GMP NEWS 2023

Following the recent concerns that falsified batches of Ozempic® may have entered the market, the Official Medicines Control Laboratory (OMCL) Chemisches und Veterinäruntersuchungsamt (CVUA, Karlsruhe, Germany)  has determined that suspected batches of Ozempic® pre-filled pens contained insulin glulisine instead of the claimed active substance, semaglutide.

The Confirmatory Evidence guidance supplements and expands the recommendations in the 2019 Substantial Evidence of Effectiveness draft guidance by providing further detail on the use of data drawn from one or more sources (e.g., clinical data, mechanistic data, real-world data).

China has passed a revised counter-espionage law that extends the powers to combat espionage. This increases the legal uncertainty for GMP inspections and audits.

The Swissmedic recently clarified some requirements for the manufacture and marketing of formula drugs (e.g. "Formula magistralis" medicinal products) by issuing an updated version of their corresponding guidance document. The guideline is the basis for "GMP inspections for formula drugs" carried out by the cantonal inspectorates and Swissmedic.

In addition to the recently published FDA guideline on Quality Considerations for Clinical Research with Cannabis the FDA now published an article to assist researchers with developing cannabis-derived product (CCDP) clinical research programs.

Financial and organizational advantages speak for the use of cloud services in the pharmaceutical environment. However, potential risks and regulatory restrictions should be known. Nine experts from industry and regulatory authorities answer an extensive catalog of questions from various topic areas. Question 13: A cloud service providers refers to SOC reports when assessed, especially to the SOC2 report. Would this report be sufficient as concerns the requirements of the assessment and could it be used?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sent a Warning Letter to a manufacturer of over-the-counter (OTC) drug products. Based on a review of record, the authority found several CGMP violations. These concern inadequate identity testing of incoming components and finished drug products. Furthermore, an adequate stability testing program was not implemented.

The EMA has launched a dedicated website for the Accelerating clinical trials in the European Union (ACT EU) initiative.

Even three months after its entry into force, Annex 1 still raises many questions. Swissmedic has now published a document with technical interpretations of existing questions under the title "Interpretation of GMP Annex 1 2022 (Rev. 1)".