Continuing its implementation of the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act’s (MoCRA), and following on the heels of FDA’s Draft Guidance on Facility Registration and Product Listing (previously discussed here), on September 15, 2023, FDA announced its newly developed draft electronic submission portal, Cosmetics Direct, to assist persons submitting cosmetic product facility registrations and product listings under newly added Section 607 of the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act).
Draft screenshots of the electronic system, including example submissions, are available for review and comments, along with an interim Federal Register Notice, announcing the new system.
What’s New
Cosmetics Direct includes the required registration and listing submission information in a standard electronic format to help users organize their registration and listing submissions to include the information needed for FDA. Cosmetics Direct also is intended to give users access to prior Cosmetic Direct registrations and listing submissions.
Cosmetics Direct can be accessed through the Welcome to FDA Direct webpage, which will provide short background information about Cosmetics Direct. New users will need to create an account.
Users who intend to submit information about cosmetics and drugs may create a functional joint account with Cosmetics Direct and CDER Direct, FDA’s portal for drug submissions, which is intended to streamline the submission process.
Notable system features include:
- Users will be able to create initial submissions using blank forms, or importing an FDA-accepted SPL stored in a valid XML zip file. SPL (Structured Product Labeling) is a document markup standard approved by Health Level Seven (HL7) and adopted by FDA as a mechanism for exchanging product and facility information. Importing an existing Facility Registration or Cosmetic Product Listing SPL will be beneficial for bulk submission.
- By selecting a country outside the U.S. as a facility location, users will be prompted to identify U.S. Agent contact information.
- Users will be prompted to sign a confirmation statement, attesting to the veracity of the information submitted, as well as additional contact information for any authorized agents submitting the information.
- Users will be promoted to save and validate any new submissions, be able to view the status of registrations and listings, and be notified if system detects any errors through a Validation Failure message. The system will provide a list of errors that require fixing before resubmitting.
- Users may also upload and submit existing Facility Registration or Cosmetic Product Listing SPL, and have the option to clone successfully submitted SPLs as starting points.
- Users will be able to view the status and details of all submissions on the Cosmetics Direct homepage.
FDA strongly encourages electronic submissions to facilitate efficiency and timeliness of data submission and management for the agency; however, those who wish to submit paper forms still have the option to do so via FDA Forms 5066 and 5067.
As of March 2023, FDA discontinued use of Forms FDA 2511, 2512, and 2512a, previously used for voluntary registration activities, and stopped accepting new submissions to the Voluntary Cosmetic Registration Program (VCRP).
Takeaways
FDA’s announcement of Cosmetics Direct comes on the heels of its recent draft guidance for facility registration and product listing, clarifying, among other things, who must register and list, when, and what must be submitted.
FDA has stated that it expects its new portal to begin accepting submissions sometime in October 2023, in advance of the December 29, 2023 statutory deadline for facility registration and product listing.