International – Confidentiality arrangement between the EU and the Republic of Korea

EMA and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) have signed a working arrangement with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) of the Republic of Korea for the exchange of confidential information on medical and medicinal products.

This new partnership between the two regulatory authorities is an important step towards mutual recognition and regulatory harmonisation to improve human and animal health. The confidentiality arrangement builds on the close cooperation with MFDS during the COVID-19 pandemic and the establishment of an ad-hoc arrangement which ensured the exchange of information on medicines used for the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of COVID-19 and related infectious diseases.

The arrangement allows its participants to exchange sensitive information about medicinal products as part of their regulatory and scientific processes. This includes confidential information on the safety, quality and efficacy of human medicines (already authorised or under evaluation) as well as information on inspections, regulatory guidance and legislation…