Contributing Editors

31. These Are The Top Priorities & Challenges For New CDER Director Patrizia Cavazzoni, M.D. 7/30/2021

    Recently appointed to the permanent CDER director role, Dr. Cavazzoni’s appointment was not unexpected, as she was recruited to join the FDA in 2018 from a senior industry role and served as acting CDER director at the start of the agency’s pandemic response. Her experience suggests she will continue to evolve – rather than revolutionize – FDA’s drug review policies.

32. Shaping A System That Enables Patients To Access High-Cost Cell & Gene Therapies 7/28/2021

    The health and life sciences industry needs to create an effective financial system to support the complex new payment structures being adopted for cell and gene therapies.

33. Why Should We Rescue The Legislative Intent Of The BPCIA? 7/28/2021

    What happens when regulatory ambiguity displaces sound scientific guidance, deterring the legislative intent of Congress? This is precisely the situation regarding the FDA changing the regulatory rules of the road regarding a biosimilar’s strength versus its potency.

34. 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.

35. 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.

36. 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.

37. 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.

38. 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.

39. 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.

40. 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.