The pharmaceutical sector stands at a crossroads of immense possibilities. We are witnessing an unprecedented surge in innovation, fueled by a remarkable partnership between industry and regulatory authorities. For example, there are initiatives fostered by the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) to promote innovation with programs such as CATT (CBER Advanced Technologies Team) and ETP...

Through the ISPE Foundation Professional Development Grant program, Silas Tamufor attended the 2023 ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo in October 2023. Tamufor is a PhD student and ISPE Boston Chapter member who began serving as the ISPE Boston Educational Programs Committee Chair in December 2023. He, along with 87 other students and recent graduates, attended the conference thanks to the...

To meet the biopharmaceutical industry’s duty to manufacture safe and effective therapies for patients, a robust quality system is fundamental to success. A quality system should link to quality culture and prioritize focusing on quality, led by management, that fosters sustainable compliance and consistent production of high-quality drugs. Strong quality culture attributes include a proactive...

Stability sampling and testing are key to ensuring that products maintain safety, identity, strength, purity, and quality throughout their claimed shelf life. It is also a regulatory requirement per ICH Q5. However, storing product samples in different environmental conditions, testing those samples for three to five years (or more) after initial manufacture, and properly analyzing and...

ISPE hosted more than 450 attendees in person and virtually for the 2024 ISPE Aseptic Conference in Vienna, Austria. Keynotes and education sessions provided a comprehensive overview of key topics and trends...

Biopharmaceutical facility design is a critical aspect of the industry. Overall cost pressures in the global health system, regional requirements to deploy manufacturing rather than centralize manufacturing in one location, technology enhancements in cell biology and format, flexibility to accommodate multi-product campaigns with different production schedules, and speed-to-market are among...

The biotechnology industry continues to evolve, advancing the frontiers of science and engineering in the design, development, and manufacture of a wide variety of therapeutic modalities. Advances in cell and gene therapies continue to offer treatments for diseases that were previously uncurable, with seven approvals in 2023, including treatments for sickle-cell disease, hemophilia, type 1...

The International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineering’s (ISPE) Women in Pharma^® group was established in 2017. Since its inception, it has grown to a community of more than 2,000 members who are actively engaged in educational, collaborative, and networking activities designed to bridge gender, cultural, organizational, and geographic boundaries, maximize the impact women have in...

Since starting with ISPE, Edyna Miguez, has had the incredible opportunity to connect with women across the globe working within the pharmaceutical industry, as part of the ISPE Women in Pharma^® program. The tenure of these rising female leaders varies, as do their cultural backgrounds. However, one fact remains consistent: they are looking to make the industry a more equitable and...

The ISPE GAMP^® 5 Guide (Second Edition) was published on 29 July 2022. It was presented and discussed at the 2023 ISPE Europe Annual Conference, the 2023 ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo, and at several local...

The importance of the 2024 ISPE Europe Annual Conference is evident with the continuous challenges the pharmaceutical industry is facing in terms of drug shortages, regulatory requirements, digitalization, automation, and big data management.

It is an exciting time in life sciences. Many companies have focused initial artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) adoption efforts on developing and implementing ML trained algorithms, which necessitate following a controlled approach such as the GAMP® 5 ML Sub-System methodology shown below. This blog highlights key artifacts and considerations when implementing AI/ML for GxP use...

At the 2023 ISPE Pharma 4.0™ and Annex 1 Conference, held 11 – 12 December 2023 in Barcelona, Spain, a panel discussion that included regulators from around the world, as well as industry experts,...

Carla J. Lundi, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Senior Consumer Safety Officer, Division of Quality Intelligence II, FDA, presented the regulatory keynote at the 2024 ISPE Facilities of the Future...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be described as the application of computer science, statistics, and engineering, utilizing digital algorithms or models to analyze information, perform tasks and exhibit behaviors such as learning, making decisions, and making predictions.

One of the keynote sessions of the 2023 ISPE Pharma 4.0^TM and Annex 1 Conference held 11 - 12 December 2023 in Barcelona, Spain was a presentation on European Union (EU) initiatives to...

The energy in the room was palpable as attendees eagerly awaited the start of what promised to be an enlightening and thought-provoking evening.

ISPE’s Regulatory Quality Harmonization Committee (RQHC) is structured with four Regional Focus Groups (RFGs): Asia-Pacific, Europe/Middle East/Africa, Latin America, and North America. The RFGs support ISPE in its understanding and response to regulatory issues and concerns for the specific region. The RQHC Asia-Pacific RFG includes pharmaceutical professionals located in or having specific...