Guest Columns

41. Think A Quality Culture Doesn’t Affect Your Bottom Line? Think Again 9/12/2019

    Maintaining quality is everyone’s job and a team effort. And when it is overlooked, bad things happen. News of a pharmaceutical company receiving an FDA Complete Response Letter and Form 483 — citing data manipulation and breaches — drove this point home recently. Based on the FDA observations made in this case, there is clear evidence that components of a voluntary quality assurance (VQA) culture were missing.

42. Examining FDA’s New Patient Labeling Draft Guidance 9/9/2019

    The FDA recently released the draft guidance document Instructions for Use – Patient Labeling for Human Prescription Drug and Biological Products and Drug-Device and Biologic-Device Combination Products – Content and Format. Instructions for use (IFU) are a critical element of the device user interface, and special considerations must be accounted for in their design.

43. Do Your Patient Services Align With Your Commercial Objectives? 9/9/2019

    Support services must be designed to attract and benefit patient and provider targets. Thoughtful consideration and planning must drive patient access and uptake, and mechanisms need to be implemented to evaluate effectiveness.

44. Is Your Personnel Hygiene Plan Up To Date? 8/27/2019

    Every organization that is regulated by the FDA must consider sources of contamination and cross-contamination in their manufacturing operations. A robust personnel hygiene program is an important element for good manufacturing practices (GMPs) necessary to prevent contamination and cross-contamination, in order to ensure the safety of medicinal products.

45. 4 (More) Critical Considerations For Drug Delivery Device Development 8/12/2019

    The majority of biologic products today are launched as some form of combination product, stringently regulated by the FDA through 21 CFR Part 4. This article looks at important manufacturing, packaging, and other factors that developers of combination products must consider and why they need to be considered early in the device development program.

46. MDSAP — History and Advantages 8/12/2019

    The Medical Device Single Audit Program (MDSAP) has worked out its kinks and is poised for exponential growth, but it may be a while before the initiative makes headway in the EU and China.

47. What Your Organizational Design Says About Your Commitment To Data Integrity 8/8/2019

    Understanding how to be appropriately staffed and being prepared to explain any perception of inequity could mean the difference between success and failure of appropriate data integrity in both regulatory compliance and product support.

48. U.S. Bone Repair Devices: Trochanteric Grip Market Stalls, Cerclage Cables Take Off 8/7/2019

    Approximately 75,000 procedures were completed in 2018 using cerclage cables and trochanteric grips, devices used in the repair of broken or surgically altered bones. This procedure volume is increasing every year.

49. Standard Of Care And The Internet Of Medical Things 8/6/2019

    During the American College of Cardiology annual meeting in March, researchers from Stanford University, Apple Inc., and other academic centers unveiled the Apple Heart Study, a first-of-its-kind large-scale study involving more than 400,000 members of the general population (iPhone and Apple Watch owners). The goal of the study was to identify users with a potentially lethal irregular heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation (AF).

50. 4 Important Things To Consider Before Developing A Drug Delivery Device 8/6/2019

    This is Part 1 of a two-part article discussing important areas to consider when developing devices for combination products — and why they need to be addressed early in development. In this installment, we will look at the areas of primary container, device development, device selection, and design control.