Authors


Greg Kalten

Latest:

Improving the Management of Batch Records

The authors describe how XML-based technology can be used to manage the creation of batch records.


Arthur Perez

Latest:

The Future State of Computer Validation, Part II: Increasing the Efficiency of Computer Validation Practices

Part I of this article was published in the March 2003 issue of 21 CFR Part 11: Compliance and Beyond. In this issue, Part II discusses the potential advances and changes that must be made for computer validation to remain innovative and relevant to the industry.


Michael Balogh

Latest:

Taming the Regulatory Beast: Regulation versus Functionalism

Mass spectrometrists working in pharmaceutical development tend to approach the issue of regulatory compliance with some trepidation...


Ed Halpin

Latest:

Automated Compliance: Reducing Costs and Maintaining Quality

In an interview earlier this year (Bio-IT World, April 2003), Janet Woodcock, director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), stated that "The original intent of the rule (21 CFR Part 11) was to facilitate the introduction of electronic technology to the process of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) submissions, as well as manufacturing and production. Part 11 was created to provide common-sense guidelines on how to do in the electronic world what was previously done on paper. During the last 5 years, however, confusion regarding what is included in the regulation and how to enforce it was impeding the introduction of new technology. The rule had created exactly the opposite of what was intended."


Steven W. Baertschi, PhD

Latest:

Pharmaceutical Stability: Scientific and Regulatory Considerations for Global Drug Development and Commercialization

A two-day workshop on the "science behind pharmaceutical stability" was held in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) on Oct. 21-22, 2011 in Washington, DC.


Lisa J. Taylor

Latest:

Milling Made Easy: Nanoindentation as a Predictor of Bulk Properties

Size reduction of materials through comminution is employed in many industries, including agrochemicals, minerals, ceramics and pharmaceuticals. The reasons for particle size reduction depend on the industry in question. Within the pharmaceutical industry, a large percentage of products are formed from powders and undergo processing to improve dosage form properties. Particle size reduction prior to compacting to tablets can aid with dissolution and homogeneity. Such processing of powders is, in part, dependent on their mechanical properties and balancing these properties is crucial in achieving desired manufacturing performance. Generally, pilot-scale milling trials are run to determine the most effective and efficient mill and operating conditions for each material. These trials, however, require relatively large quantities of material as well as time, and are normally run in early development when sufficient material becomes available. Hence, it would be highly beneficial to identify a physical property..


Anton Gueth

Latest:

Entering into an Alliance with Big Pharma: Benchmarks for Drug Delivery Contract Service Providers

The author proposes a strategy for achieving a successful partnership with Big Pharma on the basis of forming a relationship with the company, deliberately managing the alliance, and clearly defining roles and responsibilities.


George Shlieout

Latest:

Ethyl Cellulose as a Matrix Former: The Influence of Particle Size on Tabletting and Drug Release Behaviour

The aim of this work was to investigate the compactibility, compressibility and drug release behaviour of different fractions of a commercially available ethyl cellulose.


Ashish A. Joshi, PhD

Latest:

Added Functionality Excipients: An Answer to Challenging Formulations

Added functionality excipients facilitate the development of novel drug delivery methods and improve processing techniques.


Tricia Shaw

Latest:

Killer Asset: Plant Information Management

If an inspection reveals any shortcomings ... a manufacturer may be warned, fined, or its facility closed down until full control can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the authorities ....


Douglas C. Scott, PhD

Latest:

Estimation of Distribution Coefficients from the Partition Coefficient and pKa

For a monovalent species, a simple calculation that does not assume partitioning of the ionized species in the oil phase can provide an accurate estimate of the distribution coefficient.


Siegfried Throm

Latest:

ISO Standard for Primary Packaging Materials

Based on a German initiative, an international standard on quality management systems for the primary packaging materials of medicinal products is discussed in this article. This new directive will help to standardize the production of primary packaging materials by defining global requirements.


P.J. Dunn

Latest:

Milling Made Easy: Nanoindentation as a Predictor of Bulk Properties

Size reduction of materials through comminution is employed in many industries, including agrochemicals, minerals, ceramics and pharmaceuticals. The reasons for particle size reduction depend on the industry in question. Within the pharmaceutical industry, a large percentage of products are formed from powders and undergo processing to improve dosage form properties. Particle size reduction prior to compacting to tablets can aid with dissolution and homogeneity. Such processing of powders is, in part, dependent on their mechanical properties and balancing these properties is crucial in achieving desired manufacturing performance. Generally, pilot-scale milling trials are run to determine the most effective and efficient mill and operating conditions for each material. These trials, however, require relatively large quantities of material as well as time, and are normally run in early development when sufficient material becomes available. Hence, it would be highly beneficial to identify a physical property..


Anthony M. Cundell

Latest:

FDA’s Guidance on Quality Metrics: Possible Implications for Contract Testing Laboratories

*This article is an opinion piece and does not necessarily represent the views of BioPharm International.


Andrew Jackson

Latest:

Coding and marking technologies for the pharmaceutical industry

The right choice [of coding and marking technology] depends upon the company's top priorities regarding legibility, cost, speed, ease of use, cleanliness and security.


István Erös

Latest:

Dropping Method Solution for Formulating Solid Dispersions

The use of solid dispersion technology to increase the bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs has always been limited by processing and scale-up difficulties. A new approach may help to overcome some of the problems.


Griet Van Vaerenbergh

Latest:

One-Pot Processing And The Benefits For Granulation

One-pot processing is a term that includes any technology that combines different unit operations of a pharmaceutical production process into one machine.


Edit S. Szalai

Latest:

Experimental and computational methods for understanding pharmaceutical flows, Part II: Large-scale production equipment

Flow problems, such as process performance and reliability, can be improved using a combination of experimental and computational methods.


Thermo Electron

Latest:

Maximizing Sample Information with High Sensitivity MSn and Fast Cycle Time on a Linear Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer

Rapid structural elucidation of compounds in complex mixtures is a powerful technique in metabolite, degradation and process control applications. The ability to follow the fragmentation pathway through sequential MSn transitions provides added confirmation and increases the selectivity for monitoring compounds of interest in a complex mixture. Previously, the limiting factors in applying this technique were sensitivity at MS4 and higher transitions, and the cycle time required to acquire multiple MSn spectra across a narrow LC peak. Recent developments in trapping, detection efficiencies and scan rates have reduced these limitations and enabled rapid characterization of multiple compounds from single chromatographic runs.


Gordon Johnston

Latest:

Automated Compliance: Reducing Costs and Maintaining Quality

In an interview earlier this year (Bio-IT World, April 2003), Janet Woodcock, director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), stated that "The original intent of the rule (21 CFR Part 11) was to facilitate the introduction of electronic technology to the process of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) submissions, as well as manufacturing and production. Part 11 was created to provide common-sense guidelines on how to do in the electronic world what was previously done on paper. During the last 5 years, however, confusion regarding what is included in the regulation and how to enforce it was impeding the introduction of new technology. The rule had created exactly the opposite of what was intended."


Jim McCabe

Latest:

Maintenance Qualification: Improving Compliance and Performance in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

This article describes the approach to maintenance management that delivers enhanced compliance for direct impact GMP systems...


Marina Levina

Latest:

The influence of concomitant use of alcoholic beverages on hypromellose matrix tablets

Research shows that both drug prescription and alcohol consumption increase within the elderly population. It is, therefore, necessary to fully understand the impact of alcohol consumption on solid oral dosage forms, especially extended release formulations.


Whitney Hapangama

Latest:

Changes in US Policy: What Generic Pharmaceutical Companies Need to Know

In this article the authors examine a number of significant amendments to US policy regarding generic pharmaceuticals. These important changes could have a major impact not only on the US pharmaceutical market, but also globally. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) implemented new regulations, effective from 19 August 2003, that promise to benefit generic pharmaceutical companies in several ways. Significantly, they seek to prevent multiple 30-month stays and resolve much of the uncertainty regarding which patents may properly be listed in FDA's Orange Book.1,2


Ghulam A. Shabir

Latest:

HPLC Method Development and Validation for Pharmaceutical Analysis

This article presents a simple and systematic approach to HPLC method development, beginning with sample preparation and finishing with practical analytical method validation.


Shaun Fitzpatrick

Latest:

Positron Emission Particle Tracking Studies of a Wurster Process for Coating Applications

Wurster coating provides excellent film uniformity and god active-component distribution. The authors describe the results of a study using the Wurster method with positron emission particle tracking technology.


Ian Sellick

Latest:

Improving Protein Capture for Transgenic Drug Processing

One of the greatest challenges facing biopharmaceutical manufacturers has been the primary recovery of recombinant materials from transgenic sources. As an alternative to existing methods, vibrating membrane technology, which is widely used in food and beverage processing, recently has been adapted to biopharmaceutical applications involving transgenic biosolutions.


Virginia Corbin

Latest:

Taming the Regulatory Beast: Regulation versus Functionalism

Mass spectrometrists working in pharmaceutical development tend to approach the issue of regulatory compliance with some trepidation...


Stephen J. Davis

Latest:

Cleanroom Pressurization Methodology

Facilities with rigidly controlled environmental parameters can take steps to meet precise and repeatable conditions.


Orlando López

Latest:

Defining and Managing Raw Manufacturing Data

Protecting the integrity of raw data is crucial to regulatory compliance and to proving that manufacturing and quality operations are being run and managed properly.


Anthony Mitchell

Latest:

Keeping Supply Chains Healthy

Today's fast-paced global market place has created a critical need for efficient international supply systems in the healthcare sector...