Under the four topics above, there are more than 100 documents to be submitted for PIC/S members and more than 200 documents to be submitted for Non-PIC/S mem- bers to the Thai FDA for GMP accreditation. All docu- ments are reviewed by an FDA team of experts. Afterwards, all questions, requests, or suggestions will be sent to the applicant to answer and/or submit additional documents. A slide or video presentation of the manufacturer needs to be prepared to explain the manufacturing process, such as important zones of production, flow of production, etc.
The applicant is required to arrange for the translation of certain information which needs to be in Thai and submit it together with the English version. A company representa- tive may be requested to meet with the subcommittee to explain and answer the expert team’s questions. A Correc- tive Action and Preventative Action (CAPA) proposal may need to be presented to the subcommittee for evaluation. In complex cases, an inspection at the site of manufacturing may be required by the Thai FDA.
If manufacturing practices are considered to be GMP compliant and the CAPA proposal meets requirements, the Thai FDA will issue a GMP Certificate to an overseas manu- facturer for the purpose of product registration. The same GMP Certificate may be used for other product registration applications if they have the same scope/type of manufac- turing during the validity of the GMP Certificate, which is normally three years after the date of issuance. The GMP Certificate of an overseas manufacturer must therefore be renewed every three years.
Since its implementation in October 2012, only 10 manufacturers from PIC/S member countries have received GMP accreditation. Meanwhile, manufacturers from Non- PIC/S member countries are still pending accreditation. Due to limited staff and expert teams in the Thai FDA, along with the requirement to submit a large number of documents for manufacturers from Non-PIC/S member countries, it is more difficult for a Non-PIC/S member to be granted a GMP Certificate than it is for a PIC/S member.
Overseas manufacturers are not required to pay for GMP accreditation at any stage of the application.