Cold Chain Cold Chain in Canada eBook: 2014 | Page 7

Speaker Interview > Spanish Agency of Medical & Health Products (AEMPS) Head of Pharmaceutical Dept. How have the latest GDP Guidelines impacted the efforts to prevent falsified medicines? The new EU GDP guidelines came into force in September 2013, so the impact is still unknown but they aim to reinforce the supply chain and avoid the entry of falsified medicinal products in the legal supply chain What type of changes were made with respect to “risk assessment”? Risk assessment (ICH Q9) is introduced as a tool to be used in many of the activities to be performed. 7 What are the biggest challenges that wholesalers will face due to the new GDP? The adequate implementation of risk management, the qualification of suppliers and customers and the transport aspects, specially ‘last mille transportation’ In your opinion, what type of changes are still needed to improve the EU GDP? Training of the wholesalers personnel is a key issue, the adequate evaluation of companies with whom activities are contracted and the qualification of suppliers and customers In general, do you think more effort should be made to unify US, EU and other Internal GDP Guidelines? Absolutely, there is a global supply chain for medicinal products and the GDP requirements should be very similar all over the world.