[Principles of the EU Clinical Trials Regulation No 536/2014 : What will change?]

The new Regulation (EU) No. 536/2014 for clinical trials of medicinal products for human use will replace the still valid European Directive 2001/20/EC in the future. The new regulation aims to further harmonise authorisation and reporting procedures for clinical trials and introduces of a joint European assessment for multinational clinical trials in the EU. Despite the joint assessment administered by a reporting member state, each member state continues to authorise clinical trial applications nationally. In the future, applications and any communication will be submitted paperlessly via a new electronic EU portal, which is still being developed. The regulation provides detailed information on the implementation of multinational clinical trials. In particular, the complex processing procedures and shorter time limits are to be stressed in comparison to the previously valid regulations. This is a major challenge for all stakeholders, but on the other hand it should contribute to the future role of the EU in the development of innovative medicines.