QbD: new Guidance from EMA and FDA
Recommendation
28/29 April 2026
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The Quality by Design (QbD) concept has been introduced by the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) document Q8, supported by Q9, Q10 and also Q11. In the meantime it is well-known within the pharmaceutical industry. However many companies still struggle with the implementation. Both the European Medicine Agency (EMA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Agency (FDA) are supporting the pharmaceutical industry in the employment of the paradigm. Now, EMA and FDA have published a second joint question-and-answer document that provides further guidance on the quality-by-design concept.
The new document focuses on 'design space verification' and reflects conclusions reached in the on-going parallel assessment, which was launched in 2011. The objective of the parallel assessment is to share knowledge, facilitate a consistent implementation of the international guidelines on the implementation of the quality-by-design concept and promote the availability of medicines of consistent quality throughout the European Union (EU) and the USA.
The EMA and the US FDA will publish further conclusions on other quality-by-design-related topics as the pilot programme continues and more parallel assessments are conducted.
Source: EMA press release
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