GMP NEWS 2017

The revised USP General Chapters <659>, <661>, <661.1> and <661.2> are online available and have become official on May 1, 2017. Read more about the revisions of the four USP general chapters.

On 17 March 2017 the European Medicines Agency (EMA) released a new policy on the handling of information which has been received from external sources about serious concerns, e.g. related to GMP deviations or Data Integrity issues. Please read more about the EMA policy.

The British MHRA has published the 2016 GMP inspection deficiency data trend. The report lists interesting examples for all relevant chapters and annexes of the EU-GMP Guidelines.

At the beginning of March 2017, Lumis, an API manufacturer in China, received a Warning Letter from the the US FDA. During the FDA inspection the certificates of analysis (COAs) were criticized. The issued certificates did not contain all relevant information on the quality that would have been necessary for the customer. Learn more about the FDA Warning Letter issued to Lumis.

To ascertain the information required by QPs to allow release of medicinal products impacted by a statement of non-compliance, the European QP Association (EQPA) performed a survey among its members. This survey on the certification of batches with GMP issues generated some interesting results.

Reverse osmosis as a main barrier to all types of impurities plays an essential role in both the production of Purified Water (PW) and cold WFI production. In the pharmaceutical industry, this module has to be heat sanitisable. Now the question is how often heat sanitisation has to be performed?

The new MRA Agreement between the EU and the USA on the mutual recognition of GMP inspections is being discussed in depth. One shouldn't conclude though that the inspection pressure would decrease now because of the recognition of EU inspections. Read more about the consequences of the GMP Inspection Agreement.

Hoses are more often used than one thinks. On the one hand they are used in routine operations, on the other hand they can also be utilised as interim solution before a new pipe is drawn. They then fall into the first case situation. While one pays more consideration to pipes, their material quality and surfaces, hoses are often neglected. But what about requirements for hoses? Are there any?

The EMA recommends the suspension of medicines due to unreliable studies from Micro Therapeutic Research Labs. Medicines where suitable alternative data are available can remain on market. Read more about the press release regarding medicines recommended for suspension.