EU/U.S. strengthen oversight
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
New confidentiality agreements between the European Commission and FDA will strengthen oversight of cosmetics by allowing the groups to exchange confidential safety information - such as advance drafts of legislation and/or regulatory guidance documents - as part of their regulatory mandate, EC announces July 5. Information also includes post-market data and reports on ongoing and emerging health and safety issues in the U.S. or EU. The agreement is in line with last week's launch of the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC), designed to foster "closer economic cooperation" by harmonizing standards. "The EU and U.S. will be able to exchange early information to protect public health, whilst taking away stumbling blocks for trade," EC Vice President and European Chair of TEC Günter Verheugen notes. Regarding cosmetics, the agreement "represents an important step towards our goal of accepting each other's alternative methods to animal testing," Verheugen adds...