Temperature is a critical parameter in the transportation and storage of medicinal products. The temperature must be controlled and monitored from the manufacturing site through to the distributor and site of medicine use. When temperatures go outside the specified range, there is a risk that the medicine may alter and degrade with the potential for adverse outcomes for the patient. In addition to this, there may be significant financial losses for the medicinal product owner.
The manufacturing of medicinal products is highly regulated with strict GMP quality control standards to ensure that a high-quality medicine is provided to patients. When it comes to transportation, it is just as important to maintain the same level of quality standards and ensure medicinal products are not compromised during the many touchpoints that can occur between the sending and receiving sites. Good Distribution Practice (GDP) is a set of standards, guidelines, and principles for the storage and transportation of pharmaceutical products. Developers must implement robust processes to guarantee the quality and safety of their products during distribution. GDP compliance can help avoid major quality impacts and potential product recalls.
Medicinal product shipments can generally be categorised as:
Ambient (controlled room temperature, 15°C to 25°C)
Refrigerated (2°C to 8°C)
Frozen (Below 0°C)
Cryogenic (Below -150°C)
As transportation may involve many modes of transport including road, air and sea, then continuously controlling and monitoring temperature can be challenging. Furthermore, cross border customs checks can cause unwanted delays. There is a risk that custom checks can interfere with outer packaging and cause exposure of the medicinal products to outside temperatures. The sensitivity of new advanced therapies such as cell and gene therapies increase the demand on both the shipping system and on the integrity of the entire temperature-controlled supply chain.
The FDA’s 21 CFR Part 11 guidance addresses the traceability challenges of electronic temperature records. Records must be reliable and accurate to ensure the quality and safety of the medicinal product. Pharmaceutical companies are strongly advised to use calibrated temperature monitoring dataloggers that can generate accurate and reliable reports. In addition to this, electronic records of all alarms and events must be kept.
With so many variables in transportation, successful shipments depend on reliable transportation and the correct choice of shipping system for the type of medicinal product. Using shipping systems that are validated and appropriate for the medicinal product is crucial. Performing shipping qualification studies is advised to ensure that a system is in place for seamless transportation and quality assurance.
To help navigate the challenges with temperature control, it is key to find partners experienced in handling complex medicinal products. HiTech Health have a team Responsible Personnel (RPs) who are specialists in GDP and can advise and support you with:
Minimising supply chain risks and ensuring compliance with applicable regulations
Shipping qualification studies
Due diligence and auditing of transportation providers
We can work with your team to ensure that effective processes are established to ensure that high quality medicinal products are available for patients on time.
Schedule a call with our team today to learn more about our services and how we can support your organisation.
In Europe, no batch of medicinal product can be released prior to certification by a Qualified Person (QP). Due to the rapidly evolving Advanced Therapeutic Medicinal Products (ATMP) landscape, it’s important to have up-to-date knowledge, expertise as well as years of experience managing Quality aspects of product and process development, to successfully release CGT product to clinical trials or to market in the EU, US, UK, and RoW.
QP batch release is required to be in accordance with EU requirements (Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/1569 and Regulation 536/2014) on Investigational Medicinal Products (IMP) covering both sterile and non-steriledosage forms. QP and Quality Services offered by Hitech Health include contractual QP services, for both general Quality consultancy and batch release, for short and long-term contracts.
The QP and Quality Services include:
Supporting and maintaining all aspects of Quality Management System (QMS) compliance.
Designing and implementing a robust supplier qualification program and effective management of this process.
Importation and QP Certification.
With Hitech Health holding the Manufacturer’s/Importer’s Authorisations (MIAs) for the importation and QP certification of both Commercial and Clinical products within the EU, CGT products can be imported and released to EU clinical trials in a matter of months.
Hitech Health has QPs specialising in the CGT and ATMP field and can offer quality support for the successful release of your CGT product. By partnering with us and working with our experienced cross-functional team under our already approved MIAs, you reduce personnel and regulatory cost, thereby making considerable financial and time savings in getting your product to the clinic or market.
To learn more about our cell and gene therapy services by clicking here
Hitech Health’s Cell and Gene Therapy Operations Manager Aoife Duffy and Global Head of Commercial Clare O’Sullivan will be attending Phacilitate’s Advanced Therapies Week 2023 in Miami from January 17th – 20th. Advanced Therapies Week is the destination for developers, investors and solution providers whose goal is to bring cell and gene therapies to patients. We are really looking forward to the event and will be available for partnering meetings to discuss how we can help your advanced therapy processes and reach your goals.
Hitech Health is delighted to announce the appointment of Clare O’Sullivan as Global Head of Commercial. Brian Harrison, Managing Director of HiTech Health, commented on Clare’s appointment: “I am pleased to announce the appointment of Clare O’Sullivan as Global Head of Commercial for Hitech Health, effective 1st December 2022. In this role, Clare will lead the Business Development and Marketing for Hitech Health, providing the full Contract Development and Manufacturing Operations (CDMO) services for Cell and Gene Therapy Drug Development.”
Brian adds: “Clare has over 20 years industry experience and has held various roles in QA, QC, Regulatory Affairs as well as Operational Leadership. The majority of her experience has been in clinical drug development with an additional 2 years spent working in a GMP setting. Most recently she led the global Business Development teams for two divisions of a Global CRO.”
The continued growth in the development of cell and gene therapies (CGTs) has led to an exponential increase in the workload of the organisations involved. As ClinicalTrials.gov. indicates, there will be more than 1,000 ongoing clinical trials for CGTs registered in 20221. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expects that they will receive more than 200 investigational new drugs (INDs) per year, building on the more than 800 active cell therapy or directly administered gene therapy INDs currently submitted to the FDA2. The diverse and complex nature of CGTs can often make regulatory affairs matters more intricate than traditional pharmaceutical products.
To meet the demand for advanced medicines, the FDA announced in the Federal Register that the Office of Tissue and Advanced Therapies (OTAT) in the Center for Biologics Research and Evaluation (CBER) has been changed to the Office of Therapeutic Products (OTP) and upgraded to a “Super Office” that should significantly improve the efficiency of the workflow for reviewing regulatory submissions. This will include therapeutic tissue-engineered products, human cell and tissue products and combination products, as well as gene therapies that result in persistent cellular modifications.
This initiative has also received significant financial support from the US Congress. More products will be able to be reviewed and supported by the knowledge of more scientific experts, which should help companies to launch their products in a timely manner. Advanced medicines such as CGTs are often intended to meet unmet medical needs and the steps taken by the FDA are a positive move to ensure patients receive life-changing treatments.
To learn more about our cell and gene therapy services by clicking here: