Role of the Advisory Committee on Non-prescription Medicines (ACNM) in the TGA's regulatory decision making process
The ACNM is a statutory advisory committee established by the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 1990.
The TGA currently has nine statutory advisory committees from which it can obtain independent expert advice on specific scientific and technical matters to aid the TGA's regulatory decision making and other regulatory processes.
The ACNM provides advice to the TGA on, amongst other things, matters relating to the inclusion, variation, removal or retention of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG).
The advice provided by the ACNM is an important element in the undertaking of the regulatory functions of the TGA. However, it forms only part of the information that is available to, for instance, a TGA delegate making a regulatory decision under the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989. While appropriate consideration will be given to such advice, it is important to note that neither the TGA nor a TGA delegate is obliged to follow it.
It should also be noted that information about advice provided by the committee may not become publicly available for some time after a committee has provided that advice. The purpose of this meeting statement is to describe in general terms the matters considered by the committee at each meeting and for it to be available as soon as reasonably practical after the relevant meeting.
Update on matters where the Committee previously provided advice and a TGA decision has been made
Members were informed of the TGA's decision to register three new OTC products, for which the committee's advice was previously sought.
Overview of the therapeutic goods referred for advice
At this meeting, the committee's advice was sought in relation to the following OTC medicine applications:
- changes to the registration details on the ARTG of a product, specifically in relation to the suitability for use of the product in pregnancy and lactation, and inclusion of appropriate statements in the Product Information Patient Information Leaflet; and
- the registration on the ARTG of three new OTC medicines, specifically in relation to acceptability of the proposed product names.
The committee's advice on these matters has now been provided to the TGA for consideration as part of the TGA's regulatory decision making process.
Other matters considered
A warm welcome was extended to five new ACNM members:
- Dr Maria Apostolopoulos
- Dr Brian Creese
- Associate Professor Michael Dodson
- Dr Genevieve Gabb
- Mrs Mary Sharpe.
A warm welcome was also extended to Ms Patricia Greenway, a member of the Advisory Committee on Complementary Medicines (ACCM). Ms Greenway attended this meeting to provide expertise on consumer issues.
Meeting statements are made publicly available after each meeting.
For further information on the ACNM, contact the ACNM Secretary by email: acnm@tga.gov.au.