CGMP guidelines, CFR, CDER and CBER, PIC/S, Environment control in pharma industry, plant layout, maintenance of sterile area, Clean room classification, Environmental monitoring, Types of contaminants in pharma industry & Good Warehousing Practices.
2. • WHO defines Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) as “that part of
quality assurance which ensures that quality products are
consistently produced and controlled to the quality standards
appropriate to their intended use and as required by the marketing
authorization”
• GMP is aimed primarily at diminishing the risk inherent in any
pharmaceutical production
• types of risks :
cross-contamination (in particular, with unexpected contaminants)
mix-ups (example, false labeling)
3. • An FDA 483 is a form used by an FDA investigator following an
inspection of your plant
• It lists deficiencies in your quality system and potential
noncompliance issues with GMP’s
• The guiding principle of GMP is that quality is built into a product,
and not just tested into a finished product
• Therefore, the assurance is that the product not only meets the final
specifications, but that it has been made by the same procedures
under the same conditions each and every time it is made
4. • August 2002, the FDA announced the Pharmaceutical CGMPs for the
21st Century Initiative
• Intent to integrate quality systems and risk management approaches
• CGMP regulations for drugs contain minimum requirements
for the methods, facilities, and controls used in manufacturing,
processing, and packing of a drug product
• The Form 483 is officially known as the Notice of Inspection
Observations
5. • is compilation of federal laws
• is divided into 50 titles for different fields, titles are further
divided into chapters and chapters are divided into parts
• CGMP guidelines are defined in Title 21 of the U.S. Code of
Federal Regulations (21 CFR), which appears in several parts
CFR (Code of Federal Regulations)
• 21 CFR part 314: For FDA approval to market a new drug
6. • 21 CFR part 210: Current Good Manufacturing Practice in
Manufacturing Processing, packing, or Holding of Drugs
• 21 CFR part 211: Current Good Manufacturing Practice for Finished
Pharmaceuticals
• 21 CFR part 600: Biological Products
7. Most influential and most frequently referenced GMP guidelines for
pharmaceuticals:
• The US Current Good Manufacturing Practices for Finished
Pharmaceuticals regulations (the US cGMPs)
• The Guide to Good Manufacturing Practice for Medicinal Products of
the European Union (the EC GMP Guide)
• The ICH Q7 Good Manufacturing Practice Guide for Active
Pharmaceutical Ingredients
• The World Health Organization (WHO) good manufacturing practices
8. The other guidelines and regulations referred by the pharmaceutical
manufacturers are:
• Schedule M ‘Good Manufacturing Practices and Requirements of
Premises, Plant and Equipment for Pharmaceutical Products,’ The
Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Rules, India
• PIC/S Guide to Good Manufacturing Practice for Medicinal Products
• Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER): Manufacturing,
Processing, or Holding Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients
9. GMP includes
a) General considerations
b) Personnel
c) Production area
d) Equipment
e) Sanitation
f) SOP’s
g) Raw Materials
h) Self Inspection And Audit
i) Master Formula Records
10. j) Batch Manufacturing Records
k) Warehousing Area
l) Labels And Other Printed Materials
m) Quality Control System
11. a) General considerations
• Location and surroundings: shall be so situated that it avoid risk of
contamination from external environmental including open sewage,
drain, public lavatory.
• Building and premises: shall conform to the conditions laid down in
the Factories Act, 1948 (63 of 1948)
• Water system: shall be validated system for treatment of water in
accordance with standards specified by the Bureau of Indian
Standards or Local Municipality or Pharmacopoeial specification
• Disposal of waste: be in conformity with the
requirements of Environment Pollution Control Board
12. b) Personnel
• Qualified and experience in relevant field
• Written duties of technical and Quality Control personnel shall be
laid and following strictly
• Appropriate number
• Medical examination prior to employment & periodically after
• personnel hygiene training
13. c) Production Area
• Orderly and logical positioning of equipment and materials and
movement of personnel
• Separate dedicated and self-contained facilities shall be made
available for the production of sensitive pharmaceutical products
d) Equipment
• shall be located, designed, constructed, adapted to suit the
operations and logbook shall be maintained
• shall be calibrated and checked on a scheduled basis in accordance
to SOP and maintain records
14. e) Sanitation
• manufacturing premises shall be cleaned and in an orderly manner
f) SOP
• For Equipment, sampling, Testing, Process and Packaging
• shall be retained for at least one year after the expiry date of the
finished product
g) Raw materials
• Keeping an inventory of all raw materials to be used and maintain
records as per Schedule U
• Should be purchased from approved sources
• Must be checked by QC department and shall be labelled
15. h) Self inspection and Audit
• To detect shortcomings in the implementation of GMP and to
recommend the necessary corrective actions
• shall be performed routinely and on specific occasions
i) Master Formula Records
• There shall be Master Formula records relating to all manufacturing
procedures for each product and batch size
• shall be prepared and endorsed by head of production and quality
control
16. j) Warehousing Area
• should be designed and adapted to ensure good storage conditions
• There shall be a separate sampling area in the warehousing area for
active raw materials and excipients
• Should be clean, dry and maintained with acceptable temperature
limits
• Every Material stored should be labeled properly
17. k) Labels & other printed materials
• Labels are necessary for identification of the drugs and their use
• The Printing shall be done in bright colours and in a legible manner
l) Quality Control System
• QC lab. May be divided into Chemical, Instrumentation,
Microbiological and Biological testing
• QC department shall conduct stability studies of the products to
ensure and assign their shell life
• All instruments shall be calibrated and validated before adopted for
routine testing
18. CDER (Centre for Drug Evaluation & Research)
• It is a part of USFDA
• Performs essential public health task by making sure that safe and
effective drugs are available to improve the health of people in U.S.
• Regulates OTC and prescription drugs, including biological
therapeutics and generic drugs (more than medicines)
Ex. Fluoride toothpaste, antiperspirants, dandruff shampoos and
sunscreens
• FDA CDER also develops standards for CGMP, clinical and Good
Laboratory Practices and Industry practices
19. CBER (Centre for Biologics Evaluation & Research)
• regulates biological products for human use under applicable federal
laws, including Public Health Service Act and Federal Food, Drug and
Cosmetic Act
• Responsible for assuring safety, purity, potency and efficiency of
biologics and related products
• biologics are drugs derived from humans, animals and
microorganisms
• BLA (Biologic License Application) is request for permission to
introduce biologic product into interstate commerce
• BLA is a form from FDA 356
20. PIC/S (Pharmaceutical Inspection Convention/
Pharmaceutical Inspection CO-operation Scheme)
• provides the pharmaceutical GMP guidelines for industries
• mainly guidelines for sterile pharmaceuticals and also QA guidelines
• PIC/S guidelines are applicable for member countries
• was established to harmonize, educate and update aspects relating
to GMP among member countries
21. • PIC was established by European Foreign Trade Agency under the
title ‘The Convention for the Mutual Recognition of Inspections in
Respect of the Manufacture of Pharmaceutical Products’
• Goal: To lead the international development, implementation and
maintenance of harmonized GMP standards of inspectorates in the
field of medicinal products
PIC/S (Pharmaceutical Inspection Convention/
Pharmaceutical Inspection CO-operation Scheme)
22. PIC/S (Pharmaceutical Inspection Convention/
Pharmaceutical Inspection CO-operation Scheme)
Objectives:
• to harmonize GMP requirements
• to bring about uniform mutual valid inspections
• to educate & exchange information among different countries
• to attain mutual confidence of drug regulatory authorities
• to safeguard public health by providing good quality
medicines by bringing harmonization in GMP among
countries
23. PIC
• Established in 1970
• Convention
• 18 countries
• Formal agreement
• Focus on inspection
PICS
• Established in 1995
• Scheme
• 49 agencies
• Informal agreement
• Focus on training and
developing guidelines
24. Environment Control
• Clean areas should be ventilated with air passed through appropriate
filter ( HEPA)
• Temperature and relative humidity in clean areas should be
controlled within limits compatible with properties of materials and
products being handled therein
• Air pressure in clean areas should be maintained higher than that in
adjacent or lower cleanliness levels
• areas with different levels of cleanliness should be separated by
airlocks
26. Maintenance of Sterile Area
Sterile products are produced by 2 ways-----
• Aseptic processing:
is processing & packaging of sterile products into previously sterile
containers followed by hermetic sealing with a sterilized closure in a
manner that prevents viable microbial recontamination of sterile
product
• Terminal sterilization:
a product is sterilized in its final container or packaging which
permits the measurement & evaluation of quantifiable lethialty
27. • Cleanliness of area in processing areas is defined by the no. of
airborne particles greater or equal to 0.5 µm in diameter per unit
volume of air
1) Filling and sealing areas
2) Direct support areas
3) Other areas
Air Cleanliness
28. 1) Filling and sealing areas:
• products and container- closure systems are directly exposed to env.
During filling and sealing process
• these processes include installation and connection of container
components to container- closure systems
• cleanliness should be Grade C or higher
2) Direct support areas:
• supporting areas of filling & sealing areas
• cleanliness should be Grade C or higher
29. 3) Other areas:
• areas for preparing pharmaceutical solutions prior to sterilization &
areas for washing & cleaning manufacturing equipments & apparatus
• weighing & preparation processes of solutions are conducted in
Grade C areas; if contamination preventive measures are
implemented then can be performed in Grade D area
• Air in clean areas should be controlled by designing, instituting and
managing suitable Heating, ventilating and Air Conditioning Systems
(HVAC) to maintain atm. Conditions at appropriate levels
31. Environmental Monitoring
• to control the levels of microbes and airborne particles within
specified limits
• predict damage to env.
• evaluate efficiency of cleaning, disinfection & decontamination in
filling & sealing areas & other support areas
• Purpose of env. Monitoring classified as:
1) microbial control
2) particle control
32. • Airborne particles that are greater than 0.5 µm in diameter
• Bacteria & fungi
• Not only airborne microbes but also include those on surface of wall,
floors, equipments, gowns, etc.
Containment:
• dedicated production area
• for highly sensitive materials, materials of infectious nature, high
pharmacological activity or toxicity
Targets for Monitoring
34. Control of Contamination
• Presence of unwanted materials viz., dust & particles during
manufacturing & transportation time
1) Functional contamination:
• has detrimental effect on product or process
2) Nuisance contamination:
• does not have functional effect on product or process but interferes
with orderly management of cleanroom
35. 5 main classes of contaminants found in pharma
industry
Particles, metallic ions, chemicals, bacteria, airborne molecular
contaminants (AMCs)
• Contamination sources:
Air, production facility, cleanroom, personnel, process water,
process chemicals, process gases and static charge
36. Good Warehousing Practices
• Large building where raw materials or manufactured goods may be
stored prior to their distribution for sale is called warehouse
• GWP means storing of supplies so that products are always available,
accessible & in good conditions
• It is an operation that preserve the integrity of drugs
37. Objectives of GWP:
• to optimize resources available for a large scale storage in a specified
a manner
• to save time & effort in identifying & locating goods
• to maintain safe, clean & segregated environment
38. References
• CDER and CBER Experience, ACDRS Special Workshop: Substantial
Evidence in 21st Century Regulatory Science, UC- Washington Center,
2016.
• https://www.fda.gov/drugs/pharmaceutical-quality-
resources/current-good-manufacturing-practice-cgmp-regulations
(09/05/2021)
• WHO Technical Report Series, No. 961, 2011.