Blog

The Critical Medicines Act, in plain language

Explainers on obligations, deadlines and documentation for regulatory affairs and QA teams — written while the legislation itself is still in motion.

Overview · 12 min

Critical Medicines Act explained: what changes for marketing authorisation holders?

The core obligations, the timeline toward formal adoption, and what this means in practice for your regulatory affairs team.

Explainer · 8 min

What is a Shortage Prevention Plan (SPP)?

Its structure, the expected content, and how an SPP relates to documentation you already maintain.

Deadlines · 7 min

CMA notification deadlines explained: the 12- and 6-month rule

Exactly when you need to notify, who to notify, and what happens if you're late.

Step-by-step · 9 min

How to build a Shortage Mitigation Plan

From first signal to escalation: how to set up an SMP you can actually use during a real shortage.

Overview · 8 min

CMA vs Pharma Package: what's the difference?

Where the two files overlap, where they differ, and which one actually governs your notification obligations today.

Supply chain · 9 min

How to map single-source dependency in your supply chain

A practical approach to identifying which products depend on a single supplier or region — the foundation of vulnerability scoring.

Deadlines · 7 min

How to notify via the ESMP: a practical guide

What the European Shortages Monitoring Platform is, who reports through it, and how to avoid duplicate reporting.

Template · 10 min

SPP template: structure and required sections

A practical section-by-section template for a Shortage Prevention Plan — what to include and what auditors expect to see.

Checklist · 8 min

Checklist: is your documentation audit-ready?

A practical checklist to assess whether your current SPP/SMP documentation would hold up under an audit.

Reference · 9 min

The Union List of Critical Medicines: what's on it and why

How a medicine qualifies, how often the list is updated, and why it's the list your SPP/SMP obligations likely hinge on.