Guest Columns

  1. What To Expect From A Remote Inspection -- & How To Navigate It 7/23/2021

    Regulators have moved toward remote inspections since the pandemic began, and this is likely to continue. This article presents an overview of the remote inspection process and provides advice on how to prepare for and deal with the inspection on the day, as well as how to respond to any concerns raised following the audit.

  2. Selecting The Best Human Factors Method For Your Medical Or Drug Delivery Device Evaluation 7/21/2021

    A robust human factors process has become critical to product optimization and market competitiveness for medical devices and drug delivery devices, but not all companies have the resources, funding, or time to conduct such user studies. This article from Genentech's head of human factors engineering examines the three major categories of evaluation that you should consider, the pros and cons of each, and how to select study participants.

  3. The 8-Step Checklist To Write Effective Investigation Reports 7/16/2021

    It’s always best to prevent the need to investigate a non-compliance, but if you experience a non-compliance, it’s necessary to quickly and effectively perform an investigation. The investigation report needs to be clearly understandable to anyone reviewing the report, and hopefully you'll also learn enough to make sure the non-compliance doesn't recur.

  4. FDA Releases Guidance On CMC Changes To An Approved Application: Certain Biological Products 7/14/2021

    At the end of June, the FDA released a new guidance to assist applicants and manufacturers of certain licensed biological products in determining which reporting category is appropriate for a change in chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC) information to an approved biologics license application. This article summarizes the guidance.

  5. Patent Transparency For Biologics & Biosimilars: The Revamped Purple Book 7/12/2021

    The FDA recently updated the “Purple Book” — a database containing information about all licensed biological products — to include, for the first time, patent information relating to biologics as well as FDA regulatory exclusivity information.

  6. How To Enhance “Operational Learning” In Biopharma 7/9/2021

    According to conventional wisdom in biopharma, operational learning is derived from existing practices, including inspections, audits, deviation investigations, and gemba walks. What is often missing is the necessary understanding of the “how.” This article provides advice, as well as lessons learned from Takeda and Biogen.

  7. Emerging Biopharma: Your Next 2 Geographic Markets To Tackle After The US 7/7/2021

    While the majority of the world’s drug development and innovation are underwritten by the United States, emerging drug developers should not overlook these two major regions of the world that represent volume, profit, ingenuity, and growth. 

  8. Navigating DSCSA Implementation: Key Requirements & 4 New FDA Guidances 7/5/2021

    In the U.S., you're grappling with how to set up a fully interoperable electronic system for securing and tracing products across industry sectors per the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) by Nov. 2023. Here's how to navigate the key requirements, as well as the FDA's four new guidances on the subject released in June.

  9. 5 Foundations Of Lean Leadership For Pharmaceutical & Medical Device Professionals 7/2/2021

    Every life sciences company, now more than ever before, is on a journey to provide greater returns to stakeholders by manufacturing products at better quality and lower cost, which is the aim of lean manufacturing. However, many people forget about the cultural and leadership aspects of lean, which at its foundation are responsible for the success or failure of a lean transformation. 

  10. PIC/S Annex Update: What Is Your ATMP Control Strategy? 6/30/2021

    Recently, the Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme (PIC/S) revised Annex 2 of its GMP guide addressing the manufacturing of advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs). While this guide is not an FDA or EMA guidance, it represents the consensus thoughts of a group that those regulators participate in.