Warning Letter: A Serious Quality Oversight Issue

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a Warning Letter to a pharmaceutical company in Florida (USA) for violating the current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) regulations. The letter cited several deficiencies in the company's Quality Unit (QU), which is responsible for ensuring that the drug products manufactured are in compliance with CGMP, and meet established specifications for identity, strength, quality, and purity.

One of the most critical findings was that the company's Quality Unit failed to exercise its responsibility for Quality Oversight. For example, the Quality Unit failed to ensure:

"Adequate oversight, including but not limited to authority and responsibility for:

• Written procedures for QU roles and responsibilities
• Approval or rejection of all components and drug products
• Review of production and control records to assure completeness and no errors that need investigation
• Approval or rejection of all procedures or specifications impacting the identity, strength, quality, and purity of drug products."

The Warning Letter also noted that the company did not adequately investigate and document out-of-specification (OOS) results, deviations, complaints, and adverse events. The company did not follow its own standard operating procedures (SOPs) for conducting investigations, and did not implement appropriate corrective and preventive actions (CAPAs) to prevent recurrence of the problems.

The FDA emphasized that the company must take prompt action to correct the violations and bring its operations into compliance with CGMP. The agency also requested a comprehensive assessment of the company's quality system, including a detailed action plan and timeline for remediation.

This Warning Letter is a serious wake-up call for the company and a reminder for all pharmaceutical manufacturers of the importance of quality oversight.