The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the fiscal year (FY) 2024 rates for the establishment and reinspection fees related to entities (503B registered facilities)” that compound human drugs and elect to register as outsourcing facilities under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act). The FD&C Act authorizes FDA to assess and […]
Reference standards are used ubiquitously within a Quality Control laboratory and are integral to many test procedures. A laboratory should have defined controls for the use, handling, inventory management, and characterization of these standards, as well as consulting the WHO’s Annex 3 for “General guidelines for the establishment, maintenance, and distribution of chemical reference substances,” which […]
With the latest news that a tornado severely damaged a Pfizer sterile injectable plant in North Carolina, it is clear that Mother Nature is yet another interloper into the drug shortage problem in the United States. Ed Silverman, of the publication STAT, reports that “Among the damaged buildings was a Pfizer plant in Rocky Mount, […]
REMOVING QUALITY ROADBLOCKS FOR CELL & GENE THERAPIES REGISTER HERE Keith Lamb, Executive Director, Lachman Consultant Services, Inc., will be joined by a panel of Cell & Gene Therapy (CGT) industry experts from leading organizations as they discuss the key considerations of successful CGT manufacturing and quality strategies. Roundtable topics will include: • Developing a […]
The ISPE 2023 Biotechnology Conference was held from 26 to 27 June in Dublin, Ireland. Much of the focus of the conference was Cell and Gene Therapy and Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs), terms used in the US and EU for a range of emerging therapies and products in various stages of development. At the […]
The FDA has just revised its MaPP 5014.1 titled Understanding CDER’s Risk‑Based Site Selection Model. Remember, MaPP stands for Manual of Policy and Procedures, and MaPPs instruct internal FDA staff on proper procedures. The FDA publishes these MaPPs to provide greater transparency to stakeholders so they can better understand how the Agency does something or […]
The FDA released a guidance yesterday titled Prohibition on Wholesaling Under Section 503B of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (here), which (as its title suggests) fully outlines what the Agency does and does not consider wholesaling by an outsourcing facility. The examples of what a firm can and cannot do under the provisions of […]
The beautiful country of Malta was the backdrop of the 28th Annual Medicines for Europe Conference for 2023. One of the key themes of the conference was assuring a consistent supply of essential medicines to all of Europe. This topic was at the heart of all the sessions. Pharmaceutical manufacturing in Europe has a rich […]
How do you stop a drug shortage? Make it profitable for more than one, two, or even ten generic companies to sell the drug. History has shown that when five (5) or more players enter a generic field, the drug price drops substantially. Have more than 5-7 players – the price drops to 80% of […]
In a complete supply chain, one site’s lag measure is another site’s lead measure. As important as data integrity is to product quality decisions at the site, data risks in the supply chain can affect availability of product to patients. As mentioned in a previous Lachman blog (here), drug shortages are the preeminent risk for […]
