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Return Of Ductwork Cross-Contamination In Plants Flagged By US FDA Experts

 
• By Bowman Cox

Cleaning oversights are again allowing drug residues to collect in manufacturing equipment ductwork and contaminate drug product batches at sometimes dangerous levels, agency enforcement and compliance officials say. They share some ideas for getting such problems under control.

Fluid bed dryer
time to plumb the ducts again • Source: Alamy

It's an old issue that appears to have made a comeback, according to Francis Godwin, director of the Office of Manufacturing Quality, a part of the Office of Compliance in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

It came up in 2012 when the agency inspected a US-based generic drug manufacturer after receiving some concerning field alert reports, Godwin told last

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More from Manufacturing

US FDA’s Expanded Surprise Foreign Inspections: Impact And Enforcement Hoops

 
• By Anju Ghangurde

As the US FDA expands unannounced foreign inspections building on pilots in India and China, experts expect higher scrutiny of overseas sites and perhaps even an industry shakeout in the longer term, though staffing and enforcement challenges could slow things down.

Pharma Industry Argues Tax, Other Incentives Better Than Tariffs

 
• By Jessica Merrill

Pharmaceutical industry organizations offered alternatives to tariffs that could maintain a secure domestic supply chain in public comments filed in response to a federal 232 investigation.

US FDA Expands Surprise Foreign Inspections But Loses Associate Commissioner Michael Rogers

 
• By Sue Sutter

Commissioner Martin Makary’s repeated characterization of foreign facilities as being subject to lower standards than domestic counterparts may have contributed to Rogers’ decision to retire as head of the recently formed Office of Inspections and Investigations.

Pharma Predicts Modest Tariff Impact, Depending On What Comes Next

 
• By Jessica Merrill

Drugmakers are not expecting a big financial hit from tariffs for now, but a report commissioned by the industry trade association PhRMA suggests a potentially steep cost for pharma-sector tariffs.

More from Compliance

Switzerland Simplifies Imports Of Unauthorized Drugs To Tackle Drug Shortages

 
• By Eliza Slawther

Swiss authorities have introduced temporary measures that will make it easier for health care professionals to import medicines that are either not authorized or not available in Switzerland, which will particularly benefit pediatric drugs, in light of ongoing shortages.

Aragen’s CEO Says NIH Funding Cut Means Less R&D Money, And Tariffs Would Add To Woes

 
• By Vibha Ravi

Aragen’s CEO Manni Kantipudi, who is keenly watching the Trump Administration’s moves on pharma tariffs, discusses funding cuts at the National Institutes of Health, big pharma’s US onshoring moves, and talks with the Indian government to solve intellectual property challenges in an audio interview.

US FDA Retirements Continue Unabated With Drug Inspectorate Leaders, Former Chief Counsel

 
• By Sue Sutter and Derrick Gingery

Alonza Cruse, director of the Office of Human and Animal Drugs Inspectorate, and two other senior inspection officials are departing, along with Mark Raza, chief counsel from 2021 until January.