Why is CAPA so Important Anyway?
Corrective and preventive action (CAPA) can be viewed differently by employees within pharmaceuticals and medical device companies. Some see CAPAs as simply an onerous task given to them to complete...
Critical Process Parameters and Critical Quality Attributes: Why Does the Selection Process Take so Long?
Quick, can you name the top 10 Critical Process Parameters (CPPs) and Critical Quality Attributes (CQAs) of your bio-pharmaceutical manufacturing process? Well if you hesitated don't feel bad. Most...
Quality & Compliance
Three Key Steps to Conducting a Strong Investigation
Unexpected events often happen in the everyday world. However, in the regulated world great efforts are made to minimize the severity and frequency of unexpected events. Yet, despite best efforts,...
Clinical Research Solutions
Generic Drug User Fee Act (GDUFA) Overview
FDA user fees have been a fact of life for regulated industries for nearly two decades. As you continue to comply by paying the fees, you should understand what the revenue does for you. In this...
Clinical Research Solutions
FDA Comments on Proposed Prescription Drug Labeling
Standardized prescription drug labeling was implemented by FDA in 1979. In the following years as labeling became more complex, FDA re-evaluated its usefulness and published a final rule in 2006...
5 Steps for Developing and Managing Supplier Quality Programs
With the increased pressures of cost control for manufacturers of FDA-regulated products and the rapid expansion of globalization of the supply chain, the expectations of manufacturers and sponsors...
Clinical Research Solutions
4 Key Parts to a Complete Product Complaint Handling Program
According to 2012 FDA statistics, drug company’s Product Complaint handling systems (21 CFR 211.198) were cited in 142 Turbo EIR observations for their deficiencies representing almost 4% of all...
Clinical Research Solutions
Extended Review Timeline for Certain Applications under Proposed PDUFA V
The Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) is due to be reauthorized by the end of September this year. Along with the usual increases in fees, the latest version of the act (PDUFA V) includes some...
Clinical Research Solutions
FDA Study Finds Lower Risk of Lung Cancer Among Menthol Smokers
In March 2011, the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee released a report on the impact of menthol on public health. Based on the committee’s review of all available evidence, they...
Clinical Research Solutions
FDA Shelf Life Extension Program (SLEP)
The FDA’s homepage contains an item in the Public Health Focus section from the Office of Communications entitled “Don’t Use Expired Medicine.” Given this mandate, I recall from many years ago the...
Clinical Research Solutions
Food and Cosmetic Ingredients that are also Excipients in Drug Products – OGD Policy
In a recent teleconference with senior officials in the Office of Generic Drugs (OGD) at the FDA, it was conveyed that it is the policy of OGD in determining the safety of excipients to rely...
Clinical Research Solutions
Innovation vs. Safety: Another Definition for the “Chicken or the Egg"
We all know that the FDA’s mission is to promote and protect public health. However, in their effort to protect the public health, it seems that they may be inadvertently harming the industry that...
Citing the IIG as Evidence of Ingredient Safety Comes with Caveats
It has become common practice in developing drug formulations to consult the FDA's Inactive Ingredient Guide (IIG) to obtain information on "acceptable levels" of excipients used in previously...
Clinical Research Solutions
Competition Between Orphan Drug Sponsors – Good for Patients, Strategic Complexities for Sponsors
The regulations developed by the FDA for implementing the Orphan Drug Act contain a number of features that are intended to maximize benefits to the orphan disease patient population, but which pose...