Already 13 EMA GMP Non-compliance Reports in 2016 published

EudraGMDP is the central database for GMP and GDP compliance. Inspections which have been performed by any of the EU member state inspectorates are published in the database. If the manufacturing or distribution site has been found in compliance with GMP and or GDP then a certificate is issued in the database as reference for other inspectorates. This information is also available to the public. A negative outcome will lead to a GMP or GDP Non-Compliance Report. In 2016 no GDP Non-Compliance Reports have been published until today but already 13 GMP Non-Compliance Reports until March 15th.

Among the companies concerned there are 5 Chinese, 3 French, 2 Spanish manufacturers as well as one each from Sweden, Romania and Poland. All Non-Compliance Report were either issued in 2016 (12) or updated in 2016 (1).

The GMP non compliance findings reveal severe deviations from EU GMP. In addition some companies are involved in falsification and data manipulations - a serious trend which can be observed in many international inspections (e.g. those performed by FDA, WHO). Data Integrity and falsification issues are highlighted in the findings below.

MINSHENG GROUP SHAOXING PHARMACEUTICAL CO. LTD, China

Overall, 18 deficiencies were observed during the inspection, including 2 Critical and 4 Major deficiencies: [Critical 1] Falsification of source of API (Thiamphenicol): Repackaging, relabeling and selling of purchased API from a non-GMP company (Zhejiang Runkang Pharmaceutical Co.Ltd.) as if manufactured in-house; [Critical 2] Praziquantel manufactured according to CP process/grade was released as USP process/grade without a full traceability of the testing activities ; [Major 1] The maintenance and the cleaning operations of the manufacturing line used for the production of Praziquantel (API) were found deficient; [Major 2] The pipes design of some equipment used for the manufacturing of Praziquantel, the handling of change related to these equipment and the instruction used for the transfer of the intermediate solution using nitrogen were found deficient ; [Major 3] The hoses used for unloading of solvent were not identified, had no cleaning status and were stored on a dirty floor of an area not mentioned in the general layout of the site; [Major 4] There was no procedure in place for audit trail and there was no effective audit trail in place to determine any change or deletion of the chromatographic raw data. The audit trial function including the administrator profiles was enabled for all the QC staff.

DESARROLLOS FARMACÉUTICOS BAJO ARAGÓN, S.L., Spain

The manufacturer has not established a quality management system including adequate controls to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the critical records data.

S.C. IRCON SRL, Romania

During inspection a number of 34 deficiencies were found, out of which 4 were critical and 10 major. Critical deficiencies are related to the quality management system, qualification/validation activities, manufacturing and material management documents and quality control laboratories activity.

Agila Specialties Polska Sp. z o.o, Poland

29 major deficiencies were found in Agila Specialties which pose a risk of microbial and particulate contamination and could not assure the sterility of the final product. Most of these are related to: 1.) design and qualification of HVAC, laminar air flow system and clean areas, 2.) cleaning and maintenance of clean areas. 3.) manufacturing and batch releasing in the conditions not complying with GMP requirements 4.) change control. In December, 2014 the HVAC system of vials and prefilled syringes lines was significantly modified. Since January till July 2015, 49 batches were manufactured in that area without qualification after the change. During the inspection it was found that: 1) pressure differential between clean areas B and C grade were usually below 10 Pa (effective to < 0 Pa) and alarm (generated electronically, non-validated after the change of the system) has triggered at 0 Pa and after reversing the flow; 2.) laminar air flow system did not comply with requirements given in Annex 1; 3.) test of maximum permitted number of particles "in operation" does not perform properly; 4.) technical condition of clean areas and equipment show lack of proper and regular maintenance. In clean areas A/B grade contamination were found on the arm of the filling machine for prefilled syringes and difficult to clean equipment placed without proper SOP. In grade C e.g. crumbling insulation of pipes, peeling teflon on the ports of tanks and pumps, lack of labelling and mixed clean and dirty equipment, chipped glass accessories was found; 5.) the filtration process was not fully validated and during routine process a pressure difference to be used across the filter was not recorded; 6.) lack of confirmation of A grade in a lyophilizer working in a nitrogen atmosphere; 7.) design, installation and use of nitrogen system did not guarantee tightness and can cause contamination of the clean medium.

HUBEI HONGYUAN PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD. , China

This inspection was performed in the framework of the CEP dossier for the manufacture of Metronidazole R1-CEP 2007-309-Rev 01. The inspection identified in total 24 deficiencies to EU GMP. One of them was categorized as critical and related to the Company’s Quality Assurance System for production of Metronidazole. 10 deficiencies were categorized as major and were related to: QA, Documentation, Supplier Qualification, Data Integrity, Out-of-Specification handling, Quality Control, Computerised System validation, Change Control.

HUBEI HONGYUAN PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD. (Facility 428) , China

The Company’s facility at No. 428 Yishui North Road, Fengshan Town, Luotian County, Huanggang City, Hubei Province, China was subject to a spot check, because this site is mentioned as an intermediate manufacturing site in CEP 2001-450 Metronidazole. The Company clearly stated in their introduction that the site does not follow EU GMP. The following observations were made and together categorized as critical: a. The manufacturing site and it’s equipment was found in a devastated state. b. Huge layers of dust and product indicated that no cleaning was applied to either the facility or the equipment, leading to an extreme risk of cross-contamination. c. The extremely bad shape of the facility and the equipment showed that no maintenance was in place. d. Almost none of the products seen was labelled. e. No batch manufacturing documentation could be seen. Reference: EU GMP Part II was found not implemented at the facility.

SAS JARMAT « LABORATOIRE ADP », France

As a preliminary note, the starting materials repacked by the site were intended for pharmaceutical compounding activity in community pharmacies. The site did not distribute to the industry. Overall, 21 deficiencies were found, including 3 critical deficiencies and 5 major deficiencies: [Critical 1] Important risks of confusion in the repacking operations were identified. [Critical 2] Important risks of cross contamination in the repacking operations by substances of high pharmacological activity or toxicity were identified. [Critical 3] The active substances and excipients batches were not analysed as per the pharmacopoeial specifications. [Major 1] The release of active substances batches was deficient, notably in the absence of batch production records. [Major 2] Several risks of contamination in the sampling operations, notably cross contamination, were identified. [Major 3] The management of active substance suppliers was deficient, notably in the absence of written confirmation. [Major 4] Several risks of contamination in the repacking operations, notably cross contamination, were identified. [Major 5] The transmission of information to pharmacies was incomplete and confusing, notably regarding the analyses actually performed by the site. The inspection’s observations also apply to excipients, which are repacked and distributed under the same conditions as the active substances.

Svenska Bioforce AB, Sweden

During the inspection, 42 deficiencies were found. None of the deficiencies was critical but 17 were major. The 17 major deficiencies related to batch certification, Product Quality Review, change management system, deviation handling system, management responsibility, training, premises and equipment, documentation, line clearance, quality control, complaint handling, and cleaning validation. Re-inspection after implementation of CAPA is required in order to verify that the Pharmaceutical Quality System meets the requirements according to EU-GMP.

CARGILL FRANCE, France

Overall, 14 observations were made, including 1 critical deficiency and 4 major deficiencies: [Critical] The management of semi-finished batches and of the mixing operations was deficient and conformity of the final batches to specifications, notably Ph.Eur. specifications, could not be guaranted. [Major 1] The site had been manufacturing an active substance without ANSM authorisation. [Major 2] The change control related to the suppression of one filtration step in the active substance manufacturing process was deficient. [Major 3] The manufacturing of the active substance had not been made using master production instructions and no batch production records had been established. [Major 4] No review of batch production records of critical process steps had been done before release of the active substance for distribution. 7 observations are related to lack of traceability, risks of contamination induced by the absence of cleanliness in the production environment, very bad condition of the production equipment and insufficient equipment cleaning procedures. The inspection’s observations also apply to the manufacture of pharmaceutical excipients and starting materials that are intended to be used as ingredients in cosmetics and medical devices, which are manufactured under the same conditions as the active substance.

FARMA MEDITERRANIA, S.L., Spain

Critical deficiencies a) Lack of an effective pharmaceutical quality assurance system b) Release of batches of medicinal products produced without completing all of the manufacturing protocols, without being checked quality assurance unit and without the approval of the technical director. c) Use in quality control a non-qualified chromatographic equipment, with operating faults and with an unvalidated computerized management system. As a result, the integrity, reliability, up-to-dateness, originality and authenticity of the data that are obtained cannot be guaranteed. d) Transfer of some of the final analytical quality controls of medicinal products to a third party, without appropriately transferring the control methods and without the authorization of the relevant health authority e) Manufacture of medicinal products using procedures that have not been appropriately validated or have not been periodically revalidated. f) Acceptance of results of repeated analytical controls and sterility tests of finished medicinal products without having undertaken an in-depth investigation to determine the root cause of a previously result obtained which was out of specifications. g) Although a visual inspection of injectable medicinal products reveals a high number of critical quality defects (the presence of visible particles) non deviations are opened and is not investigated. c) Do not do any quality control on a statistical sample of units of injectable medicinal products that have passed the visual inspection. Major deficiencies a) Do not do the annual quality product review of medicinal products manufactured. b) Deviations in the manufacturing processes are not investigated suitably and in-depth. c) The simulation of the aseptic manufacturing process is not performed every six months and samples used in the simulation are not incubated at the right temperature. c) The air treatment system in manufacturing areas is not properly qualified, as it is only checked when it is “at rest” but not “in operation”. e) Medicinal products are manufactured without full compliance with conditions established in the marketing authorisation dossier and/or without carrying out all the established process controls. f) Manufacturing and quality control documents of each batch of medicinal products manufactured are not filed correctly. g) The facilities have been modified considerably without the authorization of the relevant health authority h) Test of growth promotion of culture media, which are used in the sterility testing, in the simulation of the aseptic manufacturing process or in the environmental control of critical manufacturing areas, is not carried out. h) Do not analyse all of the specification parameters for raw materials used in the manufacturing.

Chengdu Okay Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., China

Overall, 21 deficiencies were observed during the inspection, including 5 critical and 10 major deficiencies. The critical deficiencies were observed in QC Dept. including calculation of impurities of Diosmin and there were no records of standard (used as a reference) for testing in-house standard. Also the data integrity was not guaranteed. In manufacturing Dept. presented measuring methods were inadequate to the results. The condition in clean area was not acceptable for final product. Critical deficiences: Testing of the final product: There was incorrectly way of calculation the impurities and Diosmin content. There were no records of prepared in-house HPLC standard. There was no confirmation of the conditions HPLC analysis. Computerized systems - documentation and control: There was found in HPLC system that the method was changed, without any savings of previous method. There were no logins and passwords to the HPLC system and no procedure for granting permission to access to the HPLC system. There was no register of persons authorized to access the HPLC system. On the same computer station there were two different HPLC software. Manufacturing documentation: Presented measuring methods of pH during the inspection time were inadequate to the results recorded in the batch report. Premises: Crude Diosmin drying was carried out in an area which did not provide the appriopriate coditions during the discharge from the dryer. Qualification of equipment: Some data of HVAC system qualification had been falsified. The major deficiencies were observed among others: in the warehouse, in the manufacturing documentation and in the production area.

Dongying Tiandong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., China

This serious Non-Compliance Report refers to a manufacturing site for Heparin. French Inspectors found 2 critical and 3 major deviations. Heparin manufacturing sites were involved in one of the largest counterfeit scandal ever. Therefore it is worrying that critical deviations in Heparin manufacturing have been found again. Read more in our GMP News Chinese Heparin Manufacturer again involved in Falsification and GMP Non-Compliance.

THERAVECTYS - VILLEJUIF, France

Here a manufacturing site for Investigational Medicinal Products (IMPs) is concerned. Overall 45 deficiencies, including 5 critical deficiencies and 17 major deficiencies have been detected. The following critical deviations in sterile production are listed in the agency report:

1) The implementation of exemption SOP for manufacturing operations which is not compliant to GMP principles, for example, Media Fill Test were performed with unqualified equipment.
2) The lack of sample area for incoming materials and their systematic use in quarantine status for manufacturing operations.
3) Appropriate measures in terms of monitoring locations, alert and action limits rationale, were not set for particle and microbiological monitoring in clean rooms grade A and B.
4) No protocol for clean rooms’ qualification was established and clean rooms classification didn’t fulfill ISO14644 requirements.
5) Some analytical methods and process were not validated for the clinical trial EudraCT : 2015-000845-21

All Non-Compliance Reports with the detailed address of the facilities and the product concerned can be found in the EudraGMDP Database.