ECHA and the European Commission help meet Europe’s disinfectant demand

In response to the continued disinfectant shortages in Europe, ECHA announced that it is working with the European Commission to support industry in meeting increasing demand for hand sanitizers, hydro-alcoholic gels and other disinfectants. Temporary derogations from the standard authorisation process for products containing approved active substances, using Article 55(1) of the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR), will facilitate this. A centralised submission process for authorisation of products in multiple EU countries is also in development.

In a statement, Bjorn Hansen − ECHA’s Executive Director, acknowledged that a significant rate-limiting factor is the availability of biocidal active substances, in particular isopropanol, propanol and ethanol. He assured that the authorities are working towards getting the substances on to the market as quickly as possible.

ECHA also announced that specific deadlines falling before the end of May 2020 may be granted a two-month extension. Applicable circumstances for this extension include requests for further information to meet a confidentiality claim and where incomplete registration dossiers have been originally submitted.

To keep EU/EEA countries as up-to-date as possible and create a central hub for regulatory information such as lists of approved active substances, products and national regimes, ECHA has launched a webpage dedicated to COVID-19 related developments and resources here.

How TSG can help

TSG’s team of regulatory consultants are experienced in the registration of biocidal products and can help you identify the best route to market for your company. In addition to providing strategic guidance, we can assist with national transitional registrations, as well as review the labels of disinfectant products, enabling fast entry on to the European market.