US, EU, global authorities share experiences, insights, advice for industry on remote alternatives even after inspectors can resume travels.
Regulatory authorities say they are likely to keep using remote alternatives to site inspections even after post-pandemic travel resumes, but for different reasons and probably to different degrees.
Importantly, they are working to align their approaches to remote inspection alternatives like video tours and screensharing, which became
As the US FDA expands unannounced foreign inspections building on pilots in India and China, experts expect higher scrutiny of overseas sites and perhaps even an industry shakeout in the longer term, though staffing and enforcement challenges could slow things down.
Pharmaceutical industry organizations offered alternatives to tariffs that could maintain a secure domestic supply chain in public comments filed in response to a federal 232 investigation.
Commissioner Martin Makary’s repeated characterization of foreign facilities as being subject to lower standards than domestic counterparts may have contributed to Rogers’ decision to retire as head of the recently formed Office of Inspections and Investigations.
Drugmakers are not expecting a big financial hit from tariffs for now, but a report commissioned by the industry trade association PhRMA suggests a potentially steep cost for pharma-sector tariffs.
Swiss authorities have introduced temporary measures that will make it easier for health care professionals to import medicines that are either not authorized or not available in Switzerland, which will particularly benefit pediatric drugs, in light of ongoing shortages.
Aragen’s CEO Manni Kantipudi, who is keenly watching the Trump Administration’s moves on pharma tariffs, discusses funding cuts at the National Institutes of Health, big pharma’s US onshoring moves, and talks with the Indian government to solve intellectual property challenges in an audio interview.
Alonza Cruse, director of the Office of Human and Animal Drugs Inspectorate, and two other senior inspection officials are departing, along with Mark Raza, chief counsel from 2021 until January.
