The regulatory information on compliance for veterinary medicines is contained together with the information on human medicines, with the exception of compliance with veterinary good clinical practice and pharmacovigilance inspections procedures.
Authorities in the EU regularly inspect sites of companies within and outside the EU involved in developing, manufacturing and distributing veterinary medicines intended for the EU market, to verify their compliance with the relevant standards.
These inspections ensure the reliability and integrity of the data that support the authorisation of veterinary medicines and their quality, safety and effectiveness once on the market.
An inspection may either be 'for cause', when it is triggered by a finding of possible non-compliance with relevant standards, or 'routine', when inspections are carried out as part of surveillance programme.
Inspections are conducted for authorised veterinary medicines and veterinary medicines that are currently being evaluated for authorisation.
EMA coordinates inspections for human and veterinary medicines authorised under the centralised procedure or in the context of a referral, on request from the Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) or Committee for Medicinal Products for Veterinary Use (CVMP).
EMA does not conduct inspections itself but requests that the inspection be carried out by national authorities in the EU Member States.
The Agency is the primary contact point for notifying suspected quality defects with any centrally authorised products, and is responsible for coordinating the investigation, evaluation and follow-up of such cases.
EMA also operates a sampling and testing programme to verify the quality of centrally authorised veterinary medicines placed on the market and to check their compliance with their authorised specifications.
In addition, EMA plays a key role is in coordinating and harmonising EU-wide activities, including: