GMP News - Validation

The issue of (cross-) contamination and, in this context, cleaning validation have played an important role in the GMP environment for decades. For some years now, health-based exposure limits have been added as a possible alternative. In a draft guideline, the WHO has addressed this topic.

End of May, another new part under the heading "GMP Flexibilites" was added to the Questions & Answers document prepared by the EC, the CMDh, the Inspectors Working Group and the EMA. This new part now includes special features for the qualification of equipment (question 6.2).

In order to be able to continue to provide the population with high-quality, effective and safe medicinal products during the Covid-19 pandemic, Europe is taking exceptional measures. A Q&A document has been prepared in cooperation between the European Commission, the Coordination Group on Mutually Recognised and Decentralised Procedures (CMDh), the Inspectors Working Group and the European Medicines Agency (EMA). At the end of May, special features for process validation (question 6.2) were added under the heading "GMP Flexibilites".

Is there a specific FDA requirement for a Design Qualification? The answer is (actually) No.

The modification and deletion of electronic data must be documented by an audit trail. A missing audit trail led to a Warning Letter to the Indian company Shriram Institute for Industrial Research.

In the context of process validation, the FDA attaches considerable importance to a "state of control". The FDA expects evidence of this "state of control" as part of stage 3 "continued process verification" within the validation lifecycle. Now, what exactly does the FDA want to see? Parts of the answer to this question can be found in Warning Letters.