Meeting highlights from the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) 4-7 March 2024
PRAC finds no link between mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and postmenopausal bleeding
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EMA’s safety committee (PRAC) concluded that there was insufficient evidence to establish a causal association between the COVID-19 vaccines Comirnaty and Spikevax and cases of postmenopausal bleeding.
Postmenopausal bleeding is commonly defined as vaginal bleeding occurring one year or more after the last menstrual period. Postmenopausal bleeding is always considered abnormal and can be a symptom of serious medical conditions.
Recently, new information emerged from the medical literature as well as post-authorisation data that prompted investigation into postmenopausal bleeding with the two vaccines.
The PRAC assessed all available data, including findings from literature, and available post-marketing spontaneous reports of suspected adverse reactions.
After careful review, the PRAC considered that the available data do not support a causal association and an update of the product information for either vaccine is not warranted.
The committee will continue to monitor this issue for both Comirnaty and Spikevax through the established safety monitoring practices.
Agenda
PRAC statistics: March 2024
Glossary:
- Safety signal assessments. A safety signal is information which suggests a new potentially causal association, or a new aspect of a known association between a medicine and an adverse event that warrants further investigation. Safety 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'.
- 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.
- Summary safety reports have been introduced as part of the enhanced safety monitoring of COVID-19 vaccines. Marketing authorisation holders are required to submit these reports to EMA, starting on a monthly basis. Their submission complements the submission of PSURs. For more information see Pharmacovigilance plan of the EU Regulatory Network for COVID-19 vaccines.
Ongoing referrals
Procedure | Status | Update |
|---|---|---|
| Hydroxyprogesterone-containing medicinal products – Article-31 referral | Under evaluation | PRAC continued its assessment |