Advanced Therapy Medicinal Product (ATMP) therapies include cells, engineered tissues, or the manipulation of the patient’s genome. This is in contrast with traditional manufacturing processes for compounds that are synthetically derived (i.e., small molecule) or proteins or peptides expressed by cellular systems (i.e., large molecule biopharmaceuticals). ATMPs are based on genes, cells, or tissues delivered to patients to provide a therapeutic benefit based on a specific target of interest.

The ISPE Good Practice Guide: Good Engineering Practice (Second Edition) defines the practices and processes under GEP that support and enable the design, delivery, and operation of engineered systems. The scope of GEP covers the complete lifecycle of engineering projects and engineered systems from conceptual design to retirement. This Guide considers the entire range of pharmaceutical engineering activity and identifies key attributes of GEP within it, including how GEP relates to and interfaces with GxP.

The drive within life sciences to improve patient safety and product quality, and provide value to society, while reducing costs requires constant and effective innovation. However, because the pharmaceutical industry operates in a highly regulated sector, some practitioners may apply unthinking, prescriptive, and rigid approaches that are not commensurate to the needs of the process, the nature of the system, and the real risk to the product and the patient.