Pharmaceutical manufacturing’s digital transformation is constrained not by a lack of data, but by decision velocity: the speed, quality, and auditability of translating operational signals into compliant actions.
Quality professionals in all industries are heavily involved in root-cause analysis (RCA) and corrective and preventive action (CAPA) management. As artificial intelligence (AI) systems emerge to augment these quality functions, the industry faces a fundamental challenge: no comprehensive regulatory framework exists to govern AI application in GxP environments.
Spray drying has become a key enabling technology for developing amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) to enhance solubility and bioavailability in poorly water-soluble drug candidates.
By adopting artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), the life sciences industry can leverage dynamic systems, a completely new system design. These systems feature ML models that learn adaptively automatically from data, accommodating changing relationships between input and output over time.
The transition from on-premise to cloud-based systems requires a shift in how IT infrastructure is managed in regulated environments. Rather than traditional static qualification, continuous operational control of Platform as a Service (PaaS) infrastructure supporting GxP applications enables life sciences companies to maintain compliance and accelerate innovation.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming how GxP-regulated areas of life sciences operate. As AI grows ever more capable, people are rethinking humans’ role in an increasingly technology- and data-driven world. With key competencies of AI literacy and data understanding being of paramount importance, strong critical thinking skills become ever more essential for effective oversight.
This article proposes a practical model for validation in a digital landscape. It incorporates emerging thinking on culture, risk competencies, and modern software assurance approaches for validating computerized systems.
Cell and gene therapies (C>s) offer a groundbreaking approach for disease treatment by targeting conditions at the cellular and genetic level, offering hope for previously untreatable disorders. As these therapies progress from clinical trials to commercial reality, manufacturing challenges—particularly the need for robust, scalable, and cost-effective production—remain a significant...
Mold contamination is one of the most persistent threats to cleanroom integrity in pharmaceutical manufacturing. This article highlights the sources, growth conditions, and pathways for mold ingress. It emphasizes the need for an integrated approach combining facility design, environmental monitoring, effective investigation, and robust cleaning and sanitization programs.
This article presents experiences from seven recent accelerated development program case studies. These experiences provide insights that could help companies progressing through accelerated development programs for products meeting unmet medical needs or significant therapeutic needs, such as those with anticipated Breakthrough Therapy (United States) or PRIME (European Union) designation.
This article examines the regulatory landscape governing artificial intelligence (AI) in quality-critical systems and distinguishes between algorithms, AI, and a nuanced middle category called smart systems. It explains how organizations can responsibly embrace advanced programmatic solutions while preserving the integrity of validated test methods and safeguarding patient safety.
Shelf temperature mapping is a critical component of lyophilizer qualification. The previous articles in this series explored the methods used to record the shelf surface temperatures (Part I) and designing an appropriate study (Part II). Interpreting a shelf temperature mapping study’s result is as critical to assessing uniformity as the temperature measurement, the study design, and the...
The promise of single-use technologies (SUTs) in biopharmaceutical manufacturing is as compelling as it is contradictory. Noted for accelerating process development, enhancing sterility, and enabling unprecedented manufacturing agility, SUTs have also introduced a less visible but mounting challenge: the steady accumulation of complex plastic waste.
Bulk powders inherently exhibit unpredictable flow in feeders, dosing machines, and packed machines under gravity's pull. Meanwhile, particle engineering co-processed excipients can be more versatile and economical compared to conventional ingredients in the continuous manufacturing of drug products.
In today’s pharmaceutical landscape, speed, compliance, and efficiency are no longer optional—they’re strategic imperatives. Yet for large capital expenditure (CapEx) projects, traditional paper-based commissioning, qualification, and validation (CQV) workflows remain a major bottleneck, consuming time, resources, and patience.
Radiopharmaceuticals account for many lifesaving diagnostic and therapeutic drug products in the market. These drug products, radioligand therapies (RLTs) in particular, represent a relatively novel modality and present multiple, unique challenges to manufacture, release, ship, and administer.
ASTM E2500, issued in 2007, has been the primary standard guide defining what is required to apply quality risk management (QRM) to achieve the qualification of facilities, systems, and equipment in support of validation and process validation. A major update was undertaken in 2024 to better align the guide with current regulatory and industry guidance and current best practice.
Schedule management faces challenges such as unrealistic deadlines, scope creep, resource constraints, and poor communication, often causing delays and cost overruns. Using tools like an interdependency matrix (IDM) with project management software tools like Microsoft Project improves accuracy, visibility, and control.
This article provides guidance on the best practices to adopt when preparing for an audit or inspection, with a particular focus on commissioning and qualification and the points to consider during the development of materials to explain a company’s individual approach to commissioning, qualification, and validation maintenance.
Categorization offers a useful starting point for assessing the risk of failure for individual software components, but it is not a validation checklist. Organizations must apply critical thinking to combine categorization with risk assessment and supplier assessments to appropriately scale life cycle activities and manage risk.
This article presents a model for promoting data quality of real-world data and evidence (RWD/RWE) and GxP processes with references to ISO 8000 for data quality management, making it a common language between regulated and nonregulated organizations.
Data integrity drives quality and compliance. Content addressable storage (CAS) stores and retrieves files by content type—not file location—using cryptographic fingerprints. The result: a mathematically provable version control, without broken links and far fewer audit headaches.
Currently, there is no single guidance document providing a comprehensive roadmap for executing digital validation. While elements from ISPE GAMP® Guides Series and the ISPE Baseline® Guide: Volume 8 – Pharma 4.0™, apply to digital validation, there is no consolidated resource addressing common questions. The authors of this Concept Paper therefore advocate for the development of a Good...
In today’s highly regulated pharmaceutical industry, maintaining product quality and patient safety depends on more than systems and procedures. It depends on people. Specifically, it depends on how well individuals understand and apply the principles of a robust pharmaceutical quality system.
As pharmaceutical manufacturing continues its transformation through artificial intelligence (AI), automation, advanced analytics, and increasingly digital operations, one critical factor remains at the center of success: people. While new technologies are reshaping every stage of the product lifecycle, organizations are discovering that sustainable transformation depends not only on...
As the pharmaceutical industry works to reduce its environmental footprint while continuing to deliver life-transforming therapies to patients worldwide, organizations are increasingly seeking solutions that balance operational performance, sustainability, and long-term resilience. Takeda’s AHEAD – Advanced Heat Pump Demonstrator project represents a powerful example of what is possible when...
Emily Heffernan, US Director of New Process Technologies at Arcadis, is a process subject matter expert specializing in biological process and facility design. With more than 20 years of experience, her expertise spans multiple therapeutic areas, including monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), vaccines, cell and gene therapies (C>s), and ribonucleic acid (RNA) therapeutics.
In pharmaceutical manufacturing, product quality begins long before a medicine reaches the production line. Critical utility systems such as pharmaceutical water, pure steam, compressed air, and process gases play a direct role in manufacturing processes and frequently come into contact with products, equipment, and controlled environments. As a result, the quality of these utilities must be...
Turnover package (TOP) is one of the most critical deliverables in pharmaceutical projects. It provides complete documentation on systems, equipment, and components from supplier/service providers to construction and project teams to end users. Traditionally, TOP reviews are performed manually, requiring extensive effort from construction and commissioning and qualification (C&Q) experts...
Sanofi’s Modulus platform is redefining what pharmaceutical manufacturing can look like in an era shaped by personalized medicines, rapidly evolving therapeutic technologies, and increasing global demand for production agility. Recognized with the 2026 ISPE Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA) Innovation – Facility of the Future Category Award, Modulus represents a groundbreaking approach to...
Innovative medicines are advancing across a broad range of therapeutic modalities, from small molecules and biologics to next-generation therapies such as ATMPs, ADCs, radiopharmaceuticals, and mRNA-based products. Yet scientific breakthroughs alone are not enough. Transformative therapies only fulfill their promise when they can be manufactured reliably, scaled efficiently, navigated through...
Bayer AG’s SOLIDA-1 facility in Leverkusen, Germany, has achieved a rare distinction in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry: winning two categories in the 2026 ISPE Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA). Recognized for both Operations – Operational Excellence and Pharma 4.0™, SOLIDA-1 demonstrates how digital transformation, modular facility design, and autonomous manufacturing can work...
A major takeaway from the 2026 ISPE AI in Life Sciences Summit – Powered by GAMP® which took place in June was the realization that the pharmaceutical industry has reached a turning point in its AI journey. The conversation is no longer about whether organizations should use AI. Instead, the focus has shifted to how AI can be implemented responsibly, how it can create value, and how...
As artificial intelligence (AI), digital transformation, and evolving regulatory expectations continue to reshape the pharmaceutical industry, organizations face a critical challenge: how to innovate while maintaining compliance, quality, and patient safety. The Governance, Risk, and Readiness track at the 2026 ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo, taking place 18–21 October 2026 in Washington,...
Pharmaceutical manufacturers are entering a phase in which AI will no longer be an experimental productivity tool used by a few early adopters. It is becoming a practical work capability for quality, manufacturing, engineering, laboratory, training, and regulatory teams. The challenge is not whether AI can summarize documents, draft investigations, analyze trends, or support inspection...
One of the most anticipated sessions at the 2026 ISPE AI in Life Sciences Summit, Powered by GAMP® was a panel titled, “AI in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing is Outpacing Regulation.” Judging by the attendance, the title struck a chord. The room was full well before the discussion began, and when the session concluded there were still attendees waiting at the microphones and unanswered...
A pattern that has surfaced across the life sciences industry involves AI-assisted workflows generating subtle data or terminology inconsistencies that are not immediately detected by automated validation checks. In regulated environments, these issues are often identified only through experienced human review, and the resulting remediation can be both costly and time intensive. The lesson is...
The ISPE Foundation continues to support the next generation of pharmaceutical professionals through its Professional Development Grant program, providing students and recent graduates with the opportunity to attend global industry events and expand their professional horizons. At the 2026 ISPE Europe Annual Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, this past April, grant recipients gathered...
The 2026 ISPE International Board of Directors Election provides members with the opportunity to help shape the future of the Society by voting for representatives to fill open seats on the International Board. The Board plays a critical role in establishing ISPE’s vision and mission, setting strategic priorities, and ensuring that operations align with ISPE policies, best practices, and...
One of the great privileges of serving as ISPE’s President and CEO is the opportunity to see our global community in action. Every Affiliate and Chapter has its own character and strengths, but there is something distinctive about the culture of excellence that exists within the ISPE Japan Affiliate.
The 2026 ISPE International Board of Directors Election provides members with the opportunity to help shape the future of the Society by voting for representatives to fill open seats on the International Board. The Board plays a critical role in establishing ISPE’s vision and mission, setting strategic priorities, and ensuring that operations align with ISPE policies, best practices, and...
Let's be honest: too many pharmaceutical projects in Europe and abroad, move from a business need, a business idea and a rough cost estimation, straight into equipment procurement, vague and rough layouts, and even more into a detailed design without ever doing proper conceptual and basic design engineering. This is a reality often faced by many engineers.
Water is one of the most widely used raw materials in pharmaceutical manufacturing and one of the most critical to control. Whether used in formulation, cleaning, or as a direct process component, pharmaceutical water systems must consistently meet strict regulatory and quality standards.
The ISPE D/A/CH Affiliate, encompassing Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, represents a diverse and highly engaged community within one of Europe’s key pharmaceutical regions. The Affiliate was recognized as the largest of ISPE’s 40+ Affiliates and Chapters at the 2026 ISPE Facilities of the Future Conference in February, underscoring both the scale of the regional industry and the strength of...
The 2026 ISPE International Board of Directors Election provides members with the opportunity to help shape the future of the Society by voting for representatives to fill open seats on the International Board. The Board plays a critical role in establishing ISPE’s vision and mission, setting strategic priorities, and ensuring that operations align with ISPE policies, best practices, and...
The pharmaceutical industry has never lacked ambition. Across the globe, scientific discovery continues to move at extraordinary speed. New modalities, advanced therapies, precision approaches, digital platforms, automation, artificial intelligence, and novel manufacturing technologies are expanding what may be possible.
Batch disposition remains one of the most important quality decisions in pharmaceutical manufacturing. Before a product can reach a patient, reviewers must confirm that the batch was manufactured, tested, documented, serialized, and controlled according to approved procedures and regulatory expectations. This work protects patients, preserves product quality, and ensures compliance. Yet in...
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Total Organic Carbon (TOC) analysis is a fast and straightforward analytical method that effectively detects all organic residues—including active pharmaceutical ingredients, cleaning agents, degradants, and excipients—while requiring simpler method development and delivering quicker results compared to targeted techniques like HPLC. TOC offers flexible deployment options, functioning as...
As artificial intelligence becomes embedded in validation workflows, life sciences organizations face a governance gap that traditional validation frameworks were not designed to close. AI systems introduce non-deterministic outputs, model drift, data dependency risks, and opacity challenges that demand a structured, continuous approach to oversight — not a one-time compliance exercise....
This eBook examines how artificial intelligence is being applied across life sciences quality assurance and validation, from protocol generation and documentation review to anomaly detection, predictive maintenance, audit preparation, and continuous improvement.
Whether networking at events or collaborating through our Communities of Practice, the value of an ISPE membership is in the connections made between pharmaceutical industry professionals and Regulators to collaborate on solutions to common goals and challenges.
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