Do liquid, sterile medicinal products have to be particle-free?
According to the pharmacopoeias, parenteralia, i.e. sterile medicinal products for injection purposes, must be 100% visually inspected. In addition to damages to the primary container, the absence of particles has also to be checked. But do these medicinal products also have to be 100% free of particles? Read more here.
Warning Letter for US Pharmaceutical Manufacturer: Container/Closure Issues and Other Deficiencies
The US FDA has recently published a Warning Letter describing the deficiencies observed during an inspection performed in September 2018 at a US pharmaceutical manufacturer. One serious deficiency concerns leaking product containers. Furthermore, defects in the stability programme, in the CAPA system and in data integrity have also been reported.
Warning Letter for Sterile Manufacturer of Ophthalmic Drugs in the US
In May, the FDA published a Warning Letter to a US American sterile manufacturer of ophthalmic drugs which highlights serious deficiencies, especially in sterile production and in the general understanding of GMP. Read more here.
Numerous GMP Deviations found at US Manufacturing Site
Due to the deficiencies discovered during an inspection performed in July 2018, the US FDA has now issued a Warning Letter to a US pharmaceutical manufacturer of homeopathic drug products. Microbiological impurities in the products and the water used to manufacture the medicinal products are an essential aspect of the complaint.
FDA Warning Letter: GMP Deficiencies at US Pharma Manufacturer, e.g. in Water System
The FDA has recently issued another Warning Letter to an US pharmaceutical manufacturer describing serious GMP deficiencies. This concerns among others the water system, the QC laboratory and quality assurance.
Warning Letter for US Contract Manufacturer: Cleaning, Contamination Control and Stability Studies criticised
In March, the American authority FDA issued a Warning Letter to a US pharmaceutical manufacturer due to numerous violations of GMP. Among other things, inadequate cleaning of the equipment, errors in the stability studies as well as in contamination control were found.
US FDA Warning Letter to India: Pharmaceutical Water and Other Deficiencies
In January 2019, the US American FDA issued a Warning Letter to a manufacturer from India. Among other things, the pharmaceutical water system was criticized. Read more here.
Is the Sanitization Temperature for Water Systems too high?
The most common method of preventing microbiological contamination in a water system is thermal sanitisation. There are systems in which the pharmaceutical water is stored hot and systems that are heated cyclically to an elevated, germicidal temperature. However, excessive temperatures not only increase costs, they can also damage the materials. Read more here.
Does Purified Water (PW) have to be tested for Endotoxins?
Within the framework of risk analysis, qualification and preparation of sampling plans for new purified water (PW) systems, the question arises as to whether PW should be tested for endotoxins. Read more here.
New FDA Guideline: Quality Aspects for Continuous Manufacturing
In February 2019, the FDA published a new draft guideline that addresses quality aspects of continuous pharmaceutical manufacturing. It covers topics related to development, process validation, marketing authorisation and routine production.
In February 2019, the WHO published a new Guideline for comment on the production of WFI using non-distillation methods. Read more about the draft entitled "Production of Water for Injection by Means other than Distillation".
In June 2018 already, the International Council for Harmonisation (ICH) announced the coming issuance of a new ICH Guideline on continuous manufacturing. Now, the ICH has released further news about the planned content of the new guideline ICH Q13.
The Association of German Engineers (VDI ="Verein Deutscher Ingenieure") has recently released two new draft guidelines from the area of clean room technology: one regarding central air handling systems, and the other one regarding air filter systems.
Revision of EMA's Guideline on the Use of Pharmaceutical Water
In the course of the revision of the European Pharmacopoeia which allows the production of WFI with other methods than distillation, the revision of EMA's "Guideline on the quality of water for pharmaceutical use" has become necessary.