The agreement to assemble all the Quality, Safety and Efficacy information in a common format (called CTD - Common Technical Document ) has revolutionised the regulatory review processes, led to harmonised electronic submission that, in turn, enabled implementation of good review practices. For industries, it has eliminated the need to reformat the information for submission to the different ICH regulatory authorities.
The CTD is organised into five modules. Module 1 is region specific and Modules 2, 3, 4 and 5 are intended to be common for all regions. In July 2003, the CTD became the mandatory format for new drug applications in the EU and Japan, and the strongly recommended format of choice for NDAs submitted to FDA, United States.
More information: An electronic version of the Common Technical Document (eCTD) can be produced using the information developed by the eCTD Implementation Working Group.