Deadlines and meetings

Article

Published 11.03.2025

The working group meets in March and October, which means new requests should be forwarded within the 15. of the month before.

Deadlines

In order to include new requests for ATC codes, DDDs and alterations on the agenda for the Working Group meetings, they should normally be forwarded to the Centre before these deadlines.

The deadlines for the March meeting 2025 are:

January 15th for new requests and alterations
February 1st for objections

The deadlines for the October meeting 2025 are:

August 15th for new requests and alterations
September 1st for objections

Comments on or objections to the temporary assigned new ATC/DDDs and alterations which are agreed at meetings of the WHO International Working Group for Drug Statistics Methodology should be forwarded to the WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology, before the above mentioned deadlines. The involved parties (applicants) will be informed directly but the deadline will also be published in the WHO Drug Information and on this website.

ATC codes, DDDs and ATC/DDD alterations approved at the March meeting of the Working Group (e.g. March 2025) will be included in the ATC/DDD index the following year (i.e. January 2026).

ATC codes, DDDs and ATC/DDD alterations approved at the October meeting of the Working Group (e.g. October 2025), will be included in the ATC/DDD Index the year after the following year (i.e. January 2027).

Working Group Meetings

The WHO International Working Group for Drug Statistics Methodology meets twice annually, in March and October. The March meeting is normally a teleconference meeting while the October meeting is an ordinary two days meeting.

Applications for new ATC, DDDs and alterations to be discussed at the meetings of the Working Group should be submitted according to deadlines.

Open Session

An open session is arranged once a year in connection with the meeting of the WHO International Working Group for Drug Statistics Methodology. It is organised in the interest of transparency and consists of a session prior to the closed decision-making session of the meeting of the Working Group.

Anyone with a legitimate interest in the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification system and Defined Daily Dose (DDD) assignment can attend the open session. This includes regulatory authorities, the pharmaceutical industry, academia and non-governmental organisations, and it provides an opportunity to present additional information to the experts to assist them in their decision-making. It is also an opportunity for the international experts of the Working Group to exchange ideas and opinions with interested parties. The open session is not intended to be used as a mechanism to challenge the decision of the Working Group.

Interested parties are requested to register for the open session to the WHO Headquarter according to the deadline announced by WHO. The participants of the meeting are requested to provide a relevant reason for attending. WHO Headquarter will restrict the time allowed for each presentation in order to keep the duration of the open session within 90 minutes.

Information on these meetings will be made available on the WHO website.