News

June 2023

Changes to the PIC/S Executive Bureau

Geneva, 12 June 2023:

A new PIC/S Deputy Chairperson and a new PIC/S Sub-Committee on Strategic Development (SCSD) Chair took office on 11 May 2023. Due to the retirement from her Agency of the former PIC/S Deputy Chairperson and SCSD Chairperson, Susan Laska (US FDA), the PIC/S Committee carried out by-elections at its last meeting in Geneva on 11-12 May 2023. It unanimously elected Mr Jacques Morénas (France / ANSM) as new PIC/S Deputy Chairperson - in addition to his current position of PIC/S Sub-Committee on Training (SCT) Chair - and elected Ms Jennifer Burnett (Australia / TGA) as new PIC/S Sub-Committee on Strategic Development (SCSD) Chair. All other Executive Bureau Members remain the same.

With these changes, the new composition of the Executive Bureau for the remaining of the period 2022-2023 consists of:

  • Mr Paul Gustafson (Canada / ROEB), PIC/S Chairperson;
  • Mr Jacques Morénas (France / ANSM), PIC/S Deputy Chairperson and Chair of the Sub-Committee on Training (SCT);
  • Ms Anne Hayes (Ireland / HPRA), immediate past PIC/S Chairperson;
  • Dr Andreas Krassnigg (Austria / AGES), Chair of the Sub-Committee on Expert Circles (SCEC);
  • Mr Ger Jan van Ringen (Netherlands / IGJ), Chair of the Sub-Committee on Budget, Risk and Audit (SCB);
  • Mr Ian Jackson (UK / MHRA), Chair of the Sub-Committee on GM(D)P Harmonisation (SCH);
  • Dr Kentaro Hara (Japan / PMDA), Chair of the Sub-Committee on Communication (SC COM);
  • Mr Henning Willads Petersen (Denmark / DKMA), Chair of the Sub-Committee on Compliance (SCC); and
  • Ms Jennifer Burnett (Australia / TGA), Chair of the Sub-Committee on Strategic Development (SCSD).
July 2026

Revision of PIC/S Recommendations on Qualification and Validation (PI 006-4)

Geneva, 30 July 2026

PIC/S has published the revised PIC/S Recommendations on Qualification and Validation (PI 006-4).

These Recommendations have been revised by a dedicated PIC/S Working Group, successively chaired by Norman Gray (UK / MHRA) and subsequently jointly chaired by Kevin O’Donnell (Ireland / HPRA) and Rebecca Dowd (USA / US FDA). They supersede the PIC/S Recommendations on Validation Master Plan; Installation and Operational Qualification; Non-Sterile Process Validation; and Cleaning Validation (PI 006-3).

PI 006-4 will enter into force on October 2026.

To download the revised Recommendations document, please consult the page “Publications”.

July 2026

2026 PIC/S Seminar (Istanbul / Türkiye)

Geneva, 28 July 2026: 

Registrations for the 2026 PIC/S Seminar on “Digital Transformation in GMP” which will be hosted by Türkiye / TMMDA from 4-6 November 2026 are now open (for Medicines Regulatory Authorities only). Deadline for registrations is 31 August 2026 (early-bird) and 23 October 2026 (standard).

For more information,  please contact the PIC/S Secretariat.

July 2026

United Arab Emirates applies for PIC/S Pre-Accession

Geneva, 28 July 2026:

On 15 July 2026, a Rapporteur was appointed by written procedure for the pre-accession application of Emirates Drug Establishment (EDE), for which a pre-accession application was received on 5 March 2026.

In line with the revised PIC/S Guidelines for the Pre-Accession Procedure, the designation of the Rapporteur marks the start of the pre-accession process.

July 2026

Uzbekistan applies for PIC/S membership

Geneva, 28 July 2026:

On 17 December 2025, the State Entity “Center of Good Practices” of the Pharmaceutical Industry Development Agency under the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the State Institution “Center for Pharmaceutical Products Safety” under the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Uzbekistan, submitted a joint membership application to PIC/S.

The application received was completed on 15 January 2026, further to which the Rapporteurs and Audit Team are in the process of being appointed by written procedure.

July 2026

Concept paper on the revision of EU-PIC/S GMP Annex 15 (Qualification and validation) - Corrigendum

Geneva, 16 July 2026:

The joint EMA - PIC/S drafting group has developed a concept paper on the revision of the Annex 15 (Qualification and validation) of the EU - PIC/S GMP Guide.

This concept paper aims to outline the rationale, objectives, and proposed changes for updating the Annex 15 - Qualification and validation, of the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Guide, that is common to the Member States of the European Union (EU) / European Economic Area (EEA), as well as to the Participating Authorities (PAs) of the Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme (PIC/S). The aim of the revision is to extend the scope of the annex to active substances manufacturers and to consider the revision of ICH Guideline Q9 (R1) on quality risk management.

This concept paper was submitted to a joint EMA - PIC/S public consultation and comments have been collected until 9 April 2026. Following the public consultation, the initial timetable has been revised, and only this section has been updated accordingly.

The revised Concept Paper can be downloaded on the PIC/S website (link), as well as on the EMA website (link).