Quite a bit has been written about data integrity in recent years, and an embedded, effective quality culture remains a critical success factor for fully realizing strong data integrity. In recently published guidance on data integrity, the FDA goes so far as to state very directly that “it is the role of management with executive responsibility to create a quality culture where employees understand that data integrity is an organizational core value and employees are encouraged to identify and promptly report data integrity issues.”
This is the third of three articles focusing on an effort to address what appear to be systemic issues across quality departments, informed by a multinational group comprising chief quality officers (CQOs) from pharma, device, animal health, and consumer goods companies. It will examine how to achieve cross-functional ownership of quality and the efforts of the CQO team to build quality for the 21st century, including exploring the creation of formal degree programs in quality.
Though the FDA has taken great efforts in the past year to stand up for biosimilars and establish the BAP, one expert argues the agency can do more to confidently and simply underscore the quality of biosimilar products and to reconsider the need for the additional studies required of biosimilars, especially — but not just limited to — clinical studies.
Using new and existing technologies to improve aseptic processing manufacturing may provide the need and opportunity for new approaches to process control and monitoring. In some cases, improvements to these approaches will require the use of existing technology. In other cases, they will be required to support the implementation and use of new technology.
A validation master plan (VMP) outlines the principles involved in the qualification of a facility, defining the areas and systems to be validated, and provides a written program for achieving and maintaining a qualified facility. Master plans are written to assist an organization with validation strategies or to provide control over a specific process.
Autologous (patient-derived) therapies represent unique challenges to processing. One-patient, single-batch is a radical change from the scale our industry is accustomed to. At this level the filling is more analogous to limited Phase 1 clinical trial materials or even preclinical applications. The logistics and required compliance of manufacturing these personalized therapies is drastically different and presents a combinatorial explosive problem. One aspect of this process where traditional methods fall apart is filling of these therapies.
“Skinny labeling” refers to the practice of follow-on drug manufacturers seeking approval for some but not all the indications for which the branded drug has been approved. In the small molecule drug world, it has been a successful strategy for generic drug makers to get around the brand’s follow-on “new use” patents that keep the brand from falling off the “patent cliff” long after the expiration of the original patents. This strategy is starting to be used in the biosimilar realm.
We like simplicity. Yet in pharmaceutical operations we have become very good at making things more complex than they need to be. This article illustrates a few areas where companies tend to make matters worse and highlights areas where both industry and regulatory agency leaders should push back and focus on simplification.
This article presents a detailed summary of the drug GMP warning letters issued in FY2018, as well as a comparison of trends since fiscal year 2013. A comprehensive GMP intelligence program includes evaluation of health authority enforcement actions, including FDA Forms 483, warning letters, seizures, recalls, and consent decree agreements. This allows manufacturers and sponsors to identify new trends in the focus of FDA inspectors and to act to address or justify similar situations at their own firms.
Most in the life sciences agree that artificial intelligence (AI) will reshape the sector from R&D through commercial. Although AI has only just left the starting gate, and most activity is in exploratory phases, some benefits are starting to emerge. And there are pockets of early adopters trailblazing new approaches and seeking a competitive edge.
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