Meeting highlights from the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) 31 August - 3 September 2020
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PRAC recommends revoking marketing authorisation of ulipristal acetate for uterine fibroids
EMA’s safety committee (PRAC) recommended the revocation of the marketing authorisations of 5-mg ulipristal acetate (Esmya and generic medicines) used for the treatment of symptoms of uterine fibroids, as a review carried out by the committee confirmed liver injury, including the need for liver transplantation, caused by these medicines.
The PRAC considered all the available evidence in its review, including reported cases of serious liver injury. Patient and healthcare professional representatives, including experts in gynaecology, were also consulted. Since it was not possible to identify which patients were most at risk or measures that could reduce the risk, the PRAC concluded that the risks of these medicines outweighed their benefits and that they should not be marketed in the EU.
This recommendation does not affect the single-dose ulipristal acetate emergency contraceptive (ellaOne and other trade names) and there is no concern about liver injury with these medicines.
More information is available below.
Agenda
PRAC recommendation
Article-31 referral: Ulipristal acetate 5mg medicinal products
PRAC statistics: September 2020
Glossary:
- Safety signal assessments. A safety signal is information on a new or known adverse event that is potentially caused by a medicine and that warrants further investigation. Signals are generated from several sources such as spontaneous reports, clinical studies and the scientific literature. More information can be found under Signal management.
- Periodic safety update reports, abbreviated as PSURs, are reports prepared by the marketing authorisation holder to describe the worldwide safety experience with a medicine in a defined period after its authorisation. PSURs for medicinal products that contain the same active substance or the same combination of active substances, but have different marketing authorisations and are authorised in different EU Member States, are jointly assessed in a single assessment procedure. More information can be found under Periodic safety update reports: questions and answers.
- Risk management plans, abbreviated as RMPs, are detailed descriptions of the activities and interventions designed to identify, characterise, prevent or minimise risks relating to medicines. Companies are required to submit an RMP to EMA when applying for a marketing authorisation. RMPs are continually updated throughout the lifetime of the medicine as new information becomes available. More information is available under Risk-management plans.
- Post-authorisation safety studies, abbreviated as PASSs, are studies carried out after a medicine has been authorised to obtain further information on its safety, or to measure the effectiveness of risk-management measures. The PRAC assesses the protocols (aspects related to the organisation of a study) and the results of PASSs. More information can be found under Post-authorisation safety studies (PASS).
- Referrals are procedures used to resolve issues such as concerns over the safety or benefit-risk balance of a medicine or a class of medicines. In a referral related to safety of medicines, the PRAC is requested by a Member State or the European Commission to conduct a scientific assessment of a particular medicine or class of medicines on behalf of the EU. More information can be found under Referral procedures.
Ongoing referral
Procedure | Status | Update |
|---|---|---|
Article-31 referral: Ifosfamide solutions | Under evaluation | PRAC continued its assessment. |