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ProcessValidationof
Pharmaceutical
DosageForms
Version2
Dateissued 21/02/2010
Dateofimplementation 21/05/2010
This guideline outlines the principles and approaches that SFDA considers important for the
process validation of manufacturing processes. It provides that activities align with process
validation during the product and process development, including all terms/ definitions used
in the validation.
It should be noted that the recommendations suggested in this guideline are not intended as
requirements under all circumstances as the requirement of the SFDA. Alternate means,
scientifically justified and documented are equally acceptable.
2. Scope
The scope of this guideline is limited to non-sterile dosage form, although the principles and
elements specified are equally applicable to sterile products. There are various additional
guidelines, such as steam sterilization, aseptic processing, radiation sterilization, etc., that
should be considered when the manufacture of sterile products is subjected to the process
validation. This guideline is not intended to specify how validation is to be conducted, but to
indicate what are the expectations of SFDA from the manufacturers.
3. GuidingPrinciples
These guidelines outline the general principles that SFDA considers to be acceptable
elements of validation which may be used during the manufacturing of pharmaceutical
dosage form.
4. StagesofValidation
The activities relating to validation studies may be classified into three stages:
This is the step where building and capturing of the process knowledge and understanding
took place. Early design of processes and experiments should be performed during this
stage. It covers all activities relating to product research and development, formulation, pilot
batch studies, scale-up studies, transfer of technology to commercial scale batches,
establishing stability conditions, storage and handling of in-process and finished dosage
forms, equipment qualification, installation qualification, master production documents,
operational qualification, process capability. Also this is the stage in which the establishment
of a strategy for process control is taking place using accumulation knowledge and
understanding of the process.
This stage is confirmation that the process design is capable of reproducing the
manufacturing process. It confirms that all established limits of the Critical Process
Parameters are valid and that satisfactory products can be produced even under worst case
conditions. GMP compliant procedures must be followed in this stage and successful
completion of this stage is necessary before commercial distribution of a product.
The Validation Maintenance Stage requires frequent review of all process related documents,
including validation audit reports to assure that there have been no changes, deviations,
failures, modifications to the production process, and that all SOPs have been followed,
including change control procedures.
Before any batch is distributed for marketing, the manufacturer must have full assurance of
its performance. A successful validation program depends on the knowledge and
understanding and the approach to control manufacturing processes. These include the source
It is the responsibility of the manufacturer to judge and provide evidence of a high degree of
assurance in its manufacturing processes. They are also responsible for maintaining the
degree of assurance accomplished, even if some minor changes occurred due to personnel,
material and process changes.
5. ValidationPrinciples
The basic principle of quality assurance is that a drug should be produced that is fit for its
intended use. In order to meet this principle, a good understanding of the processes and their
performance is important.
Quality cannot be adequately assured by in-process and finished product inspection and
testing but it should be built into the manufacturing processes. These processes should be
controlled in order that the finished product meets all quality specifications. Therefore,
building of the quality requires careful attention to a number of factors, such as the selection
of quality materials/components, product and process design, control of processes, in-process
control, and finished product testing. Careful design and validation of system and process
controls can establish a high degree of confidence that all lots or batches produced will meet
their intended specifications.
5.1 Qualification
The detail and scope of a qualification exercise is in many respects related to the
complexity of the equipment involved and the critical nature of that equipment with
respect to the quality of the final product. Installation, design and operational
qualification exercises assure that, through appropriate performance tests and related
documentation, equipment, ancillary systems and sub-systems have been
commissioned correctly.
IQ is the method of establishing with confidence that all major processing, packaging
equipment and ancillary systems are in conformance with installation specifications,
equipment manuals, schematics and engineering drawings. This stage of validation
includes examination of equipment design, determination of calibration, maintenance
and adjustment requirements. For complicated or large pieces of equipment, a
pharmaceutical manufacturer may elect to undertake a pre-delivery check of the
equipment at the suppliers assembly facility. This pre-delivery check cannot
substitute for the Installation Qualification. However, it is acknowledged that the
checks conducted and documented at this stage may duplicate a number of the checks
conducted at the IQ stage, thus leading to a reduction in the scope of the IQ checks.
All equipment, gauges and services should be adequately identified and should be
given a serial number or other reference number. This number should appear in the
reports for the equipment validation studies conducted.
There will be cases where installation of the equipment had not been qualified at the
time of installation, and the engineering drawings and manuals for the equipment are
no longer available at the manufacturing site; however, the equipment in place
operates for a lengthy period of time without any problem or modifications of its
design since it was first installed. In such situations, the SFDA considers that it may
be appropriate for those specific cases to verify a limited number of the most critical
parameters demonstrating that the equipment had been adequately installed.
Thereafter, the company could pass directly to the operational qualification (OQ)
stage if there is sufficient documented evidence that these units have always been
well maintained and calibrated according to an adequate pre-established schedule.
5.4 Re-Qualification
6. ProcessValidation
Some considerations should be exercised when selecting the process validation strategy.
Amongst these should be the use of different lots of active raw materials and major
excipients, batches produced on different shifts, the use of different equipment and facilities
dedicated for commercial production, operating range of the critical processes, and a
thorough analysis of the process data in case of Requalification and Revalidation.
During the processing of the validation batches, extensive sampling and testing should be
performed on the product at various stages, and should be documented comprehensively.
Detailed testing should also be done on the final product in its package.
In Prospective Validation, the validation protocol is executed before the process is put
into commercial use. During the product development phase the production process
should be broken down into individual steps. Each step should be evaluated on the
basis of experience or theoretical considerations to determine the critical parameters
that may affect the quality of the finished product. A series of experiments should be
designed to determine the criticality of these factors. Each experiment should be
planned and documented fully in an authorised protocol.
All equipment, production environment and the analytical testing methods to be used
should have been fully validated. Master batch documents can be prepared only after
the critical parameters of the process have been identified and machine settings,
component specifications and environmental conditions have been determined.
It is important in these cases however, that the systems and equipment to be used
have been fully validated previously. The justification for conducting concurrent
validation must be documented and the protocol must be approved by the Validation
Team. A report should be prepared and approved prior to the sale of each batch and a
final report should be prepared and approved after the completion of all concurrent
batches. It is generally considered acceptable that a minimum of three consecutive
batches within the finally agreed parameters, giving the product the desired quality
would constitute a proper validation of the process.
In many establishments, processes that are stable and in routine use have not
undergone a formally documented validation process. Historical data may be utilized
to provide necessary documentary evidence that the processes are validated.
The steps involved in this type of validation still require the preparation of a protocol,
the reporting of the results of the data review, leading to a conclusion and
recommendation.
The source of data for retrospective validation should include amongst others, batch
documents, process control charts, maintenance log books, process capability studies,
finished product test results, including trend analyses, and stability results.
Clearly defined procedure are required in order to control any changes in the
production processes. These procedures should control all the planned changes and
ensure the presence of sufficient supporting data that show that modified process will
result in a product of the desired quality. Significant changes to process (e.g. mixing
time, drying temperature, etc.), using new equipments with different operating
parameters, etc may require the pre-approval of the SFDA (please refer to SFDA-
Guidelines for Variation Requirements).
All changes must be formally requested, documented and accepted by the Validation
Team. The proposed changes was scientifically assessed and, depending on the
changes, the need of re-validation will be determined.
7. Documentation
For each stage of the process validation, documentation is very essential. Process validation
is a complex, lengthy and multi-disciplinary project. Therefore, documentation keeps all the
knowledge gained about the product and processes accessible to others involved in the life-
cycle of the product. Documentation can demonstrate all information that ultimately supports
the release of the product.
The degree of documentation is greater for stage 2 (process qualification) and stage 3
(continued process verification) of the stages of process validation as compared to stage 1
(process design). All studies during these processes should be according the GMP.
8. AnalyticalMethods
Although the validated analytical methods may not be required during the product and
process development activities, the methods used should be scientifically sound (e.g.
specific, sensitive and accurate), suitable and reliable for the purpose.
9. ValidationProtocol
A written plan stating how validation will be conducted, including test parameters, product
characteristics, production and packaging equipment, and decision points on what constitutes
acceptable test results. This document should give details of critical steps of the
manufacturing process that should be measured, the allowable range of variability and the
manner in which the system will be tested.
The validation protocol should be numbered, signed and dated, and should contain as a
minimum the following information:
10. TestReport
When the validation carried out, the actual data is recorded, compared with the requirement
and acceptance criteria(s), and a conclusion is made and authorized in form of report.
Validation in general requires meticulous preparation and careful planning of the various
steps in the process. In addition, all work should be carried out in a structured way according
to formally authorised standard operating procedures. All observations must be documented
and where possible must be recorded as actual numerical results.
The validation master plan should provide an overview of the entire validation operation, its
organizational structure, its content and planning. The main elements of it being the
list/inventory of the items to be validated and the planning schedule. All validation activities
relating to critical technical operations, relevant to product and process controls within a firm
should be included in the validation master plan. It should comprise all prospective,
concurrent and retrospective validations as well as re-validation.
The Validation Master Plan should be a summary document and should therefore be brief,
concise and clear. It should not repeat information documented elsewhere but should refer to
existing documents such as policy documents, SOPs and validation protocols and reports.
Specific process considerations that are critical and those requiring extra attention.
List of products/ processes/ systems to be validated, summarized in a matrix format,
validation approach.
Cleaning Validation
The documented act of demonstrating that cleaning procedures for the equipment used in
fabricating/packaging will reduce to an acceptable level all residues and to demonstrate that
routine cleaning and storage of equipment does not allow microbial proliferation.
Concurrent Validation
A process where current production batches are used to monitor processing parameters. It
gives assurance of the present batch being studied, and offers limited assurance regarding
consistency of quality from batch to batch. Concurrent release might be appropriate for
process used in infrequently because of limited demand of the product (orphan drugs).
Equipment Qualification
Studies which establish with confidence that the process equipment and ancillary systems are
capable of consistently operating within established limits and tolerances. The studies must
include equipment specifications, installation qualification, and operational qualification of
all major equipment to be used in the manufacture of commercial scale batches. Equipment
Qualification should simulate actual production conditions, including "worst case"/ stressed
conditions.
Installation Qualification
The documented act of demonstrating that process equipment and ancillary systems are
appropriately selected and correctly installed.
Major Equipment
A piece of equipment which performs significant processing steps in the sequence of
operations required for fabrication/packaging of drug products. Some examples of major
equipment include tablet compression machines, mills, blenders, fluid bed dryers, heaters,
drying ovens, tablet coaters, encapsulators, fermentors, centrifuges, etc.
A document that includes specifications for raw material, for packaging material and for
packaged dosage form, master formula, sampling procedures, and critical processing related
SOPs, whether or not these SOPs are specifically referenced in the master formula.
Measuring Devices
A device used in monitoring or measuring process parameters.
Operational Qualification
The documented action of demonstrating that process equipment and ancillary systems work
correctly and operate consistently in accordance with established specifications.
Process Capability
Studies conducted to identify the critical process parameters that yield a resultant quality, and
their acceptable specification ranges, based on the established 3 sigma deviations of the
process, under stressed conditions but when free of any assignable causes.
Process Qualification
The phase of validation dealing with sampling and testing at various stages of the
manufacturing process to ensure that product specifications are met.
Process Re-Validation
Required when there is a change in any of the critical process parameters, formulation,
primary packaging components, raw material fabricators, major equipment or premises.
Failure to meet product and process specifications in sequential batches would also require
process re-validation.
Process Validation
Establishing documented evidence with a high degree of assurance, that a specific process
will consistently produce a product meeting its predetermined specifications and quality
characteristics. Process validation may take the form of Prospective, Concurrent or
Retrospective Validation and Process Qualification or Re-validation.
Prospective Validation
Conducted prior to the distribution of either a new product or a product made under a
modified production process, where the modifications are significant and may affect the
products characteristics. It is a pre-planned scientific approach and includes the initial stages
of formulation development, process development, setting of process specifications,
developing in-process tests, sampling plans, designing of batch records, defining raw
Retrospective Validation
Conducted for a product already being marketed, and based on extensive data accumulated
over several lots and over time. Retrospective Validation may be used for older products
which were not validated by the fabricator at the time they were first marketed, and which
are now to be validated to conform to the requirements.
Validation
The documented act of demonstrating that any procedure, process, and activity will
consistently lead to the expected results. Includes the qualification of systems and
equipment.
Validation Protocol
A written plan of actions stating how process validation will be conducted; it will specify
who will conduct the various tasks and define testing parameters; sampling plans, testing
methods and specifications; will specify product characteristics, and equipment to be used. It
must specify the minimum number of batches to be used for validation studies; it must
specify the acceptance criteria and who will sign/approve/ disapprove the conclusions
derived from such a scientific study.
Validation Team
A multi-disciplinary team of personnel, primarily responsible for conducting and/or
supervising validation studies. Such studies may be conducted by person(s) qualified by
training and experience in a relevant discipline.