Featured Pharma Online Editorial
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Calculating Cleaning Process Capability: Analysis Of Total Organic Carbon
1/10/2022
This article will examine a data set of actual total organic carbon (TOC) swab data collected during cleaning validation for a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility and will show how much cleaning process knowledge and cleaning process understanding can be easily obtained through some simple statistical evaluations of such data.
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The Essential Components Of A Sterility Assurance Program
10/15/2021
The first step in developing a sterility assurance program is to list each step in the process, beginning at the point of use and ending in sterile storage. Each step should be evaluated for ways to prevent contamination in the manufacturing process or environments. This article shares the components of a holistic sterility assurance program for an aseptic manufactured product.
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FMEA Vs. System Risk Structures (SRS): Which Is More Useful?
9/24/2021
In this article, Mark Witcher, Ph.D., discusses the many failure modes of FMEA and risk priority number (RPN), comparing and contrasting it with system risk structures (SRS) and adjusted risk likelihood (RPN). He concludes that one of these is more useful than the other for pharma and medical devices; which one is it?
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Vaccine Manufacturing: Harnessing Lab Deviations
9/8/2021
For National Immunization Awareness Month, we're highlighting timely vaccine manufacturing-centric content such as this from Tunnell Consulting's Bob Johnson. The presence of deviations may seem inevitable, yet COVID has brought to light the question of how vaccine manufacturing sites can manufacture more vaccines, more efficiently. This article explains how.
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How To Find & Manage Biotech Consultants Effectively
9/6/2021
The roles being filled by biotech consultants have grown considerably, as companies are becoming more familiar with working with consultants and more people are interested in pursuing a consultant career. But how do we find good consultants, and how do we ensure that our consultants are as committed and engaged as our full-time employees? Here's how to accomplish that.
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What’s The Role Of Interim Consultants In The Life Sciences & How Do We Use Them Effectively?
9/3/2021
When life sciences companies need new talent, they typically have two options: bring in a consultant or hire a full-time employee. Usually, this decision is dictated by the permanence of the role, but sometimes, timelines complicate things. In this situation, an interim consultant can be the solution. But what is the interim consultant's role, really, and how do we use them effectively?
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Best Practices To Ensure Quality Of Raw Materials Used To Manufacture Therapeutic Proteins
8/25/2021
Across biologics, raw material quality is a key driver of product quality and consistency. This article recaps a recent U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) workshop on the subject, including recaps of best practices and experiences shared by the FDA, Merck, Biogen, and more.
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10 Critical Validation Parameters For Microbiological Experiments
7/26/2021
In studying a microbiological method, different validation parameters require assessment. These are variables or factors that can be controlled, changed, or measured in the experiment. This article outlines the key parameters to consider.
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Selecting The Best Human Factors Method For Your Medical Or Drug Delivery Device Evaluation
7/21/2021
A robust human factors process is 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. 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.
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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.