Impurities Workshop Part II: Nitrosamine Impurities - Live Online Training
Wednesday, 19 November 2025 9 .00 - 16.30 h
Course No. 21983
Speakers
Dr. Andrew Teasdale
Astra Zeneca
Dr. Ulrich Rose
Straßburg
Dr. Cornelia Nopitsch-Mai
formerly Quality Assessor
Dr. Reinhard Stidl
Safetree Consulting
All times mentioned are CET.
Objectives
In Part II of the Impurities Workshop the relevant aspects of root cause analysis and risk assessment with respect to potential Nitrosamine contamination in drug substances and drug products will be discussed. You will hear what you need to know about the required risk assessments for medicinal products containing chemically synthesized APIs. In particular you will learn
which root causes for Nitrosamine Impurities should be considered,
which practical approaches can be applied to assess the risks related to potential Nitrosamine contamination,
which safety aspects need to be considered regarding Nitrosamine Impurities in drug products,
which regulatory actions are to be taken in case of Nitrosamine Impurities and what authorities expect in these cases.
You will get advice from industry experts on how to cope with the challenge of performing risk assessments. Furthermore, you will be informed about the European Pharmacopoeia activities (policy) on mutagenic impurities with focus on Nitrosamines.
Background
In June 2018 EU authorities were notified that a Chinese API manufacturer has detected the presence of N-nitrosodimethylamine, NDMA, in batches of Valsartan. NDMA is a genotoxic and carcinogenic agent in animals and is classified as a Class 2A carcinogen to humans. After a referral under Article 31 of Directive 2001/83/EC triggered by the European Commission the CHMP assessed the impact of the presence of this impurity on the benefit-risk balance of valsartan-containing drug products and issued a recommendation whether the concerning marketing authorisations can still be maintained or should be suspended.
Meanwhile, different Nitrosamines (NDMA, NDEA and others) were detected in almost every drug product which contains a Sartan derivative as an API. In an EMA Questions & Answers Document various potential sources of Nitrosamine contaminations are described. In September 2019 EMA published a press release where pharmaceutical companies were advised on steps to be taken to avoid nitrosamines in human medicines. In another document which appeared at about the same time Marketing Authorisation Holders are requested to evaluate the risk of the presence of Nitrosamine impurities in human medicinal products containing chemically synthesised APIs. As a consequence in case of contamination with Nitrosamines Marketing Authorisation Holders are requested to file a variation application.
Target Group
This Live Online Training is addressed to all personnel involved in development of drug substances and drug products from scientific staff to laboratory heads involved in R&D. The needs of Laboratory Managers, Supervisors and Analysts in pharmaceutical quality assurance and quality control departments will also be covered. This training will also address regulatory requirements and hence is applicable to people working in the regulatory affairs area.
The Impurities Workshop Part I: General Strategies for Identification and Control of Impurities 18 November 2025, 08.30 – 17.15 h CET
The Impurities Workshop Part II: Nitrosamine Impurities 19 November 2025, 09.00 – 16.30 h CET
The Impurities Workshop Part III: Elemental Impurities 20 November 2025, 09.00 – 13.45 h CET
We use WebEx for our live online training courses and webinars. At https://www.gmp-compliance.org/training/online-training-technical-information you will find all the information you need to participate in our trainings and you can check if your system meets the necessary requirements to participate. If the installation of browser extensions is not possible due to your rights in the IT system, please contact your IT department. WebEx is a standard nowadays and the necessary installation is fast and easy.
The presentations will be made available to you prior to the Live Online Training as PDF files. After the event, you will automatically receive your certificate of participation.
European Pharmacopoeia Activities (Policy) on Mutagenic Impurities with Focus on Nitrosamines
Ph. Eur. General policy on DNA reactive impurities
Control of Nitrosamines in Ph. Eur.
Changes in individual and general monographs following the Sartan case
New general chapter on control of nitrosamines
Root Causes for Nitrosamine Impurities and other Mutagenic Impurities – Practical Approaches to Assess the Risks
Development of a systematic risk based approach
Key factors and the development of a decision tree
API
Drug Product
Packaging
Safety Qualification of impurities - current Principles and Methods
General approaches and regulatory framework for impurity qualification by safety threshold derivation
Generic and substance specific safety thresholds
Threshold of Toxicological Concern (TTC) - different scenarios
Derivation of Permitted Daily Exposure (PDE) limits
Acceptable exposure calculations based on TD50 and their limitations
Approaches for data poor substances: (Q)SARs and read-across
Route-to-route considerations for safety thresholds
Analytical methods used for quantification of N-nitrosylated APIs in drug products
Case Study: Conducting a Nitrosamine Risk Assessment - Evaluation through Case Studies
Several case studies will be presented and a risk assessment for different scenarios is shown taking into account e.g. manufacturing equipment, dosage form of the drug product, etc.
Nitrosamines and Other Genotoxic Impurities – Authorities' Expectations and Dossier Requirements
The assessor’s approach: principles of toxicological assessment
Structural alerts
Limits and Permitted Daily Exposure
The ALARP principle
Examples of low daily dose drug substances
Impurities derived from alkylating agents (mesilate, besilate, tosilate, diisothionate); examples
Nitrosamines – the Valsartan case
Potential mutagenicc residual solvents
Impurities derived from metal catalysts
This course is part of the GMP Certification Programme "ECA Certified Quality Control Manager" Learn more
Testimonials
Seminar Programme as PDF