Investigation of common deficiencies observed in scientific assessments and the implementation of a new robust review pathway, the risk-based assessment approach, by the South African Health Regulatory Authority, SAHPRA

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to improve patient access to medicines. The research is two-fold, the first component promotes transparency between the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), pharmaceutical companies, manufacturers and clinical research organisations by investigating deficiencies in scientific assessments of medicines submitted for approval. The common deficiencies from the regional, Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API), Finished Pharmaceutical Product (FPP) and Bioequivalence study sections of dossiers submitted to SAHPRA were qualitatively and quantitatively investigated. The investigation was conducted retrospectively between 2011 to 2017 for non-sterile and sterile generic products finalised by the P&A pre-registration Unit. To strengthen the conclusions, up-to-date data was also collected between 2020-2021 to confirm the consistency of the findings.