Change control is mandatory to maintain the validated state also for computerised systems and is subject to inspections. What are the regulatory requirements and what is the inspection practice?
Aide-Memoire from the PIC/S regarding the Inspection of Quality Risk Management
The PIC/S has developed a stand-alone Aide-Memoire (PI 038-2) on Quality Risk Management (QRM) for GMP inspectors. The aim of the document is to provide guidance to GMP inspectors on the inspection of QRM systems in the pursuit of harmonisation.
Analytical Procedure Life Cycle - New USP Chapter <1220> published
More than a year after the publication of the draft of Chapter <1220> on Life Cycle Management of Analytical Procedures, the USP has announced the final version for 01 November.
ICH publishes Guideline Q13 on Continuous Production
End of July 2022, the ICH (International Council for Harmonisation) published the draft guideline on continuous manufacturing, which had been awaited for two years. In addition to batch definitions, the document describes three different continuous manufacturing approaches and provides guidance on control strategy and approval issues.
Since the GMP regulations are sometimes not very specific, concrete regulatory guidance on implementation is very helpful. In a current Warning Letter, the FDA specifies their requirements for cleaning validation. What does the FDA require?
As part of inspections the authorities also check computerised systems. Klaus Feuerhelm, former inspector at the Regierungspräsidium Tübingen, has created a TOP 3 list of the most frequent complaints for 2020. TOP 2 of the list - system descriptions. What were the deficiencies found here?
Near infrared (NIR) analytical procedures are widely used in the pharmaceutical industry for identification testing and assay measurements and for monitoring and controlling manufacturing processes. In this context, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published a new Guidance for Industry entitled Development and Submission of Near Infrared Analytical Procedures.
The Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme (PIC/S), as the international association of pharmaceutical inspectors, published the long-awaited guidance document on data integrity on July 1, 2021. Read more about the contents of the document PI 041 "Good Practices for Data Management and Data Integrity in regulated GMP/GDP Environments".
When we talk about data and data integrity, we always talk about ALCOA+. But what is hidden behind this abbreviation and do you really understand the implications?
New Version of WHO Guidelines on Process Transfer Published as a Draft
The WHO has recently published a new version of its guidelines on the transfer of technology as a draft. Many new chapters have been added to the previous document.
In April 2021, the U.S. FDA issued a Warning Letter to a Colombian API manufacturer due to significant violations of cGMP regulations for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs).
APIC: Update of the "Cleaning Validation" Guide for APIs
The new version of APIC's document "GUIDANCE ON ASPECTS OF CLEANING VALIDATION IN ACTIVE PHARMACEUTICAL INGREDIENT PLANTS" was finalised in February 2021 and is now available.
FDA Warning Letter to Mexican Manufacturer based on Review of Documents
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently published a Warning Letter to a Mexican firm whose facility is registered as a manufacturer of over-the-counter (OTC) drug products in the United States. The Warning Letter is not based on inspection findings from an onsite audit but on the review of documents that the company was required to send at the request of the FDA. The FDA found different serious deficiencies based on the submitted documents.
What is the FDA's Position on Concurrent Validation?
In the FDA Guidance for Industry on process validation, there is also a short section on concurrent validation. Concurrent validation should be used rarely, but may be possible if, for example, products are manufactured infrequently or medically necessary products are needed for short-term market supply. A recent Warning Letter underlines the guideline's statement that concurrent validation should be used rarely.
Many of the requirements laid down in the US-American GMP regulations (21 CFR 210/211) are not very specific. However, they are concretized among other things by Guidances - and by Warning Letters. Warning Letters in particular show very clearly how the FDA interprets its GMP regulations. A current Warning Letter provides information on the tasks of the Quality Assurance Unit.