New Process Validation Guideline (EMA)

The European Medicines Agency has published the following concept paper ‘Guideline on process validation for finished products -information and data to be provided in regulatory submissions’.

Process validation can be defined as documented evidence that the process, operated within established parameters, can perform effectively and reproducibly to produce a medicinal product meeting its predetermined specifications and quality attributes. Continuous process verification has been introduced to cover an alternative approach to process validation based on a continuous monitoring of manufacturing performance. These concepts form the basis of the new guideline.

The guideline is brought into line with ICH Q8, Q9 and Q10 documents and the possibility to use continuous process verification in addition to, or instead of, traditional process validation described in the previous guideline has been added and is encouraged. This guideline does not introduce new requirements on medicinal products already authorised and on the market, but clarifies how companies can take advantage of the new possibilities given when applying enhanced process understanding coupled with risk management tools under an efficient quality system as described by ICH Q8, Q9 and Q10.

The EMA paper can be accessed here.

Posted by Tim Sandle