GMP News

The European Commission sets new limits for Cadmium and Lead in certain Foodstuffs and Food supplements. Products placed on the market before the entry into force of the new regulations and not complying with the new maximum levels should only be allowed to remain on the market for a limited period of time.

The Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) has published a list of cannabis products that will have automatic approval by the agency for individual importation by Brazilian patients. The list also includes a large number of CBD preparations.

Thermal sanitization is still the most common method for keeping pharmaceutical water plants under microbiological control.  Some systems are stored at high temperatures - but often water systems are heated up cyclically to an elevated, germicidal temperature. Here, the question of optimal temperature often arises.

Stability studies of pharmaceuticals are a well-established discipline and, of course, an important regulatory requirement. Nevertheless, an evaluation of the last two fiscal years shows that deficiencies in the stability program are mentioned in numerous FDA 483s.

Observations made by the inspector during an FDA inspection are listed on the FDA Form 483. An evaluation of the last two fiscal years shows that a lack of scientifically sound laboratory controls and not following/documenting laboratory controls are often mentioned in such FDA 483s.

In a recent Form 483 issued as part of an FDA inspection conducted at an Indian sterile manufacturer, the FDA criticized the manual visual inspection, among other things.

Marketing authorisation holders of chemically-synthesized or biologic medicinal products are required to perform confirmatory testing after identifying a potential risk of nitrosamine contamination and report the results using specified templates. One of these reporting templates has been recently revised. Read more here about the updates to be considered in the nitrosamine contamination reporting template.

Based on the experience of the past years, the FDA has published a new draft guidance that deals with the microbiological control of non-sterile medicinal products and clarifies it by means of case studies.

FDA Warning Letters frequently cite fundamental GMP deficiencies in quality control. These include lack of testing of incoming material and components and stability testing, as described in a recent Warning Letter to a Honduran medicinal product manufacturer.

The new regulatory framework for veterinary medicinal products requires several changes to the EudraGMDP database. One important change is the integration of EudraGMDP into the EMA's Organization Management Service (OMS).

The "Access Consortium", a consortium of the regulatory authorities from Australia (TGA), Canada (HBFB), Switzerland (Swissmedic), Singapore (HSA) and now also the United Kingdom (MHRA), published a three-year plan regarding planned common approaches and goals.