Registration of Medicines eCTD Submission in South Africa

MEDICINES CONTROL COUNCIL

GUIDANCE FOR THE SUBMISSION

OF REGULATORY INFORMATION IN eCTD FORMAT

This guideline is intended to provide recommendations to applicants wishing to submit applications for the registration of
medicines in eCTD format. It reflects the current situation and will be regularly updated with changes in legislation and
experience gained. It is important that applicants adhere to the administrative requirements to avoid delays in the processing
and evaluation of applications.
Guidelines and application forms are available from the office of the Registrar of Medicines and the website.

First publication released for pilot implementation and comment March 2013

REGISTRAR OF MEDICINES
MS M HELA

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Registration of Medicines eCTD Submission in South Africa

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ............................................................................................................... 4

DEFINITIONS ..................................................................................................................................................... 6

1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 7

2 PURPOSE AND SCOPE ......................................................................................................................... 7

2.1 Types of products ........................................................................................................................... 7

2.2 Types of submissions ..................................................................................................................... 7

2.3 Additional information and subsequent submissions ..................................................................... 8

2.4 Submission formats of applications in eCTD format ...................................................................... 8

3 STRUCTURE AND CONTENT OF SUBMISSIONS IN eCTD FORMAT ................................................ 9

3.1 Structure ......................................................................................................................................... 9

3.1.1 eCTD Identifier ......................................................................................................................... 9

3.1.2 Sequence number folder ........................................................................................................10

3.1.3 Util and DTD subfolders .........................................................................................................10

3.1.4 Module 1 subfolder ................................................................................................................10

3.1.5 Modules 2 to 5 subfolders ......................................................................................................11

3.1.6 Module 3.2.R ..........................................................................................................................11

3.2 eCTD envelope ............................................................................................................................12

3.3 Metadata ......................................................................................................................................12

3.4 Inclusion of correspondence documentation ...............................................................................13

3.5 Letter of Application .....................................................................................................................13

4 TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SUBMISSIONS ..........................................................................15

4.1 Submission media ........................................................................................................................15

4.2 Compression and password protection/security settings .............................................................15

4.3 PDF files .......................................................................................................................................16

4.4 File naming conventions ..............................................................................................................16

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Registration of Medicines eCTD Submission in South Africa

4.5 Hyperlinks.....................................................................................................................................17

4.6 MD5 checksum.............................................................................................................................17

4.7 Additional files in Word format. ....................................................................................................17

4.8 Virus check ...................................................................................................................................18

4.9 Validation......................................................................................................................................19

5 LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENT (LCM) ....................................................................................................20

5.1 Life cycle management at the “Pharmaceutical Product” layer (eCTD application) ....................20

5.2 Life cycle management at the submission layer (i.e. eCTD-sequence).......................................20

5.3 Life cycle management at the document layer (eCTD leaf) .........................................................20

5.4 Life cycle management of specific documents ............................................................................20

5.5 Responses to Committee Recommendations ..............................................................................21

6 BASELINE SUBMISSIONS ...................................................................................................................21

8 UPDATE HISTORY ................................................................................................................................22

9 APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................................23

Appendix 1: eCTD Reference Documents....................................................................................................23

Appendix 2: List of documents requested additionally in paper format ..................................................24

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Registration of Medicines eCTD Submission in South Africa

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

API Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient

CD Compact Disc
CD-ROM Compact Disc Read-Only Memory
CMC Chemistry, Manufacturing and Control
CTD Common Technical Document
DTD Document Type Definition
DVD Digital Video Disc
eCTD electronic Common Technical Document
EMA European Medicines Agency
EU European Union
EWG Expert Working Group
FPP Finished Pharmaceutical Product
GMP Good Manufacturing Practice
HCR Holder of Certificate of Registration
ICH International Conference on Harmonisation (of Technical Requirements for Registration of
Pharmaceuticals for Human Use)
INN International Non-proprietary Name
IPI Inactive Pharmaceutical Ingredient
ISO International Standards Organisation
IT Information technology
LCM Life cycle management
MCC Medicines Control Council
MD5 Message-Digest algorithm 5
NeES Non-eCTD electronic submission
OCR Optical Character Recognition
PDF Portable Document Format
P&A Pharmaceutical and Analytical
PHCR Proposed Holder of Certificate of Registration
PI Package Insert
PIL Patient Information Leaflet
PMF Plasma Master File
PSUR Periodic Safety Update Report
Q&A Question and Answer documents

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Registration of Medicines eCTD Submission in South Africa

RAR Roshal ARchive

Swissmedic Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products
ToC Table of Contents
UK United Kingdom
USA United States of America
Util Utility folder in the eCTD Sequence. Contains technical files
XML Extensible Markup Language
ZA/SA South Africa

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Registration of Medicines eCTD Submission in South Africa

DEFINITIONS

Application number: The application number is the official reference number assigned to the dossier or
eCTD application by the MCC. It remains with the dossier for its full life cycle and
also in archiving.

Dossier: A collection of documents compiled by an applicant/PHCR in compliance with South

African legislation and guidelines in order to seek registration of a medicine, or any
amendments thereof. An application may comprise a number of submissions.

eCTD application: A collection of electronic documents compiled by an applicant/PHCR in compliance

with South African legislation and guidelines in order to seek registration of a
medicine, or any amendments thereof. An eCTD application may comprise a
number of eCTD Sequences. In South Africa an eCTD application may comprise
several strengths, each with a unique proprietary name. Such a collection may also
be described as a dossier.

eCTD identifier: An eCTD identifier is the application number used as the directory name in the top-
level directory.

eCTD Sequence: All files and folders in a submission in eCTD format are to be placed under the
eCTD-Sequence number folder (equivalent to the term "sequence" used by the
EMA)

eCTD Submission: An eCTD Submission is an electronic-only submission in the eCTD format that is
supported by paper documents (e.g. some documents from Module 1).

Regulatory activity: A regulatory activity is a logical entity of submission activity (for example a new
indication) with a defined start and end point (e.g. initial submission to final
approval). In the eCTD world, a regulatory activity consists of all the eCTD
Sequences that together make up the lifecycle of that particular regulatory activity.
It can also be defined as a collection of sequences covering the start to the end of a
specific business process, e.g. an initial application for registration or a type C
amendment. It is a concept used to group together several business related
sequences.

Submission / Sequence: A single set of information and/or documents supplied by the applicant/PHCR as a
partial or complete application. In the context of eCTD, this is equivalent to ‘eCTD
Sequence’.

Validation: Technical validation

The technical validation is a validation by an automated tool, checking the DTD and
other technical components of the eCTD. Two categories of validation rules apply:
“Pass/Fail (P/F)” and “Best Practice (BP)”.
Content validation
The content validation is the evaluation of the contents of the submission by MCC
evaluators. Content validation can only occur after the submission has successfully
been imported into the eCTD review system. As a result of the content validation the
MCC may ask for an updated sequence 0001 (or appropriate higher sequence).

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Registration of Medicines eCTD Submission in South Africa

1 INTRODUCTION
1
This guideline provides recommendations to applicants on electronic submissions with the electronic
Common Technical Document for the Registration of Medicines (eCTD). It is to be used in the
preparation and submission of applications for registration of medicines to the MCC in the eCTD format
established by the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) of Technical Requirements for
Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use.
The relevant guidances on the same topic, issued by EMA, Swissmedic and MCC, have been
considered in the preparation of this document and were used as a basis.
The preparation and submission of applications as well as additional information in eCTD format is
encouraged but remains optional.
Applicants who choose to submit an application in the eCTD format must comply with the requirements
for such submissions; these are
 the requirements defined in this guideline
 the South African Specification for eCTD Module 1
 the Electronic Common Technical Document Specification (current version), developed by the
ICH M2 Expert Working Group (EWG)
 the South African eCTD validation criteria
Submissions and additional information in electronic format that do not comply with these requirements,
like non-eCTD electronic submissions (NeES), will not be accepted.

Timelines
Refer to the Road Map.
This describes the list of the submission types and their acceptability in eCTD format.

2 PURPOSE AND SCOPE

The purpose of this guideline is to integrate the eCTD format within the MCC registration framework by
describing the electronic format requirements for applications for registration of medicines submitted in
accordance with the Medicines and Related Substances Act, 1965 (Act 101 of 196), as amended, and
the regulations thereto.

2.1 Types of products

This guideline applies to all human medicines (pharmaceutical and biological).
It does not apply to veterinary medicinal products.

2.2 Types of submissions

Because of the phased implementation of eCTD submissions, the list of submission types that may be
submitted as starting point will be gradually extended. The currently applicable submissions are listed
in the Road Map.

1
Based on the Swissmedic “Guidance for Industry on Providing Regulatory Information in eCTD Format” version 1.2 dated
29.11.2010

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2.3 Additional information and subsequent submissions

Once an applicant submits an application in the eCTD format, all responses to recommendations,
additional information and amendments for the same medicine should be submitted in the eCTD
format (“once eCTD, always eCTD”). Applicants should not revert to the paper-based CTD format for
subsequent submissions for the same medicine.

2.4 Submission formats of applications in eCTD format

The eCTD is intended as an electronic only submission.
For legal reasons however distinct documents of Module 1 such as listed in Appendix 2 have to be
submitted also as signed original paper version.
The paper version is to be arranged in the same order as the electronic version.
The current MCC practices have to be taken into account to define which documents are needed for
the submission types, and the documents detailed in Appendix 2 should be provided where applicable.
Please refer to other MCC guidelines relating to applications for registration.

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3 STRUCTURE AND CONTENT OF SUBMISSIONS IN eCTD FORMAT

3.1 Structure
The content of information required for submissions in eCTD format is the same as for paper-based
submissions in CTD format. However, the location of files in the submission in eCTD format may differ
from the location of the paper documents in the submission in CTD format.
The eCTD structure reflects the XML backbone that is used for the submission.
The eCTD structure can be graphically displayed by an XML viewing tool. Figure 1 illustrates a portion
of the eCTD structure, as seen using an XML viewing tool.

Sequence Number Folder

Module 3 Subfolder

Leaf File

Figure 1

3.1.1 eCTD Identifier

The application number is to be used for the top-level directory (root directory). This will be the
unique identifier for the application.
The applicant has to send a written request on the official company letterhead to the Authority for
the attention of Operations & Administration with details of the application(s) to be submitted. The
application number(s) will then be issued and will be valid for a period of four weeks. If the
application is not submitted within four weeks, the number will be cancelled and the applicant will
have to apply for a new number.
Details of the name used for the root directory should always be included in the letter of application.
The new application and subsequent submissions must use the same top-level directory name, e.g.
/470001-3/0000
/470001-3/0001
See Figure 2

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Registration of Medicines eCTD Submission in South Africa

3.1.2 Sequence number folder

All files and folders in a submission in eCTD format are to be placed under the sequence number
folder, as described in the ICH Electronic Common Technical Document Specification, “File Names
and Directory Structure”.
The sequence number folder should be named using a four-digit number. The sequence number
for the first submission should be 0000. Applicants are to provide an incremental number, unique
within the same application for each new sequence they provide.
If a submission fails technical validation due to a technical error, the sequence number does not
change when the application is submitted again.
If the submission passes technical validation, but has content deficiencies, resolving these
deficiencies requires an increment to the sequence number.
The sequence number folder includes an m1 subfolder, m2–m5 subfolders (optional), and a util
subfolder (see Figure 2).
The eCTD backbone file (index.xml), the checksum file (index-md5.txt) and the util subfolder should
be in the sequence number folder.

Figure 2

3.1.3 Util and DTD subfolders

The util subfolder contains a dtd subfolder as well as a style folder and they must only contain the
files that are mentioned in the South African Specification for eCTD Regional Module 1.

3.1.4 Module 1 subfolder

The content of the Module 1 is described in detail in the South African Specification for eCTD
Regional Module 1.

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3.1.5 Modules 2 to 5 subfolders

The structure and content of the Modules 2 to 5 subfolders (m2–m5) are defined in the ICH
Electronic Common Technical Document Specification.
The following points are to be considered:
 Node extensions are allowed but should be used only where necessary.
 Node extensions are recommended for each clinical study report. The title element for the node
extension is used to provide the full study title.
 The use of Study Tagging Files (STF) is discouraged. If STFs are present, please liaise with
MCC before submission.

3.1.6 Module 3.2.R

An enhanced granularity is required in this module. The granularity should be built with Node
Extensions and Subfolders. Further information can be found in the South Africa eCTD Validation
Criteria on the tab “File-Folder Structure & Names”. See Figure 3
32r-reg-info
availability folder required and additional folders optional
overview.pdf
ref-prd-var.pdf
coa-var.pdf
avail-var.pdf
parent-api-diff-sites folder required and additional folders optional
statement.pdf
cep folder required and additional folders optional
cep-var.pdf
multiple-api-mnf folder required and additional folders optional
comp-rep-var.pdf
comp-results-var.pdf
compliance-guidelines-var.pdf
coa-var.pdf
med-dev folder required and additional folders optional
med-dev-var.pdf
animal-human-orig folder required and additional folders optional
origin-var.pdf
bmr folder required and additional folders optional
bms-var.pdf
other folder required and additional folders optional
other-var.pdf
Figure 3
The structure of Module 3.2.R can be graphically displayed by an XML viewing tool. See Figure 4
for an example.

Figure 4
The lack of the required granularity in Module 3.2.R may cause a rejection of the eCTD due to non-
compliance with business validation.

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3.2 eCTD envelope

The metadata provided by the applicant with the eCTD are extremely important, since it indicates
relationships between individual sequences for effective lifecycle management of the application.
The particular envelope elements used by the review tool for display and management of submissions
are listed in the South African Specification for eCTD Regional Module 1, Appendix 2.
Applicants must include and present metadata in a manner that unequivocally ties them to a
submission (e.g. applicant name, INN). It is appreciated that there may be legitimate reasons for the
metadata in the envelope to change over the lifecycle of the product and this is technically supported.
Consistency, quality and accuracy of metadata should always be assured.
The application number must be included in the envelope.

3.3 Metadata
The leaf attribute metadata provided by the applicant is considered important, since this information is
displayed by review tools and is used for identifying documents and sections, and becomes
particularly important in managing the lifecycle of the submission. For example, the ICH eCTD
Specification, v3.2 describes 6 eCTD Heading Element Attributes for use in the eCTD to structure the
eCTD content. Five of these attributes are in Module 3:
 Substance (API)
 Drug Product (FPP)/Drug Substance (API) Manufacturer
 Product Name
 Dosage Form
 Excipient (IPI)
These attributes correspond to elements in the eCTD that may be repeated, and are used to define
specifically what each repeated section covers.
For example, in an eCTD covering two active ingredient manufacturing sites, the directory structure for
the eCTD may be split into two paths which will contain documents for the different sites, and the XML
will be similarly structured (see p6-11 of the ICH eCTD Specification, v3.2).
The extent to which a single eCTD can cover multiple substances, manufacturers, product strengths
and excipients, and the use of these attributes to describe what is being covered is largely left to the
applicant.
This means that the eCTD can be structured in different ways. These potential variations in structure
and scope can affect the presentation of the dossier using eCTD review tools that ‘read’ the XML, and
affect eCTD repositories that are used to store the eCTD files and directory structure.
The structure of an eCTD will affect how the lifecycle of the eCTD can be managed over time, and,
therefore, the structure of the first eCTD for a product or product range needs careful consideration.
For example, if an eCTD is built to cover 100 mg and 200 mg tablets, and common documents are
submitted for both strengths, if a line extension is introduced to add a 150 mg tablet, then the applicant
needs to decide whether to replace 100/200 mg documents with a 100/150/200 mg document, or to
create a new standalone 150 mg document and introduce another 3.2.P and 2.3.P section to the
existing eCTD. Another option would be to build an entirely different and new eCTD for the 150 mg
tablets.

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3.4 Inclusion of correspondence documentation

The term ”correspondence” applies to all communications (documents) that are exchanged between
an applicant and the authority in the context of an regulatory activity but which do not have a formal
designated placeholder within the eCTD structure. For example, responses to MCC questions are not
classified as ‘correspondence’ since the ZA M1 eCTD DTD includes a designated section for such
information, see Chapter 5.5.
Not all correspondence should be included in the eCTD. This is because the eCTD exchange is
currently one way only (from the applicant to the authority), and not all correspondence is directly
relevant to the dossier. Accordingly, only the minimum of correspondence that relates directly to the
content of the dossier should be included in submissions to MCC, e.g. committee recommendations
should be included with the letter of application in Section 1.0 when submitting a response. All other
correspondence should be exchanged outside the eCTD via the usual means (letter).

3.5 Letter of Application

Submissions as well as additional information in eCTD format should be accompanied by an
administrative letter of application in both paper and portable document format (PDF). The PDF
should be a scan of the originally signed document and must be searchable (OCR scanned).
This letter should always state the context of the submission, e.g. the submission type and the
application or registration number (indicate “pending” if not yet known).
The paper and PDF letters must have the same content.
The letter of application in the submission in eCTD format is located in the folder 1.0 of the
ZA Module 1. The letter of application should be submitted with the document operation attribute
“new”. As eCTD viewing tools will display all “new” leaf elements in a current or cumulative view, it is
recommended that additional descriptive text be included in the leaf title to assist with identification of
specific letters. This will help identify each letter of application leaf and the submission it is in, rather
than having the letters named the same in each sequence.
Some examples for the leaf titles could be:
Letter of application for Sequence 0000
Letter of application for New Indication AML
The printout of the checksum file (index-md5.txt) should be attached as an annex to the letter (paper
version). The annex must be dated and signed.
The letter should at least contain the following information:
 Date
 The applicant’s name and address
 The proprietary name(s)
 Registration number or Application number
 Dosage form
 Dosage strength(s)
 The International Non-proprietary Name(s) (INN) of the product
 The submission type
 A description of the submission
 Number of CDs/DVDs provided
 Contact details in case of technical validation issues
 Name and version of eCTD validation tool used to check compliance with the specifications
 The working code as per the General Information guideline
Refer also to the Guidance for the Submission of the South African CTD /eCTD - General & Module 1.

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3.5 Letter of Application - continued

The following statement must be included:

 “We confirm that the CD/DVD-burning session is closed and the submission is checked with an
up-to-date and state-of-the art virus checker: [name of the antivirus software and version of the
virus checker]”
The tracking of the submitted sequences in a tabular format should be included in the letter of
application or as an annex to the letter, as per the following example:
Date of Sequence Submission Related Regulatory activity/ Regulatory status
submission number type eCTD Submission (submitted /
sequence description approved / rejected
The letter (paper version) must be signed.
If there are specificities concerning the eCTD submission about which the reviewers should be
informed, it is highly recommended to include in the letter of application or as an annex to the letter an
eCTD ”Reviewer’s Guide” or similar document, that may contain the following sections if applicable, in
addition to those specified above:
 Particulars relating to presentation and delivery of the eCTD (hard media)
 Information on file sizes by module
 Data security/virus scan information
 Legacy documents and scanned pages details
 File formats (if any particulars to report)
 File size (if exceeding 100 MB restrictions)
 Files referenced at multiple locations within the backbone
 Specifications adhered to
 Documents with relevance to more than one CTD-module
 Hyperlink appearance and strategy
 Bookmarks
 Particulars of module organisation, e.g. the strategy for the presentation of Modules 2.3.S / 3.2.S
and 2.3.P / 3.2.P
 List of documents available on request

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4 TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SUBMISSIONS

4.1 Submission media

Hard media (e.g. CDs, DVDs) must be used for the submission of all eCTDs.
CD (CD-ROM) conforming to ISO 9660 or ISO 13346 can be accepted.
MCC will not accept any hardware (laptops, desktops, zip drives, etc.) from applicants in connection
with the submission of information in electronic format. The electronic information or eCTD should be
directly readable and usable on MCC’s hardware (e.g. CD/DVD drive) using its own software. It is the
policy of MCC to maintain desktop configurations and IT infrastructure in line with common office
standards.
In the case of a large application, provision of a single DVD over multiple CDs is strongly
recommended by MCC, as this allows the technical validation and loading into the repository directly
from the hard media, without the need to first recompile the eCTD submission on a server.
If the provision of a single CD or DVD is not possible, and if multiple CDs must be used for large
applications, individual modules should not be split over multiple CDs (e.g. if possible, Module 1
should be contained on a single CD, Module 2 should go onto the next CD even if this requires CD 1
not to be filled to capacity and so on). Where a split over multiple CDs is inevitably necessary,
subfolders should be distributed in sequence, and these subfolders should not be split between CDs.
In this case the submission of a DVD should be considered.
The submission media should be packed adequately to prevent damage to the media. All the
contained media units should be appropriately labelled as described below.
Each CD or DVD submitted with an eCTD should include the following label information, clearly
presented and printed on the media:
 The applicant’s name
 The proprietary name(s)
 The registration number or application number
 The International Non-proprietary Name(s) (INN) of the product
 The sequence number(s) of the eCTD submissions contained on the CD/DVD
 The submission date (MM-YYYY)
 The Number of CDs or DVDs per full set and an indication of the place of the individual CD/DVD
within this set
 The submission type of each eCTD submission(s) contained on the CD/DVD, as per the eCTD
envelope information.

4.2 Compression and password protection/security settings

The applicant is required not to apply any compression to the submission or the files inside the
submission. Therefore the data on the media should not be packed into a zip-file, rar-file or any other
file format that has been compressed.
One-time security settings or password protection of electronic submissions for security purposes is
not acceptable during transportation from the applicant to MCC. Applicants should also not include
any file level security settings or password protection for individual files in the eCTD. The file settings
should allow printing, annotations to the documents, and selection of text and graphics. Internal
security and access control processes in the regulatory authority will maintain the integrity of the
submitted files.
Encryption is not considered necessary if the information is sent using a physical media. The
applicant should assume all responsibility for the media until it is delivered to MCC.

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4.2 Compression and password protection/security settings - continued

The following points should be noted in relation to security:

 The physical security of the submission during transportation/transmission is in the responsibility of
the applicant.
 Once received by MCC, security and submission integrity is the responsibility of the authority.
The use of, and subsequent validation of the MD5 checksum allows the recipient of the eCTD to
ascertain whether files in the submission have been changed since the checksum was generated.

4.3 PDF files

Portable Document Format (PDF) is an electronic format that is open, de facto, and published and
created by Adobe Systems Incorporated (http://www.adobe.com). No specific products from Adobe or
any other company are necessary to produce PDF documents.
The following points can be made in relation to PDF files:
 Files should be PDF v1.4, 1.5, 1.6 or 1.7 and should be legible with the Acrobat Reader search
plug in or any other freeware viewer; PDF files should be saved as ”Optimised” to reduce the size
and allow faster opening when viewed via an internet connection. The use of additional software
to navigate and work with the files is not acceptable.
 PDF files produced from an electronic source document are preferred to PDF files generated from
scanned paper since such 'electronic' PDF files provide the maximum functionality to the reviewers
in terms of search capabilities and copy & paste functionality.
 Expert Reports and the Overviews/Summaries in the CTD Module 2 should preferably be
generated from an electronic source document.
 If scanning is unavoidable, readability and file size should be balanced; the following is
recommended: resolution 300 dpi (photographs up to 600 dpi), avoid gray-scale or colour where
possible, use only lossless compression techniques. The file must be searchable (OCR scanned).
 The maximum individual acceptable file size is approximately 100 MB. The file size should ensure
clarity, speed of download and ease of review.
 Fonts should be chosen of a type, colour and size such that they allow easy reading of documents
on screen (1024 x 768 pixels) or after printing. Refer to Guidance for the Submission of the South
African CTD /eCTD - General & Module 1.
 All fonts used in a document (except Times New Roman, Arial and Courier) should be embedded,
including all the characters for the font. The number of fonts used in a document should be limited
and customised fonts be avoided. If colours other than black are used, colour reproduction after
printing should be tested before submission; the print area for pages should fit on an A4 sheet of
paper; margins should allow binding without affecting readability.
Additional details on PDF can be found in the ICH eCTD Specification.

4.4 File naming conventions

It is recommended to use the eCTD file naming conventions described in the ICH M2 eCTD
Specification and the South African Specification for eCTD Module 1.
If an applicant wishes to submit multiple files in one section, where only one highly recommended
name is available, this can be achieved using a suffix to the filename (e.g. pharmaceutical-
development-container.pdf).

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4.5 Hyperlinks
In general, hypertext links are encouraged within the eCTD to facilitate swift navigation within the
dossier, but should not be overused. The eCTD should be structured and links provided in such a way
as to ensure that the reviewer is constantly aware of the overall structure and narrative flow of the
dossier. For example, Module 3 is highly structured and defined to a relatively low level of granularity
in the specification. Therefore, only minimal use of hyperlinks should be necessary, e.g. when the
same citation appears on a page more than once, it is recommended that a link only to the first
instance of the citation per page is provided.
The greater the number of hyperlinks contained in an eCTD dossier the greater the likelihood of non-
functioning hyperlinks. The use of “obvious” and therefore redundant external links is discouraged
with a view to future lifecycle management.
However, if hyperlinks are only to be included where considered necessary and considered to add real
value, it is important that the way in which the eCTD titles are used (i.e. the backbone entries visible
as the eCTD “ToC”) is consistent with how the documents themselves are referred to within other
documents, for example summary documents. If the title presented by the review tool in the eCTD
ToC and the reference in a summary document do not match, then this negates the use of the
backbone and a hyperlink is needed.
In the Non-clinical/Clinical part of the eCTD, the structure is less well defined. Within Modules 4 and 5
the localisation of studies and references may vary across submissions. For fast orientation linking
from summaries is of benefit. Since changes occur rarely to already-submitted content in Modules 4
and 5 in contrast to Modules 3 the issue of out-dated links over the application lifecycle is therefore
less critical.

4.6 MD5 checksum

A checksum (MD5) should be included for each file in the eCTD, allowing the recipient to verify the
integrity of physical files in the submission.
An MD5 checksum of the XML eCTD index (index.xml) should also be included. Applicants should
name this checksum file index-md5.txt, and include it as a file in the same directory as the XML eCTD
instance.
An invalid checksum will result in the rejection of an eCTD submission as technically invalid.

4.7 Additional files in Word format.

MCC requires Word documents for the following documents, in addition to the PDF for the purposes of
review and document manipulation:
 Module 1.2.1 Application form
 Module 1.3:
- Package insert
- Patient Information Leaflet
- Label
PDFs only are to be referenced in the eCTD XML back-bone.
Word documents should not be included in the eCTD backbone, as they are provided merely as an aid
to review. An inclusion within the eCTD would result in an unnecessary management of the lifecycle
of these documents in addition to the formal PDF documents.

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4.7 Additional files in Word format – continued

Word files should be placed on the same data carrier, alongside the 0000 (or appropriate) eCTD
sequence, not within it (see Figure 5). The folder should be called ““<eCTD
sequence>workingdocuments” (e.g. 0000-workingdocuments)” with a substructure as follows:
 0000-Application form
 0000-Product information
Within this folder, for the following files in Word format, the following naming convention applies:
 For the Application Form
af_productname_submissiontype_date.doc
 For the package insert:
pi_productname_submissiontype_date.doc
 For the patient information leaflet:
pil_productname_submissiontype_date.doc
 For the label:
label_productname_submissiontype_date.doc

Figure 5

4.8 Virus check

The applicant is responsible for checking the submission for viruses and for informing MCC of the type
of software used for this purpose.
Checking should be performed with at least one, but preferably more, up-to-date virus checkers and a
statement must be included in the letter of application (see chapter 3.5)
After receipt at MCC an internal virus check will be performed. A positive check will result in the
refusal of the eCTD.

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Registration of Medicines eCTD Submission in South Africa

4.9 Validation
The validation criteria serve to aid the applicant to carefully set up the eCTD. Refer “South African
eCTD Validation Criteria”.
Applicants are required to create eCTD dossiers that are technically correct according to the South
African Specification for eCTD Regional Module 1 and ICH eCTD Specification
A technically correct eCTD submission is pivotal for a timely and successful review of the submission.
Therefore it is the MCC’s intention to accept technically correct eCTDs only, to minimize any delay that
might affect the content validation and the review process.
Data and documents should be supplied in a uniform format to facilitate Life Cycle Management on all
levels. The uniform format will further assist long term preservation and readability. Data and
document consistency will assist the MCC during the review process, enabling easier access and
navigation and therefore simplifying the review process.
4.9.1 Categories of Validation Rules
- Pass/Fail Criteria
eCTDs that fail to meet one or more of the “Pass/Fail” criteria will not be processed and the
applicant will be advised to rectify the problems and resubmit with the same sequence number.
- Best Practice Criteria
It is considered good practice to ensure that these validation criteria are correct in the submitted
eCTD. The applicant should make every effort to address these areas before the eCTD is
submitted. eCTDs that fail to meet one or more of these criteria may still be accepted by the
authority during technical validation.
Note: Errors found during the content validation (evaluation) should be resolved through the
submission of a new eCTD sequence. These errors must never be resolved by resubmitting an
existing sequence.

4.9.2 Validation Process

Applicants must use an eCTD validation tool that checks the submission for technical interoperability
before submission.
The applicant must submit a validation report identifying validation results including pass/fail and best
practice. For any Best Practice criteria that are not met, the applicant must include a justification in
the letter of application, the reviewer’s guide or in an added note to the submission (to prevent
changing the MD5 checksum).
The MCC will carry out a three-step process on receipt of an eCTD:
(1) Screening: Administrative compliance check (see section A.3.1 of the Screening Template)
(2) Technical validation: This will be performed in a single step (see section A.3.2 of the Screening
Template)
(3) Business validation:
a. Content check (see section A.3.3 of the Screening Template)
b. Content validation / evaluation
In case of technical validation issues, the application will be returned to the applicant with a report
identifying issues to be corrected.
If no technical validation issues are identified the applicant will be notified of successful validation and
the eCTD will be imported into the review system for business validation.

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5 LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENT (LCM)

5.1 Life cycle management at the “Pharmaceutical Product” layer (eCTD application)
An initial application is usually defined as having a sequence number of 0000. There are some
circumstances in which an initial application might be submitted with a sequence number other than
0000.
Each further submission for the corresponding Pharmaceutical Product will be done with an
incremental eCTD sequence number.

5.2 Life cycle management at the submission layer (i.e. eCTD-sequence)

The related eCTD-sequence number describes the relationship of additional information to the original
submission or subsequent submissions.
For all new application submissions types in eCTD format, the related eCTD-sequence number in the
envelope and in the letter of application (tracking table) should be left empty.
For subsequent submissions, it is mandatory to include a related eCTD-sequence. The related eCTD-
sequence number should be the sequence number of the submission to which the additional
information applies.
See “Example of the use of the Related Sequence” in Appendix 2 of South African Specification for
eCTD Regional Module 1.

5.3 Life cycle management at the document layer (eCTD leaf)

The operation attribute describes the relationship between leaf files in submissions subsequent to the
original submission and in additional information related to those submissions. (For an original
submission only the operation attribute “new” is applicable).
The four LCM activities (operation attributes) provided by the ICH are new, replace, delete and
append. Further information can be found in the ICH Electronic Common Technical Document
Specification.
The operation “append” should be used with caution in view of future LCM issues.

5.4 Life cycle management of specific documents

Responses to Committee Recommendations and adaptations of labelling and packaging (Module 1.3)
files are handled with new eCTD Sequences.
For life cycle management at the document layer, the operation attribute should be treated as
described below for specific documents.
For the letter of application leaf elements provided with all eCTD-sequences, the operation attribute
should always be “New.”
For the Labelling and Packaging Information (Package Insert, Patient Information Leaflet, Label) leaf
elements:
 when provided with the initial application (sequence 0000) the operation attribute should be “New”
 when provided with all other submission types, the operation attribute should be “Replace”
(exception: sequence 0000)
 when provided as additional information in response to the Committee Recommendations the
operation attribute should be “Replace”

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5.5 Responses to Committee Recommendations

When the original application is submitted in eCTD format, and where Committee Recommendations
have been issued by the MCC, the responses must also be provided in eCTD format.
All the recommendations and responses should be addressed in the Tabulated Schedule of
Amendments in Module 1.5.2.1 (Amendments guideline).
Where responses also contain new or updated data/documents relating to Modules 3, 4 and/or 5, such
data/documents should be placed in the relevant sections of those Modules. This may also apply to
Module 1 (e.g. revised Labelling and Packaging Information), as well as to Module 2 in cases where
extensive data/documents would require inclusion of the relevant summaries and/or overview
sections.
Where new or updated documents are required, hyperlink(s) from an appropriate location(s) in the
Tabulated Schedule of Amendments to the new or updated document(s) elsewhere in the eCTD
dossier should be included.

6 BASELINE SUBMISSIONS
It is highly recommended that an eCTD baseline submission is submitted in electronic format, for
applications previously managed in paper. Baseline submissions should not be submitted during an
ongoing regulatory activity.
There is no obligation to submit a full, reformatted eCTD for already registered products. However, the
applicant may provide MCC with information reformatted as eCTD for their already registered products.
In particular MCC encourages the submission of reformatted quality information in eCTD, in order to
facilitate the handling of variations.
A signed declaration must also be submitted in Section 1.2.2.4 stating that the content/data of the
submitted quality module in eCTD format is identical to the current approved quality part and that there
have been no changes to the dossier content as a result of the provision of an eCTD submission.
In order to reduce the number of submissions, the submission of the baseline should be included in the
submission of an amendment. That means that is not mandatory to provide a current version (“baseline
submission”), which corresponds to the approved paper version, and a separate sequence including the
proposed amendment. A clear tabulated schedule of amendments of the proposed changes included in
the electronic submission, versus the approved paper documentation is to be included in Module
1.5.2.1.
Should the applicant submit additional amendments, the envelope element “submission type” for a
baseline submission will be that corresponding to the proposed amendment (see South African
Specification for eCTD Regional Module 1).
In the majority of cases, an eCTD baseline submission will be provided as sequence 0000 for a product
where there has been no previous eCTD submission. However, for a product with an ongoing lifecycle
MCC would also accept a baseline submission within the lifecycle, for example if an applicant has
submitted a new indication in eCTD format without baseline and at a later stage starts some
amendments of module 3 with a baseline submission.
When submitting changes to module 3, the full section Drug Substance (API) and/or Drug Product
(FPP) must be submitted.
Furthermore all the documents of Module 1 relevant to the application are to be included into the
baseline submission.

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7 SUBMISSION
The paper copies and the hard media should be submitted jointly.
The eCTD on DVD/CD should be submitted to MCC at the following address:
The Registrar of Medicines
Medicines Control Council
Room NG090
Civitas Building
42 Andries Street (Thabo Sehume Street)
Pretoria
South Africa

8 UPDATE HISTORY

Date Reason for update Version & publication

Feb 2013 First publication as working document v1_9 working document Feb 2013
March 2013 First publication for implementation of pilot phase and v1 March 2013
comment

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9 APPENDICES

Appendix 1: eCTD Reference Documents

South Africa
2.21 South African Specification for eCTD Regional Module 1
2.22 South African eCTD Validation Criteria
2.24 Guidance for the submission of the South African CTD /eCTD - General and Module 1
ICH
ICH: http://www.ich.org
ICH electronic Common Technical Document (eCTD): http://estri.ich.org
ICH Specification 3.2 (Modules 2 - 5) (Notice to Applicants Vol 2B):
http://estri.ich.org/eCTD/index.htm
ICH Q&As: http://estri.ich.org/ectd
ICH M4 Granularity: http://www.ich.org/LOB/media/MEDIA554.pdf
ICH ETICS M2 Project: http://www.etics.us
ICH M2 (Q&A or Change Request Form): http://estri.org/eCTD/eCTD_Change_Request_Form.rtf
eSubmission Links of EU Health Authorities
NTA-TIGes Interlinking (Q&A and Change Request Form):
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/pharmaceuticals/eudralex/vol-2/b/ectd_12-2006/crform.doc
Latest agreed EU Telematics EU eCTD Change Request/Q&A Tracking Table:
http://esubmission.ema.europa.eu/EU_Change_Request_Q&A_Tracking_Table%20v1.17.xls
EMA Q&A regarding eSubmission: http://www.ema.europa.eu/htms/human/resub/q24.htm
EU M1 v1.3 Transition Guidance:
http://esubmission.ema.europa.eu/EU%20M1%20v1.3%20Transition%20Guidance%20-
%20FINAL%20.doc
Question and Answer document relating to practical and technical aspects of EMA eCTD
Implementation for the Centralised Procedure:
http://www.ema.europa.eu/pdfs/human/regaffair/63391908en.pdf
Guidance for Industry on Providing Regulatory Information in Electronic Format: eCTD electronic
Submissions
http://esubmission.ema.europa.eu/doc/eCTD%20Guidance%20Document%201.0%20FINAL%20
FOR%20PUBLICATION.pdf

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Appendix 2: List of documents requested additionally in paper format

Module No Name of document

1.0 Letter of Application
1.2.1 Application form
1.2.2.1 Original cheque or proof of payment with copy of letter of application in a separate
envelope
1.2.2.4 Electronic copy declaration
1.5.2.2.2 Original or certified copy of registration certificate, where relevant
1.5.2.3 Affidavit by Responsible Pharmacist
1.8 Screening template
N/A MD5 checksum
N/A Technical Validation Report and, if relevant, justification for any Best Practice criteria
that are not met

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