Updated 14 April 2025:
'Compliance issues with pharmacovigilance obligations' section
Report an issue with an authorised product
Outside of EMA business hours (i.e. Monday to Friday before 08:30 or after 18:00, at weekends or on Agency holidays) you may call the product emergency hotline: +31 (0)88 781 7600.
This is an emergency number and should be used only in the event of a potentially serious problem with a centrally authorised product.
The details of your call may be documented, including personal data if you provide them (such as your name, contact details and nature of the issue raised), in accordance with our Privacy policy.
When a marketing authorisation holder becomes aware of an emerging safety issue, they should notify it in writing to:
- EMA by emailing p-pv-emerging-safety-issue@ema.europa.eu;
- the relevant competent authority or authorities in the Member State(s) concerned.
To support reporting to Member States, EMA has published a list of national contact points:
For guidance on emerging safety issues, see:
- Good pharmacovigilance practices (GVP) Module IX on signal management
Marketing authorisation holders of centrally authorised products (CAPs) should submit their marketing status notifications via the IRIS platform.
Marketing authorisation holders of nationally-authorised products (NAPs) should follow the recommendation under question 7 in the section 'Marketing status updates and withdrawals' on the Notifying a change of marketing status page.
Notify EMA by emailing withdrawnproducts@ema.europa.eu.
Marketing authorisation holders have to notify the competent authorities of any of the following actions they intend to take:
- Temporary or permanent cessation of marketing of a medicinal product
- Suspension of marketing of a medicinal product
- Withdrawal of a medicinal product from the market
- Request for the withdrawal of a marketing authorisation
- Non-application for the renewal of a marketing authorisation
Medicinal products affected by any of these actions are considered 'withdrawn products'.
If marketing authorisation holders of medicinal products for human use, while managing and resolving deviations from their quality system, identify the need to inform EMA and national competent authorities (NCAs), the guidance outlined below should be followed.
The decision on notifying EMA and NCA should be based on whether the deviation constitutes significant non-compliance (including reporting obligations to EudraVigilance) which might impact the safety profile of an authorised medicinal product(s). There is no single threshold for reporting; it should be tailored to the specific pharmacovigilance system, product and issue. The submission of few individual late cases to the EudraVigilance database would not typically be regarded as significant deviation. EMA and NCAs will assess the notification in line with their procedures.
Guidance for reporting:
- Send an e-mail to EMA (phv-noncompliance@ema.europa.eu) and the appropriate Supervisory Authority or concerned Member State. Contacts are available at PhV non-compliance notification contact points at National Competent Authority (NCA) level.
- If the pharmacovigilance system encompasses centrally authorised products, include the supervisory authority.
- If the pharmacovigilance system only encompasses nationally authorised products, include all Member States where the affected products are authorised.
- There is no required template or standardized reporting format for the e-mail notification.
- In your notification, please state the corrective and preventative actions, along with timelines.
- For notifications related to late submissions of ICSRs to EudraVigilance (i.e., non-compliance with timelines set in the legislations) please include also the following template: Template for late submission of ICSRs to EV. If ICSRs have not been submitted at the time of the first notification, please send the completed template once all the cases have been submitted.
- Technical Support: For assistance with EudraVigilance, contact the EMA Service Desk (ServiceNow) instead.
EMA and NCAs have been receiving these notifications via various channels.
This guidance has been developed to harmonise the notification process and streamline the receipt and assessment by NCAs and EMA.
Marketing authorisation holders should email phv-noncompliance@ema.europa.eu to request an exceptional extension to the submission timeframesfor individual case safety reports (ICSRs).
This is only for extensions needed for reports from class action lawsuits, in line with section VI.C.2.2.10 of the Guideline on good pharmacovigilance practices (GVP) - Module VI – Collection, management and submission of reports of suspected adverse reactions to medicinal products (Rev. 2)
In your request, please include the:
- reason for requesting the extension;
- planned duration of the extension;
- medicinal products concerned.
Ask for assistance with an EMA IT system
EMA's Service Desk provides technical support for issues related to information technology (IT) systems that are hosted by EMA. This includes creating new accounts, accessing existing accounts, uploading data and using databases.
EMA IT system | Contact details |
Clinical Trials Information System (CTIS), Union Pharmacovigilance Database, Union Product Database, EudraCT, EudraGMDP, Eudralink, EudraVigilance, IRIS and SPOR services | Use the EMA Service Desk (ServiceNow) |
You can log in using your existing EMA username and password.
If you do not have an account or do not know your username and password:
For urgent technical matters, contact +31 (0)88 781 8520.
Request access to documents
EMA is committed to ensuring the widest possible access to the documents that it produces, receives and has in its possession.
For access to documents that are not already published, use our online form:
Ask a question
For questions about EMA and its work, use our online form:
You can send your question in any official EU language. We will reply in the same language within a reasonable time frame and no later than two months from the date of receipt.
If you need immediate assistance with an EMA IT system, contact the appropriate EMA Service Desk.
EMA switchboard number
EMA's switchboard number is +31 (0)88 781 6000.
The EMA switchboard is open Monday to Friday from 07:30 to 18:00 Amsterdam time, except for EMA holidays.
Directions to the EMA building
The EMA building is located in the Zuidas district in Amsterdam.
For directions to the EMA building, see How to find us.
Other contact details
EMA press office
Tel. +31 (0)88 781 8427
Email: press@ema.europa.eu
The press office only deals with enquiries from media representatives on matters relating to EMA's work. For further information, see Media centre.
For enquiries from the general public and other parties, use our online form:
For medicinal products for human use:
Tel. +31 (0)88 781 7599
For general pharmacovigilance queries, use our online form:
For medicinal products for veterinary use:
Tel. +31 (0)88 781 8132
For general pharmacovigilance queries, use the online form:
For questions of a technical nature related to EVVet Web, EVVet Data Warehouse or IRIS Veterinary Signal Management Pharmacovigilance, use the EMA Service Desk platform:
The constant safety monitoring of medicines after authorisation ('pharmacovigilance') is an important part of the work of EMA and regulatory authorities in Member States.
Tel. +31 (0)88 781 6000
Email: certificate@ema.europa.eu
EMA issues certificates of medicinal products in conformity with the arrangements laid down by the World Health Organization. These certify the marketing authorisation and good manufacturing status of medicinal products in the European Union (EU) and are intended for use in support of marketing authorisation applications within and export to non-EU countries.
Plasma master file (PMF) certificates:
Silvia Domingo
Tel. +31 (0)88 781 8552
Email: silvia.domingo@ema.europa.eu
Vaccine antigen master file (VAMF) certificates:
Ragini Shivji
Tel. +31 (0)88 781 8698
For all Vaccine antigen master file certificate questions, use our online form:
EMA issues Plasma master files and Guideline on the scientific data requirements for a vaccine antigen master file (VAMF) certificates of medicinal products in conformity with the arrangements laid down by European Union (EU) legislation. The certification process is an assessment of the PMF or VAMF application dossier. The certificate of compliance is valid throughout the EU.
For all quality management system questions, use our online form:
Quality management practices are an integral part of EMA's governance structure and its business processes. These practices help to ensure that EMA operates to consistently high levels of quality, efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
Meeting and Conference Management
Tel. +31 (0)88 781 7700
Hotel and travel bookings:
bookings@ema.europa.eu
This service is responsible for ensuring support to EMA's meetings. It provides an interface between EMA and delegates, assisting them with their travel and hotel bookings and any other query they may have.
For support with submitting information on an authorised medicine, you can use the online EMA Service Desk portal or call +31 (0)88 781 8520 for urgent technical matters.
As per the EU pharmaceutical legislation Article 57(2) of Regulation 726/2004, marketing authorisation holders of medicinal products authorised in the European Union and European Economic Area are required to submit information on these medicines to the European Medicines Agency and must keep this information up to date.
To provide general feedback on EMA's corporate website, or to make suggestions for future improvement, you can write to newwebsite@ema.europa.eu. EMA will take all feedback and suggestions into account, but will not be able to reply to individual email messages.
For questions about EMA and its work, use our online form:
For guidance on how to submit a pre-submission request, see:
For guidance on how to contact EMA about post-authorisation matters, including using EMA's pre-submission queries service, see: