Navigating the FDA's New Requirements for eCTD Submissions - Pharmaceutical Industry

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is taking concrete steps to require the submission of all types of regulatory communication in electronic format. Globally, regulatory authorities are all moving to require electronic submission of regulatory communication. The reasons are many but one reason is clear: the public safety responsibilities of the regulators requires significantly faster access to content that can be supported by paper format.

SPL R4: The Latest on Electronic Regulatory Submissions

As of June 1st, 2009 the FDA will no longer accept Establishment Registrations or Product Listings submitted on paper for human prescription drugs, human over-the-counter drugs, or listed biologics and veterinary medicines. After that date, all such filings must be made electronically through the FDA's electronic submission gateway and encoded in XML, according to the rules set out in the HL7 Structured Product Labeling (SPL) standard and the FDA implementation guide. Medical devices are not c

Submissions Processes with Templates for Microsoft Word®

As regulatory agencies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and parallel agencies in Europe, Japan, and Canada, move toward a completely electronic submission environment, tools like templates for Microsoft Word® become increasingly essential to submissions content development processes. Templates can be essential during the preparation of electronic common technical documents, or eCTDs. The eCTD is a standard created by the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH), a

6 Corporate Oversights of Quality and Compliance Issues in Pharmaceutical Environments: Benefits of Iterative and Administrative Task Automation

Corporate Oversights of Quality and Compliance

How They Did It: Pfizer's Transition from 50 Document Management Systems to One

Like many other pharmaceutical companies, Pfizer has been through numerous mergers, acquisitions and divestitures. Two notable ones were the acquisition of Warner Lambert in 2001 and Pharmacia in 2003. The mergers, acquisitions and silo work practices fractured Pfizer's highly regulated and controlled documentation over many sites and systems. This included our GxP Standard Operating Procedures, product labeling, submissions management and trial master file systems.

Failure Investigation: Treating the Root Cause, Not the Symptoms

Why should medical device manufacturers perform failure investigations? One reason is that it is a regulatory requirement. The Code of Federal Regulations (21 CFR 820) in areas such as Non-Conforming Product, Corrective and Preventive Action and Complaint Files describes the requirements for failure investigations. Performing effective failure investigations is also good business practice which can lead to reduction in scrap and rework, process improvements and the elimination of recurring issue

The Four Pillars of QSR Compliance

At first glance, FDA's Quality System Regulations (QSR) for medical devices - contained in 21 CFR 820 - may make your eyes cross and your stomach churn. The rules are intimidating, yes - but impossible to follow, no.

Off-Label Promotion of Medical Devices: Seeking Clues from the Past to Protect Against Increased Enforcement in the Future

Pharmaceutical companies that promote their products for off-label use continue to be the subject of intense regulatory scrutiny. But they are no longer alone. Recent statements by government prosecutors suggest an increased focus on the sales and marketing practices of device companies. The medical device industry should expect heightened scrutiny from the "usual" actors, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Health and

Process Validation for Medical Devices

Process validation is an essential part of medical device manufacturing but doesn't always receive the attention it deserves (and requires). The regulations provide the requirements (FDA QSR 820.75 and ISO 13485 7.5.2), but often manufacturers don't completely understand them and don't fully implement them. The consequences can be audit findings from a Notified Body or Inspectional Observations on an FDA 483.

Quality By Design, Total Product Life Cycle, and Seven Ways to Improve Design Controls for an FDA Inspection

With the unsteady economy and the ever-changing regulatory world that we find ourselves in, strong design controls within the medical device and biotech industries are a necessity. When faced with a multi-million dollar recall, no medical device company wants to wish it had instituted more robust design controls. Therefore, having a solid design control system is a must in the world in which we live.

Advantages to Risk-based Validation

Decrease Computer System Validation Time and Costs by Implementing a Risk-based Approach

Pharmaceutical Industry’s Transition from Paper-Based to Electronic Processes

Pharmaceutical Industry’s Transition from Paper-Based to Electronic Processes.

Changes on the Horizon: The FDA’s Interactive Review Guidance

IIn the medical device industry, guidance documents set forth by the FDA are often the skeletal backbone for medical device design and development.  When a new guidance emerges, the med device industry pays attention. 

How to Solve the Top Five Complaint-Handling Challenges

Consumer complaints are at the heart of every product recall. Whether it's Merck's voluntary recall of the pain medication, Vioxx, or the Class I recall of counterfeit LifeScan blood glucose test strips, chances are both actions stemmed from complaints.The reporting of side effects or adverse events is incorporated in FDA regulations. The agency operates MedWatch, a safety information and adverse-event reporting program that allows health-care professionals and the public to report serious probl

Solutions for Most Common Change Control Issues Face by Life Science Companies

1. Inefficient System of Communication. You need effective communication to be able to implement change properly. For a company that relies on a paper-based or partially electronic system, this is the typical scenario: Once or twice a week, up to 15 people who constitute the Change Control Board meet for two hours each time to discuss engineering and other document changes. Before and after each meeting, documents are routed using the inter-office mail system or via e-mail. The problem wi

How to Solve Top Five Document Management Challenges - GxP Lifeline

Document management is such a fundamental need in any FDA compliance effort, and it poses so many challenges, that we could easily discuss the ?top 20? or more problems that plague life science companies. But in the interest of space, here are the top five document control issues that most companies complain about and some tips on solving them.

Electronic Submission Issues, FDA Listens to Public Input, GxP Lifeline

Final FDA Rule on Dietary Supplements (21 CFR Part 111) Guidance

In June 2007, the U.S. Federal Drug Administration issued the Dietary Supplement Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) Final Rule (21 CFR Part 111). In essence, the final rule requires that the proper controls be in place for dietary supplements during manufacturing, packaging, labeling, and holding operations.

Optimizing Your eCTD Submission: How to Achieve an Efficient and Timely Review - GxP Lifeline

Ginny Ventura of the FDA?s Review Technology Staff shares the top 12 mistakes in eCTD submissions she sees nearly every day

Do's and Don'ts in Process Mapping for Life Science Companies

The medical device and pharmaceutical industries are built upon process orientation to complete tasks in a uniform and documented fashion. Both industries also depend upon a systematic series of linked and reproducible activities completed by trained people to enable inputs to become outputs and outputs to realize a return on investment.So, how does process mapping help these industries in turning inputs into predictable outputs that would help them comply with regulations, as well as realize co