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1. Without prejudice to paragraphs 4 and 5 of this Article and to Article 14-a, a marketing authorisation shall be valid for five years.

2. The marketing authorisation may be renewed after five years on the basis of a re-evaluation by the Agency of the risk-benefit balance. To this end, the marketing authorisation holder shall provide the Agency with a consolidated version of the file in respect of quality, safety and efficacy, including the evaluation of data contained in suspected adverse reactions reports and periodic safety update reports submitted in accordance with Chapter 3, and information on all variations introduced since the marketing authorisation was granted, at least 9 months before the marketing authorisation ceases to be valid in accordance with paragraph 1.

3. Once renewed, the marketing authorisation shall be valid for an unlimited period, unless the Commission decides, on justified grounds relating to pharmacovigilance, including exposure of an insufficient number of patients to the medicinal product concerned, to proceed with one additional five-year renewal in accordance with paragraph 2.

4. Any authorisation which is not followed by the actual placing of the medicinal product for human use on the Union ◄ market within three years after authorisation shall cease to be valid.

5. When an authorised medicinal product previously placed on the market is no longer actually present on the market for three consecutive years, the authorisation shall cease to be valid.

6. In exceptional circumstances and on public health grounds the Commission may grant exemptions from paragraphs 4 and 5. Such exemptions must be duly justified.

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8. In exceptional circumstances and following consultation with the applicant, the marketing authorisation may be granted subject to certain conditions, in particular relating to the safety of the medicinal product, notification to the competent authorities of any incident relating to its use, and action to be taken. The marketing authorisation may be granted only when the applicant can show that he is unable to provide comprehensive data on the efficacy and safety of the medicinal product under normal conditions of use, for objective, verifiable reasons and must be based on one of the grounds set out in Annex I to Directive 2001/83/EC. Continuation of the marketing authorisation shall be linked to the annual reassessment of these conditions.

9. When an application is submitted for a marketing authorisation in respect of medicinal products for human use which are of major interest from the point of view of public health and in particular from the viewpoint of therapeutic innovation, the applicant may request an accelerated assessment procedure. The request shall be duly substantiated.

If the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use accepts the request, the time-limit laid down in Article 6(3), first subparagraph, shall be reduced to 150 days.

10. When adopting its opinion, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use shall include a proposal concerning the criteria for the prescription or use of the medicinal products in accordance with Article 70(1) of Directive 2001/83/EC.

11. Without prejudice to the law on the protection of industrial and commercial property, medicinal products for human use which have been authorised in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation shall benefit from an eight-year period of data protection and a ten-year period of marketing protection, in which connection the latter period shall be extended to a maximum of 11 years if, during the first eight years of those ten years, the marketing authorisation holder obtains an authorisation for one or more new therapeutic indications which, during the scientific evaluation prior to their authorisation, are held to bring a significant clinical benefit in comparison with existing therapies.