives that were designed to [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 55 – Approvals across six major authorities 2004-2013
As part of the ongoing study to monitor regulatory performance, CIRS has analysed the trends in new medicines’ approval between 2004 and 2013 by six regulatory authorities including Health [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 54 – Approvals in ICH countries 2004-2013
In 2013, the overall number of New Active Substances (NASs) approved by EMA, FDA and PMDA was comparable across the three agencies. Nevertheless, despite this similarity, the number of [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 53 – Factors influencing drug roll out to six mature markets
Objective: To review NASs first launched between 2005‐2010 and to determine their regulatory status as of 31 December 2012 in USA, Europe, Japan, Canada, Switzerland and Australia to identify [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 52 – New drug approvals in ICH countries 2003-2012
Active Substances (NASs) approved by both the FDA and PMDA represented the largest number of new medicines approved this decade. Regulatory approvals by EMA were lower than the other [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 51 – Submission lag time in the emerging markets
Lag Time (the time from which a product has been granted market authorisation in its first market to the time that its application is submitted for review by an [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 51 – New drug approvals in ICH countries 2002-2011
In 2011, the number of New Active Substances (NASs) approved in all the ICH countries increased compared to 2010, and FDA represented the largest number of new medicines approved [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 46: Building quality into regulatory activities
The Institute for Regulatory Science is currently involved in several activities related to quality as it applies to regulatory submissions and procedures, rather than the more conventional association with [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 50 – Cross-regional comparison of regulatory environment in emerging markets
The emerging markets of Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America are becoming increasingly important to pharmaceutical companies in their global strategies for the registration of new medicines [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 49 – Accessing the regulatory environment – Latin America
The Regulatory Agencies in Latin America share a common goal with the research-based pharmaceutical companies that they regulate. This is to ensure that new medicines become available to patients [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 48 – Assessing the regulatory environment – Middle East and Africa
The regulatory agencies in the Middle East and African region that were included in this study share a common goal with the research-based pharmaceutical companies that they regulate. This [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 47 – Accessing the regulatory environment – SE Asia and Western Pacific
The regulatory agencies in South East Asia and the Western Pacific share a common goal with the research-based pharmaceutical companies that they regulate. This is to ensure that new [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 44: Global drug development and regulatory review
Although it is the goal of most major pharmaceutical companies to achieve global development for new medicines with simultaneous submission of the regulatory dossier in the three main ICH [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 43: Current strategies in global drug development
A summary of the outcome of a survey carried out by the CMR International Institute for Regulatory Science among pharmaceutical companies. Although the pharmaceutical industry is moving towards integrated [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 45: Regulatory timelines in Saudi Arabia
This unique study is the first in-depth analysis of the trends and changes in the regulatory approval times for medicines in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Not only have [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 42: Changing regulatory environment
A summary of the outcome of a survey carried out by the CMR International Institute for Regulatory Science among pharmaceutical companies and regulatory agencies. There was consensus that the [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 41 – Workshop on Regulatory Performance
Highlights from the workshop entitled 'Regulatory Performance: Critical Success Factors in Today’s Environment', held by the CMR International Institute for Regulatory Science in Washington D.C., 15-16 September 2003 In [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 40 – Pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics in drug development
Summarised results of a survey carried out among pharmaceutical companies and regulatory agencies, by the CMR International Institute for Regulatory Science Pharmacogenetic (PGt) and pharmacogenomic (PGx) technologies are being [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 39 – Regulating personalised medicine
Highlights of the workshop "Regulating personalised medicine" organised by the CMR International Institute for Regulatory Science, Nutfield Priory, Surrey, UK, 14-15 April 2003 The unravelling of the human genome [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 38 – Risk management
Highlights of the CMR International institute Workshop on Risk Management: The role of regulatory strategies in the development of new medicines, Washington DC, 12-13 December 2002 Following a number [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 37 – Adoption of ICH E5 in Asia Pacific
In 2001, CMR International conducted a study among pharmaceutical companies to evaluate their experience with regulatory authorities in Asia Pacific regarding the acceptance of foreign clinical data and adoption [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 36 – Impact of ICH E5 guideline
The ICH E5 Guideline was introduced in February 1998 and subsequently implemented by the regulatory authorities of the USA, EU and Japan. The purpose of this guideline is to [...]
CIRS RD Briefing 31 – Regulatory review times
CMR International R&D Briefing 31 - Profile of performance: Review times - is there still room for improvement? Key messages: Performance improvement initiatives established by regulatory authorities in the [...]
Comparison of the registration process of Zimbabwe with Australia, Canada, Singapore and Switzerland
Background: Benchmarking regulatory systems of low- and middle-income countries with mature systems provides an opportunity to identify gaps, enhance review quality, and reduce registration timelines, thereby improving patients’ access [...]
Seeking early scientific advice from HTA agencies
There is a growing trend for pharmaceutical companies to seek scientific advice on drug development from a Health Technology Assessment (HTA) perspective, to improve the efficiency of their studies, [...]
Regulatory-HTA decision-making interface: what the medical writer should know
For a new medicine to reach patients, it must achieve both regulatory marketing authorisation and reimbursement from the payer. Because regulators assess the benefits and risks of a medicine [...]
Review models and timelines in the Southern African Development Community
Introduction: Regulatory reliance, harmonization and work sharing have grown over the last few years, resulting in greater sharing of work and information among regulators, enabling efficient use of limited [...]
Good Review Practices in the Southern African Development Community
Introduction: National medicines regulatory agencies are faced with challenges including limited resources and technical capacity, resulting in countries collaborating and sharing resources to improve efficiency of the review process to [...]
Keyter et al 2021 – Impact of reliance on South African review
Background: The aims of this study were to compare the overall regulatory review timelines achieved by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) in 2020 to the timelines historically [...]
Bujar et al 2021 – Transparency in EMA and FDA decision making
Although it cannot be expected that different medicines’ regulatory agencies always reach the same review outcome, it is important that decision making is documented and communicated to ensure transparency. [...]
Bujar et al 2021 – Value of Facilitated Regulatory Pathways
Background: Despite the growing application of facilitated regulatory pathways (FRPs), little attention has focused on assessing the perception of pharmaceutical companies regarding their usefulness beyond increasing timeliness. Objectives: The [...]
Sithole et al 2021 – Regulatory review process in Zimbabwe
Purpose: The aims of this study were to assess the current regulatory review process of the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ), identify key milestones and target timelines, evaluate [...]
Wang et al 2020 – Companies’ HTA strategies and practices
Background: Health technology assessment (HTA) has increased in importance in supporting payer decision making by assessing the relative effectiveness and cost effectiveness of new medicines. Thus, pharmaceutical companies need to [...]
Keyter et al 2020 – A proposed regulatory review model to support SAHPRA
Background: National regulatory agencies of various sizes and maturity levels, including the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), have had to revise systems and re-engineer processes in order [...]
Liberti et al 2020 – Evaluation of the Caribbean Regulatory System centralised assessment process
Background: The Caribbean Regulatory System is a centralized medicine assessment procedure established to serve the needs of the Member States of the CARICOM region. In order to better understand [...]
Wang et al 2020 – Benchmarking HTA agencies: methodological challenges and recommendations
Objectives: The objectives of the study were to establish a benchmarking tool to collect metrics to enable increased clarity regarding the differences and similarities across health technology assessment (HTA) [...]
An independent perspective on the East African Community Medicines Regulatory Harmonisation initiative
African regulators are taking bold transformative steps to optimise the effective and efficient use of their agency resources to assure access to quality, safe and effective medicines. In particular, [...]
Bujar et al 2020 – A Process for Evaluating Quality Decision-Making Practices
Background: The development of a medicine is not only underpinned by good science but also by Quality Decision-Making Practices (QDMPs). Indeed, it is important to ensure that all organisations [...]
Rodier et al 2020 – Use of the CPP in 18 maturing markets
Background: The certificate of pharmaceutical product (CPP) was implemented to accelerate the availability of new drugs in developing countries by providing evidence of the quality of products and reducing [...]
Keyter et al 2020 – Can standardisation of the Public Assessment Report improve benefit-risk communication?
Background: National regulatory authorities (NRAs) make the decision to register a medicine based on an assessment of its benefits and risks and publicly available assessment reports are used as [...]
Bujar et al 2020 – Documentation of Quality Decision-Making Practices
Background: Pharmaceutical companies and regulatory agencies endeavor to relate their decision making with outcomes to improve future decision making and to ensure that gained knowledge is fed back into [...]
Patel et al 2020 – Analysis of regulatory review timelines for ANVISA
Background: The Brazilian health regulatory agency (Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária, ANVISA) has embarked on transformational initiatives to fulfill its mandate to provide timely access to safe, effective, and [...]
Mohd Sani et al 2020 – Evaluation of the Malaysian regulatory process using OpERA methodology
Introduction: The National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) embarked on a regulatory-strengthening program and is evaluating its processes. Optimising Efficiencies in Regulatory Agencies (OpERA) is a regulatory-strengthening program that provides [...]
Sithole et al 2020 – Evaluating the success of ZaZiBoNa
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) collaborative medicines registration initiative ZaZiBoNa is a successful regional work-sharing initiative on the African continent. This paper reviews the history of the ZaZiBoNa [...]
Keyter et al 2020 – Implementation of a Framework for an Abridged Review Using Good Reliance Practices: Optimising the Medicine Regulatory Review Process in South Africa
Background This study sought to identify criteria and current practices for implementing an abridged review process and understanding barriers and enablers in utilizing reliance models and to offer recommendations [...]
Mashaki Ceyhan et al 2020 – Patients’ perspectives of the pharmaceutical regulatory and reimbursement system in Istanbul, Turkey
The aim of this study was to explore patients’ knowledge and perspectives in Istanbul, Turkey about the pharmaceutical regulatory review and reimbursement processes with respect to access to new [...]
Koyuncu et al 2020 – Evaluation of the performance of the Turkish regulatory agency: recommendations for improved patients’ access to medicines
Background: This study was to evaluate the Turkish regulatory review process and timelines between 2016 and 2018 with a view to assess the changes that had taken place since [...]
Keyter et al 2019 – Evaluation of the performance of the South African regulatory agency
Background: Timely access to new medicines may be addressed through strengthening of registration efciencies and timelines by establishing and refning value-added registration processes, resources, and systems. The aims of [...]
Kühler et al 2019 – To what degree are review outcomes aligned for new active substances between the EMA and the US FDA?
Objective To compare review outcome alignment between European Medicines Agency (EMA) and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for medicines approved by both agencies in the time period 2014–2016. Design [...]
McAuslane et al 2019 – Confluence of Accelerated Regulatory and HTA Access Pathways
There is a growing interest in aligning accelerated regulatory pathways with flexible access and reimbursement pathways to expedite the equitable availability of high-quality, safe, and effective medicines that provide [...]
Keyter et al 2019 – South African Medicines Control Council: Comparison of Its Registration Process
Introduction: Comparisons between regulatory authorities of similar size and regulatory characteristics facilitate value-added benchmarking and provide insight into regulatory performance. Such comparisons highlight areas for improvement as authorities move [...]
Bujar et al 2019 – Quality decision making in Health Technology Assessment
Background: To evaluate the quality of the decision-making processes of pharmaceutical companies during medicines development for evidence generation to support reimbursement of new medicines and the appraisal recommendation decision-making process [...]
Bujar et al 2019 – Reliability and relevance of a decision-making instrument
Introduction: The Quality of Decision-Making Orientation Scheme (QoDoS) was developed to provide organisations involved in submission, approval and reimbursement of new medicines with a tool to improve the quality [...]
Wang et al 2018 – Building Synergy between Regulatory and HTA Agencies
Objectives: To evaluate the current practice of companies and agencies to assess the changes made in aligning regulatory and health technology assessment (HTA) stakeholders; to identify areas of commonality [...]
Haqaish et al 2017 – Jordan Food and Drug Administration: Comparison of its Registration Process with Australia, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Singapore
Objective: This study compares the current regulatory review process and good review practices at the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) with those of regulatory agencies in Australia, Canada, [...]
Hashan et al 2016 – Saudi Arabia FDA: An Evaluation of the Registration Process and Good Review Practices in Saudi Arabia in Comparison with Australia, Canada and Singapore
Objective: This study compares the current regulatory review process and good review practices at the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) with those of regulatory agencies in Australia, Canada, [...]
Walker et al 2015 – Universal Framework for the Benefit-Risk Assessment of Medicines
A universal framework for the evaluation of the benefit-risk assessment of medicines during development by pharmaceutical companies and in the regulatory review by regulatory authorities is considered of value, [...]
Liu et al 2013 – Characterising Good Review Practices across APEC agencies
As a first step in the implementation of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Best Regulatory Practice Project, the Centre for Innovation in Regulatory Science conducted a gap analysis survey [...]
Allen et al 2013 – Archetypes for non-ranking classification and comparison of European HTA systems
Introduction: European countries are increasingly utilising health technology assessment (HTA) to inform reimbursement decision-making. However, the current European HTA environment is very diverse, and projects are already underway to [...]
Salek et al 2012 – Scorecards to Assess the Quality of a Regulatory Submission and Its Review
An efficient review depends not only on timely approval but also on ensuring the quality of the process from construction of the dossier to the ultimate regulatory decision. Two [...]
Hirako et al 2007 – Comparison of the drug review process at five international regulatory agencies
Regulatory approval time is a key metric that is used to evaluate the performance of regulatory agencies. A new methodology has been developed to compare the regulatory review process [...]
2020 Workshop report – Reimagining regulatory models
As the regulatory landscape changes to meet new challenges, such as increasingly sophisticated medical innovations, fundamental questions are being raised: What is the role of a ‘modern’ regulator today? [...]
2021 Project report – Monitoring implementation and adherence to ICH guidelines
Background: This study was built on the previous 2018/2019 assessment where ICH selected the Centre for Innovation in Regulatory Science (CIRS) to collaborate on the development and the conduct [...]
2020 Workshop report – Effectiveness of the regulatory approval process
This workshop was part of a series of global development workshops that brought together mature and maturing regulatory agencies. These workshops successively built on one another and evolved from [...]
CIRS 2020 Annual Report
We're delighted to present our latest Annual Report, which provides a summary of CIRS projects and workshops undertaken in 2020 as well as case studies depicting CIRS’ impact on [...]
2019 Workshop report – Optimising the regulatory review process by evaluating performance and addressing good reliance practices
This workshop was part of a series of workshops on reliance, which continues to be an important area of focus for CIRS. It builds on the outcomes of a [...]
2019 Workshop report – Identifying and understanding uncertainty during development
This workshop was a follow-on from a collaborative forum held in Utrecht in 2018 entitled What new research can enable a joint approach by regulatory and HTA agencies to [...]
CIRS 2019 Annual Report
We're delighted to present the inaugural CIRS Annual Report, which provides a summary of projects and workshops undertaken in 2019, as well as a historical perspective of CIRS achievements [...]
Project report – Monitoring implementation and adherence to ICH guidelines
Background: According to the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) Articles of Association, the regulatory members of ICH are expected to implement [...]
Executive Colloquium report – What is the value and return on investment for our company to maintain a regulatory policy function?
In June 2019, the Centre for Innovation in Regulatory Science (CIRS) held an Executive Colloquium in Rockville, MD, USA that brought together representatives from multinational pharmaceutical companies to gauge [...]
2018 Forum report – Managing uncertainties for products using early access pathways
In November 2018, a collaborative forum presented by CIRS and the Utrecht University WHO Collaborating Centre for Pharmaceutical Policy and Regulation brought together regulatory, HTA, industry and academic perspectives [...]
Roadmap for Regulatory Performance
Every regulatory authority in the world has an ambition to improve its performance. In order to achieve this, agencies often establish performance indicators which they use for measuring and [...]
Quality decision-making practices
This book compiles the presentations and syndicate discussions from a CIRS workshop that brought together representatives from international pharmaceutical companiesand regulatory authorities from Europe, US, Canada and Australia and [...]
Globally Applicable Facilitated Regulatory Pathways to Improve Equitable Access to Medicines
A variety of approaches have been developed to accelerate the regulatory review of medicines. We characterise these various expedited pathways as facilitated regulatory pathways (FRPs): regulatory pathways designed to accelerate [...]