Posted on January 31, 2014 by FDA Voice
By: Robert Yetter, PhD
At FDA, we work closely with national regulatory agencies around the world on issues relating to the safety, efficacy and availability of medical products. An exciting example of such collaborative efforts is the Common Electronic Submissions Gateway (or CESG), an outcome of the US-Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC). Through a cooperative research and development agreement, FDA worked with our counterparts in Health Canada, to share technology that will make it more efficient for industry to submit applications to both the U.S. and Canada for the approval of pharmaceutical and biological products. A common infrastructure would enable industry to submit to both countries using the same electronic format for technical documents.
The RCC Initiative was announced in February 2011 by President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Its goals are to promote economic growth, job creation and benefits to consumers and businesses through increased regulatory transparency and coordination. The electronic submissions gateway is one such project designed to meet those goals.
So just what is this gateway? It’s an electronic “post office” that uses secure Internet connections to receive electronic versions of medical product applications and related documents from industry sponsors seeking regulatory approval. The technology was developed under contract, and implementation at FDA was led by the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. FDA’s Electronic Submissions Gateway (ESG) has been in operation since 2006. It has now been modified to accommodate submissions from both Canada and the U.S. using the same interface and technology, and subsequently sending those submission transmissions to one or both regulatory authorities.
The collaboration on the Common Electronic Submissions Gateway has the potential to yield long-term positive outcomes for both FDA and Health Canada. The collaboration continues the work between the two regulatory partners to streamline both agencies’ submission requirements while maintaining consistency in regulatory requirements. It could also lead to cost reductions for regulated industry, which would not have to follow separate technical requirements for submission to the two countries.
We’re very proud of our work with Health Canada to make this technology accessible in a relatively short amount of time, going from concept to delivery in 26 months. This is yet another example of the steps FDA is taking as part of our Global Initiative, which envisions enhanced collaboration with our regulatory partners.
Robert Yetter, PhD, is the Associate Director for Review Management in FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research
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