Windsor Framework measures start 1 January 2025 19 Jun 2023

The government has announced that new measures laid out in the Windsor Framework regarding the supply of medicines to Northern Ireland will commence from 1 January 2025. This extends the previous deadline for compliance, which was 31 December 2023.

The agreement means that from 2025 treatments will be approved and licensed across the UK by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Medicines will be able to use the same packaging and labelling, which will designate all drugs on the UK market as for sale only in the UK. These products will not be able to be sold outside the UK so will not be for sale in Ireland or elsewhere in the EU.

In addition, these UK-only medicines will not have to feature the requirements of the EU Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD), including 2D barcodes and serialisation numbers compliant with the directive. However, tamper-evident devices must remain.

Read further information about the arrangement and interim measures here.