U.S. Code of Federal Regulations
Regulations most recently checked for updates: Dec 09, 2024
(a) An eligible prescription drug may not be imported or offered for import under this part unless the Importer has filed a Pre-Import Request for that drug in accordance with this section and FDA has granted the Pre-Import Request.
(b) The Importer must submit a complete Pre-Import Request in electronic format via the ESG, or to an alternative transmission point identified by FDA, at least 30 calendar days prior to the scheduled date of arrival or entry for consumption, whichever occurs first, of an eligible prescription drug covered under an authorized SIP.
(c) A complete Pre-Import Request must include, at a minimum:
(1) Identification of the Importer, including Importer name; business type (wholesale distributor or pharmacist); U.S. license number(s) and State(s) of license; business address; unique facility identifier if required to register with FDA as an establishment under section 510 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act or FDA establishment identification number if not required to register under section 510 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; and the name, email address, and phone number of a contact person.
(2) Identification of the FDA-authorized SIP, including the name of the SIP, if any; the name or names of the SIP Sponsor and co-sponsors, if any; business address; and the name, email address, and phone number of a contact person.
(3) Identification of the Foreign Seller, including the name of the Foreign Seller; business address; unique facility identifier; any license numbers issued by Health Canada or a provincial regulatory body; and the name, email address, and phone number of a contact person.
(4) Identification and description of each drug covered by the Pre-Import Request, including, for each drug, the following information:
(i) Established and proprietary name of the HPFB-approved drug, as applicable; DIN; and complete product description, including strength, description of dosage form, and route(s) of administration.
(ii) Active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) information, including:
(A) Name of API;
(B) Manufacturer of API and its unique facility identifier; and
(C) Amount of API and unit measure in the eligible prescription drug;
(iii) Established name and proprietary name, as applicable, of the FDA-approved counterpart drug and NDA or ANDA number.
(iv) Manufacturer of the eligible prescription drug with the business address and unique facility identifier.
(v) Copies of the invoice and any other documents related to the manufacturer's sale of the drug to the Foreign Seller that was provided by the manufacturer to the Importer, and copies of the same documents provided by the Foreign Seller to the Importer.
(vi) Quantity, listed separately by dosage form, strength, batch and lot or control number assigned by the manufacturer to the eligible prescription drug intended to be imported under this Pre-Import Request, compared to the quantity of each batch and lot or control number originally received by the Foreign Seller from the manufacturer, and the date of such receipt.
(vii) Expiration date of the HFPB-approved drug, listed by lot or control number assigned by the manufacturer.
(viii) Expiration date to be assigned to the eligible prescription drug when relabeled by the Importer with a complete description of how that expiration date was determined using the manufacturer's stability studies in accordance with the FDA-approved NDA or ANDA.
(ix) NDC proposed for assignment by the Importer.
(x) FDA product code for the eligible prescription drug(s) to be imported.
(xi) Unless the manufacturer has notified the Importer that it intends to conduct the required testing as provided in § 251.16(e), a Statutory Testing plan that includes:
(A) A description of how the samples will be selected from a shipment for the Statutory Testing;
(B) The name and location of the qualifying laboratory in the United States that will conduct the Statutory Testing; and
(C) A description of the testing method(s) that will be used to conduct the Statutory Testing.
(xii) Attestation and information statement from the manufacturer that establishes that the drug proposed for import, but for the fact that it bears the HPFB-approved labeling, meets the conditions in the FDA-approved NDA or ANDA, including any process-related or other requirements for which compliance cannot be established through laboratory testing. Accordingly, the attestation and information statement must include, at a minimum:
(A) Confirmation that the HPFB-approved drug has the active ingredient(s), active ingredient source(s) (including manufacturing facility or facilities), inactive ingredient(s), dosage form, strength(s), and route(s) of administration described in the FDA-approved drug's NDA or ANDA.
(B) Confirmation that the HPFB-approved drug conforms to the specifications in the FDA-approved drug's NDA or ANDA regarding the quality of the drug substance(s), drug product, intermediates, raw materials, reagents, components, in-process materials, container closure systems, and other materials used in the production of the drug.
(C) Confirmation that the HPFB-approved drug was manufactured in accordance with the conditions described in the FDA-approved drug's NDA or ANDA, including with regard to the facilities and manufacturing lines that are used, and in compliance with current good manufacturing practice requirements set forth in section 501 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and parts 4 (if a combination product), 210, and 211 of this chapter.
(D) Original date of manufacture or the date used to calculate the labeled expiration date based on the HPFB-approved or scientifically validated expiration period, the expiration period set forth in the FDA-approved drug's NDA or ANDA, and any other information needed to label the drug with an expiration date within the expiration dating period determined by stability studies in the FDA-approved NDA or ANDA.
(E) Information needed to confirm that the labeling of the prescription drug complies with labeling requirements under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
(xiii) Information related to the importation, including:
(A) Location of the eligible prescription drugs in Canada and anticipated date of shipment (date the eligible prescription drug(s) leave their location in Canada);
(B) Name, address, email address, and telephone number of the Foreign Seller;
(C) Anticipated date of export from Canada and Canadian port of exportation;
(D) Anticipated date and approximate time of arrival at the port authorized by FDA to import eligible prescription drugs under section 804 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act;
(E) The name, address, unique facility identifier or FDA establishment identification number, and telephone number of the secured warehouse, location within a specific foreign trade zone, or other secure distribution facility controlled by or under contract with the Importer where the eligible prescription drug will be stored pending testing, relabeling, and FDA determination of admissibility;
(F) Information regarding the facility where the relabeling and any repackaging allowed under the authorized SIP will occur for the eligible prescription drug, including:
(1) The facility's unique facility identifier;
(2) The facility's name, address, and FDA establishment identifier number;
(3) The anticipated date the relabeling and any limited repackaging will be completed; and
(4) Information about where the relabeled drug will be stored pending distribution, including the FDA establishment identification number of the storage facility, if available.
(d) The manufacturer must provide the attestation and information statement described in paragraph (c)(4)(xii) of this section to the Importer within 30 calendar days of receiving the Importer's request. If the manufacturer cannot provide the attestation and information statement, it must notify FDA and the Importer of its inability to provide the attestation and information statement and articulate with specificity the reason(s) why it cannot provide the attestation and information statement.
(e)(1) The Importer must provide the executed batch record, including the certificate of analysis, for at least one recently manufactured, commercial-scale batch of the HPFB-approved drug, and at least one recently manufactured, commercial-scale batch of the FDA-approved drug that was produced for and released for distribution to the U.S. market under an NDA or ANDA.
(2) The manufacturer must provide these records to the Importer, within 30 calendar days of receiving the Importer's request, for each manufacturing line that the manufacturer used to produce either or both of the drugs.