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Monday, 30 June 2014

Design and Development

Introduction

Design is a process of originating a conceptual solution to a requirement and expressing it in a form from which a product may be produced or a service delivered.

Development is realization of design in the form of prototype and subsequent improvements in the prototype to make product and further innovations in the product. So development is creation and improvement.

In pharmaceutical development (product and process) this clause has huge implications. The entire process of pharmaceutical development is lengthy and complex and the end product/process must comply with all the regulatory and statutory requirements, requirements of the product and customers’ requirements.

Though it is difficult to justify the exclusion from this clause the clause may be excluded if no developmental work is undertaken and product has been received through technology transfer from other source or product manufactured for quite a long time (i.e., initial consistency proved and approval from national regulatory authority) with no process improvements. This clause may also be excluded by the contract manufacturing firms. However, it is applicable for new projects whether they are technology transfer or new facility setup.

Pharmaceutical Development:

Quality cannot be tested into product; it should be built in or should be by design.

The above statement reflects the present regulatory expectation with pharmaceutical products. ICH Q8 states, ‘The aim of pharmaceutical development is to design a quality product and its manufacturing process to consistently deliver the intended performance of the product. The information and knowledge gained from pharmaceutical development studies and manufacturing experience provide scientific understanding to support the establishment of the design space, specifications, and manufacturing controls.’

Different elements of pharmaceutical development include,
– Defining an objective
– Determination of critical quality attributes (CQA)
– Risk assessment
– Development of experimental design (Design of Experiment)
– Designing and implementing control strategy
– Continuous improvement.

The process of pharmaceutical development and regulatory expectation are emphasized in different regulatory guidance documents for clear interpretation and harmonized approach. The major work in the field has been done by International Conference on Harmonization (ICH).

FDA’s Guidance on Process Validation has stressed scientific approach for entire pharmaceutical development and process validation.

FDA’s PAT (Process Analytical Technology) initiative also emphasizes on Quality to be designed in the process than tested into product.

The following documents shall be considered for successful pharmaceutical development:

FDA’s Guidance Document on Process Validation: The document encourages the use of modern pharmaceutical development concepts, quality risk management and quality system at all stages of manufacturing process lifecycle. The lifecycle concept links product and process development, qualification and commercial manufacturing processes, and maintenance of the process in a state of control during routine commercial production.

The guide describes process validation activities in three stages:
          Stage 1: Process Design
          Stage 2: Process Qualification
          Stage 3: Continued process verification

The guidance emphasizes, ‘Before any batch from the process is commercially distributed for use by consumers, a manufacturer should have gained a high degree of assurance in the performance of the manufacturing process such that it will consistently produce APIs and drug products meeting those attributes relating to identity, strength, quality, purity, and potency. The assurance should be obtained from objective information and data from laboratory-, pilot-, and/or commercial-scale studies. Information and data should demonstrate that the commercial manufacturing process is capable of consistently producing acceptable quality products within commercial manufacturing conditions’. 

ICH Q10: This guideline applies to the systems supporting the development and manufacture of pharmaceutical drug substances (i.e., API) and drug products, including biotechnology and biological products, throughout the product lifecycle.

The product lifecycle is divided into following stages:
  • Pharmaceutical Development
  • Technology Transfer 
  • Commercial Manufacturing 
  • Product Discontinuation 

The enablers of QMS (Knowledge Management and Quality Risk Management) are applicable for all the stages of product lifecycle, including pharmaceutical development. 

The document describes four elements to promote the lifecycle approach to product quality. the four elements are: 
  • Process performance and product quality monitoring system; 
  • Corrective action and preventive action (CAPA) System; 
  • Change Management system; 
  • Management review of process performance and product quality. 


ICH Q9: This document offers a systematic approach to quality risk management. The document proposes integration of quality risk management into industry and regulatory operations which included pharmaceutical development. Annexure II of the document gives examples of situations in which QMS can be useful.

     

ICH Q8: This document entirely focuses on pharmaceutical development and provides insight to regulatory expectations. The guide states that, ‘It is important to recognize that quality cannot be tested into products; i.e., quality should be built in by design’.

The guide also emphasizes on the concept of design space.

The guide states, ‘The design and conduct of pharmaceutical development studies should be consistent with their intended scientific purpose. It should be recognized that the level of knowledge gained, and not the volume of data, provides the basis for science-based submissions and their regulatory evaluation’.

The annexure Pharmaceutical Development provides further clarification of key concepts along with the principles of quality by design. 

ICH Q6: The document assists in the establishment of a single set of global specifications for new drug substance and new drug product. It provides guidance on the setting and justification of acceptance criteria and the selection of test procedures for new drug substance.

FDA’s Guidance Document on PAT: The document provides insight and emphasizes on improving pharmaceutical development, manufacturing and quality assurance through innovation in product and process development, process analysis and process control.

The goal of PAT is to enhance understanding and control the manufacturing process. PAT proposes different tools which have to be considered during process/product development.

The table below simplifies the requirements of Clause 7.3

Design and development planning
Defining an objective of development project
Determination of critical quality attributes (CQA)
Risk assessment
Development of experimental design (Design of Experiment)
Designing and implementing control strategy (Method validation)
Design and development inputs
Pharmacopeia/ Regulatory Requirements
Requirements of the product (quality, safety and efficacy requirements, container closure system, delivery system, stability etc).
Previous experience with similar processes and products
Published literature and current status
Market viability
Design and development outputs
Critical Quality Attributes and specifications
Resources and capabilities
Design and Development stages
Timelines
Experimental Design and statistical tools
Study Protocols/ Drawings
Responsibilities and Authorities
Design and development review
Review to see outputs are rational and unambiguous.
Progress of the project
Managing changes in project
Design and development verification
Paper based review to check that the output of design and development planning such as specifications, layouts, drawings, test protocol and study design, test methods and procedures are meeting the input requirements. Exercise which ensures that each requirement in the inputs is accounted for in the outputs.
Design and development validation
Physical, chemical, biological verification of the product. Product of design and development exercise (prototype) is tested for all the specifications and parameters such as safety, efficacy, purity, stability etc.
Design and development changes
Changes in design and development plan arising due to review, verification, validation and better understanding of process/product. These changes are identified, captured, reviewed, verified and validated. The records are maintained in project plan.
Verification and validation has important role to play in software development. For better understanding of the concept in software development refer General Principles of Software Validation; Final Guidance for Industry and FDA Staff.

References:

ICH: Pharmaceutical quality system Q10
ICH: Quality Risk Management Q9
ICH: Pharmaceutical Development Q8
ICH: Specifications: Test procedures and acceptance criteria for new drug substances and new drug products Q6
FDA: Guidance for Industry- Process Validation: General Principles and Practices
FDA: Guidance for Industry PTA- A Framework for Innovative Pharmaceutical Development, Manufacturing, and Quality Assurance

FDA: General Principles of Software Validation; Final Guidance for Industry and FDA Staff 

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