Quality/GMPs

Agency teams work together to encourage manufacturers to seek approval for previously unapproved drugs.

Baxter voluntarily recalls select lots of IV solutions due to possible particulate matter.

FDA issues a Warning Letter to Hospira S.p.A. for GMP violations at the company’s Liscate, Italy facility.

More reliable operations would accelerate product development and prevent drug shortages.

USP announces an implementation date of Jan. 1, 2018 for General Chapters Elemental Impurities-Limits and Elemental Contaminants in Dietary Supplements.

Physician-administered biosimilars under Medicare Part B will be reimbursed at a rate based on innovator drug prices and new changes will make costly innovator Part D drugs easier to exclude from formularies.

Drug makers back alternative to FDA labeling update rule.

The agency outlines recommendations for the development and submission of near infrared analytical procedures.

Commissioner Margaret Hamburg discusses globalization challenges and the need for investment in regulatory science during her last weeks at the agency.

FDA has approved another indication for Eylea, a treatment for diabetic retinopathy in patients with diabetic macular edema.

The agency provides guidance on determining the need for environmental assessments for gene therapies, vectored vaccines, and viral and microbial products.

Guidance provides labeling standards and an implementation guide for electronic submission of lot distribution reports.

The bill, originally introduced in 2013, seeks to terminate sequestration to payments for certain drugs and biologicals.

BIO and the Colorado BioScience Association urge Colorado Governor Hickenlooper to sign a bill that will help patients gain access to interchangeable biologic products following FDA approvals.

Early access to Merck’s Keytruda in the United Kingdom is granted under the UK’s Early Access to Medicines Scheme.

 FDA approved Sandoz’s Zarxio (filgrastim-sndz) on March 6, 2015. The approval is a groundbreaking decision, as Sandoz is the first pharmaceutical company to have a biosimilar product approved in the United States. Known as Zarzio outside of the US, Sandoz says its biosimilar filgrastim is already available in more than 60 countries worldwide, has generated more than 7.5 million patient-days of exposure, and is "the most widely used filgrastim in Europe."

A General Chapter on mAbs will be published in USP-NF as biologics increase their role in healthcare.

Enterprise quality management systems can help shift the quality emphasis from corrective to preventive actions.

Scientists and industry experts seek effective preventive therapies to combat global disease.

A new technical report guides bio/pharma companies in establishing a risk-based approach for prevention and management of drug shortages.

FDA announced that it would postpone a meeting that would be critical for the advancement of Celltrion’s Remicade biosimilar in the US.

The company voluntarily recalls product due to FDA observations of potential sterility problems.

Drug shortages are declining, but they’re still a serious concern for regulatory authorities, policy makers, and bio/pharmaceutical manufacturers.

The agency cites Apotex’s Bangalore facility with quality system failures.

The agency is enlisting members of European pharmaceutical associations and industry representatives to participate in IDMP task force.