The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) defines a biocidal product family (aka BPF) as “a group of biocidal products that are used for similar purposes and contain active substances with same specifications”. The products to form a family, therefore, should share similar uses, the same active substances, similar compositions with specified variations, and similar levels of risk and efficacy. 

In the last few years, there has been a growing interest among the applicants in building biocidal product families thanks to the many advantages of this relatively new concept. In this article, you will find a brief introduction to the concept of biocidal product family and the benefits of compiling your own.


Regulation and authorisation under a single approval

Building a biocidal product family is essentially a regulatory procedure which is based on the concept of “frame formulations” covered under the Biocidal Products Directive. What makes the BPF stand out as an efficient concept to employ for your business is that it allows you to combine similar products which are then regulated and authorised under a single authorisation. When optimised in a proper fashion, the “single authorisation” opportunity will bring about substantial benefits for your company. Before expanding on them, let’s have a brief look at the grouping requirements that will enable you to sow the seed of putting the BPF concept in use.


Grouping requirements at a glance

  • Similar uses 

You should group your biocidal products on the basis of the uses. In this case, your products should have similar uses as defined under EU BPR and can be across product types, and assessed on a case-by-case basis.

  • Same active substances

Grouping can be possible if your products share at least one of the same active substances.

  • Similar compositions 

Similar compositions are a must for the correct grouping. These compositions are assessed on a case-by-case basis, and specific variations are allowed.

  • Similar risks and efficacy

Hazard classification of all products in the family must be the same or lower than the highest risk product. 


The criteria listed above for the grouping for biocidal products to form a family create a fertile ground for time- and cost-effective processes in your business. 


How do biocidal product families benefit your business?

The concept of BPF itself is indeed intended to make things easier for companies, manufacturers, distributors and/or any party or person who deals with the preparation and submission of a biocidal product family dossier. 


First of all, the fundamental structure of the concept reduces the authority workloads and saves time and money for applicants. For instance, if your company wants to add a new product to an existing biocidal product family, and it meets the requirements for similarity, notifying the relevant authority of the Member State will suffice in most cases. For a Union authorisation, a notification to ECHA will be enough. There are also instances where a notification is not required. You do not have to notify the relevant authorities in case of changes in dyes, perfumes or pigments.


Authorisation and regulation under a single approval and the exemptions concerning the notification processes allows for less data generation, which results in massive cost reductions. Besides, the cost of dossier submission is significantly reduced because companies have to pay only one fee for a family rather than the individual products themselves. Once the products and the family have been authorised, additional products to the family will not require full authorisation, which saves both time and funds. In this case, you only need to notify the authorities 30 days before you place your product on the markets. That makes the process faster and allows for early access to the markets.


Enrol in our course for more!


Would you like to learn more about building a biocidal product family, the evaluation processes and the ways to identify what products can be included together? Enrol in our e-learning course “Introduction to Biocidal Product Families: What are they and what are the Requirements?” and start making full use of the concept in favour of your business goals and presence in relevant markets.


Click here to reserve your place and start learning now


Watch our free webinar on Biocidal Product Families

Yordas Insight offers a free webinar on biocidal product families. The webinar is presented by  Adam Thickett.


Click here to access the webinar



Contact Yordas experts for more!


Yordas can help you further develop your biocidal product families. Check out our services and feel free to contact our experts anytime.


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