In pharmaceuticals, maintaining product quality and safety is paramount. Visual inspection plays a vital role in detecting particulate matter and/or container/closure defects, though it may fall short in pinpointing the root cause of defects or material origins. To fortify visual inspection programs effectively, a comprehensive risk assessment serves as the foundational pillar. This blog delves […]
With the recent news of cuts in FDA funding (most recently reported by Zachary Brennan in an Endpoints News story entitled, “House Committee Raises Concerns on CDER-CBER Misalignment Amid 2025 Funding Markup” (here, subscription required), the question of FDA being asked to do more must be asked, as it now appears it will have to […]
I retired from the FDA about one year ago this summer. I have mixed feelings about my twenty-one years with the Agency, but I mostly reflect back on the good memories and the great people I had the pleasure to learn from and work alongside. I find myself pivoting to my second curve, as popularized […]
Each year, the Office of Pharmaceutical Quality (OPQ) releases a report on the state of pharmaceutical quality. This year’s report was released yesterday and can be found here. Every year we try to pick out key issues and highlight some of the statistics outlined in the report, and this year is no different! Some important […]
The current state of drug shortages in the supply chain is under continued pressure, both outside of and within the U.S. According to the FDA, there are currently 105 products in shortage in the U.S. (here) as of the drafting of this blog. Not only are the shortages continuing, but adherence to section 506C of the […]
It’s fascinating to see the evolution and potential future of visual inspection in the pharmaceutical industry. The shift from manual methods to cutting-edge automated systems with artificial intelligence has significantly improved efficiency, accuracy, and reliability in product inspections. By leveraging AI technology in visual inspections, pharmaceutical companies can benefit from enhanced defect detection capabilities, greater […]
A May 28, 2024 review article by Skylar Jeremias titled, “New Evidence Confirms Safe Biosimilar-to-Biosimilar Switching” (here), supports the fact that switching between biologics and biosimilars or from one biosimilar to another does not present a problem. The article states “[S]ince the July 2022 publication of the first systematic review of biosimilar-to-biosimilar switching, the European […]
As one would expect from a consulting service that focuses primarily on the Regulatory and Compliance sectors, the Lachman Blog has not historically focused on issues that are primarily economic in nature, unless the discussion is related to drug shortages. When searching our blog archive, I only found a single reference to the issue that […]
At the Center for Drug Evaluation & Research (CDER) Small Business Industry Assistance (SBIA) meeting held on April 25th, titled “Facilitating Generic Product Availability Through Product-Specific Guidances (PSGs) for 2024,” the FDA presented some updates regarding the FDA Dissolution Database. Dr. Leah Falade, Senior Pharmacologist in the Office of Pharmaceutical Quality, CDER, was the presenter in Session 6. […]
Container Closure Integrity (CCI) testing is a central aspect of contamination control for a product. Contamination control strategy begins with the design, qualification, and validation of a facility, equipment, and processes. Product containers and closures are a crucial element of contamination control. Package integrity is the ability of the package to prevent loss, maintain sterility, […]
