Technical compliance is a wide field, especially when taking into
account the ICH framework which covers the whole lifecycle of
pharmaceutical manufacturing.
It does not only mean to comply with regulatory guidelines, but
also with submissions and the technological state of the art,
meaning ISO and other standards as well as accepted good practices
in the pharmaceutical Industry.
In this GMP course we want to focus on the main topics with regard
to compliance in the technical environment:
Technical QA aspects
There are a number of quality assurance systems which are crucial
for the technical units. Most important are changes and deviations
(as they also can occur in technical environment) which
have or might have a direct impact on the pharmaceutical material
produced. And even more important is the validation system,
where the qualification of equipment, utilities and facilities has
to be part of.
GMP Facility & Re-Construction
Designing an appropriate layout belongs to this part as well as
understanding what the GMP requirements for the cleanrooms
and for the HVAC systems are, depending on the type of manufacture.
Re-Construction during on-going manufacture is supreme
discipline in this field.
GMP-compliant design of equipment
A GMP-compliant design of equipment is the basis for fulfilling
the technical requirements. In this respect, engineering assumes
a prominent role in ensuring the safety of medicinal products. In
this context, the need for material certificates is often subject to
discussion.
Validation / Qualification
Not only GMP regulations but also inspectors consider qualified
equipment and validated processes as the prerequisites for producing
pharmaceutical quality. The identification of the equipment
that has to be qualified by means of a risk analysis is a crucial
point. This field has now re-gained considerable attention as
the regulations are changing: After FDA’s new guide on validation
(and process verification) also Annex 15 of the EU GMP Guide
has been revised.
Routine Operation
Preventive maintenance in pharmaceutical production is an essential
element of the Pharmaceutical Quality System. Systems
for calibration & handling of repairs are of equal importance for
maintaining the qualified state. That’s why maintenance and calibration
are parts of an efficient requalification system, besides
the change control and deviation systems of course.
This course is directed at staff in pharmaceutical engineering departments,
at technicians, engineers, planners as well as plant
constructors and equipment suppliers who are involved in tasks
related to engineering work in a cGMP environment.