Quality Assurance Flashcards
How can the quality and suitability of a product for use be determined?
By use of a specification outlining tests and relevant margins for error. There can be both a BP specification and an in house specification; with both having different information in them (though there may be some overlap).
What are the limitations of end product testing?
You cannot guarantee fault free products by end-product testing alone. The system of inspecting, rework, or scrap sub-standard material is outmoded.
What alternative system for ensuring the quality of products is there other than end product testing?
Quality management and/or quality assurance. Controlling the variables that determine the output so that you do not produce defective material.
Define quality management.
Accountability for the successful implementation of the quality system.
Define a quality system.
A formalised business practice that defines management responsibilities for organisational structure, processes, procedures, and resources needed to fulfil product/service requirements, customer satisfaction, and continual improvement.
What is the main variable in a production/dispensing process we must control?
People.
How do we strive for quality?
We strive for quality by perfecting the process rather than the conclusion. This enables us to build quality into products and services - which is more preferable to the more costly, less effective methods of inspecting rejects out.
Why does the public rely on the knowledge that there are effective quality assurance processes in place for pharmaceuticals?
Because they take medicines on trust from the doctor or pharmacist and by extension the manufacturer. They cannot test them before they take them in a similar way that they can with a car of clothes.
How is the quality of pharmaceutical products assessed? What falls under this umbrella?
Quality of a pharmaceutical product is measured by its fitness for the intended use. Safety and efficacy are part of quality and are not separable.
What factors can be used to assess whether a pharmaceutical product is fit for use/purpose?
- Correct product.
- Correct strength,
- Free from contamination.
- No deterioration.
- Correct container.
- Correct label.
- Sealed container.
What is the orange guide?
A book of rules and guidance for pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors.
How many volumes are there of the EU Legislation - Eudralex?
10.
What does volume 2 of the EU Legislation - Eudralex include?
Notice to applicants and regulatory guidelines for medicinal products for human use.
What does volume 10 of the EU Legislation - Eudralex include?
Guidelines for clinical trials.
What does volume 4 of the EU Legislation- Eudralex include?
Guidelines for good manufacturing practice for medicinal products for human and veterinary use.
What does the acronym GMP stand for?
Good manufacturing practice.
What is the EU Legislation - Eudralex?
The collection of rules and regulations governing medicinal products in the European Union.
What is included in volume 4 of Eudralex?
- Introduction
- Part I Basic requirements for Medicinal Products
- Part II Basic requirements for API
- Part III GMP related Documents
- Annexes
Outline the chapters detailing GMP in volume 4 of Eudralex.
- One: Pharmaceutical Quality System • Two: Personnel • Three: Premises and Equipment • Four: Documentation • Five: Production • Six: Quality Control • Seven: Outsourced Activities • Eight: Complaints, Quality Defects and Product Recall • Nine: Self-Inspection
How many annexes are there in volume 4 of Eudralex, outlining GMP? What is included in them?
- They provide information on more specific areas, mainly of specific areas of manufacture (e.g. sterile and non-sterile, herbal products). This has increasingly included; risk, computerised systems, validation, certification by QPs, parametric release, APIs.
What falls under the umbrella of quality assurance/quality management?
Everything that makes a product fit for use. Including; production, R&D, quality control, training, and documentation.
Define quality management/quality assurance.
Quality Management is a wide-ranging concept,
which covers all matters, which individually or
collectively influence the quality of a product. It is
the sum total of the organised arrangements
made with the objective of ensuring that
medicinal products are of the quality required for
their intended use. Quality Management
therefore incorporates Good Manufacturing
Practice.
Define good manufacturing practice.
Ensures that the products are reproducibly manufactured fit for practice. Is that part of Quality Assurance aimed at
ensuring that products are consistently
produced and controlled to a quality
standards appropriate to their intended use
by the Marketing Authorisation, Clinical Trial Authorisation or product specification. It is
thus concerned with both production and
quality control.
Define quality control.
Testing and all associated with testing,
and final product release. Is that part of Good Manufacturing Practice which
is concerned with sampling, specification and
testing, and with the organisation, documentation
and release procedures which ensure that the
necessary and relevant tests are actually carried
out and that materials are not released for use,
nor products released for sale or supply, until their
quality has been judged to be satisfactory.
What is product quality review?
regular review, usually annually, of a finished product or a range of finished products. This should include; starting materials, in-process checks, out of specification deviations, complaints, change, and ongoing stability studies.
What is quality risk management?
A systematic process to assess, control, and review risks.
What is a full product license?
A Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) license for a specific product. Usually given to the larger pharmaceutical companies to produce specific products.
What is a pharmaceutical special?
A medicinal product manufactured in an MHRA licensed unit to the specification of a prescriber.
What is special about an unlicensed medication?
Gives the prescriber a level of clinical freedom. Often used for patients with special needs such as paediatrics or geriatrics. The pharmacist or prescriber is responsible for the safety of the product legally.
Give some examples of situations in which medicines may be unlicensed but still used for patients with special needs.
imported into the UK that are licensed abroad but not
licensed in the UK
• imported into the UK that are not licensed abroad or in
the UK
• licensed in the UK, but not used for their licensed
indication (off label)
• prepared as “Specials” by licensed manufacturers but
do not hold marketing authorisations
• dispensed medicines (Section 10) – under the
supervision of a pharmacist
Explain what the law says about the responsibility of a qualified person (QP).
Each batch of a finished product must be
certified by a QP within the EC/EEA
before being released for sale or
supply in the EC/EEA or for export.
What must a person have to apply to be classed as a qualified person (QP)?
Membership to the RPS, Institute of biology, or the royal society of chemists. Relevant body of knowledge. Suitable experience. Must have passed a Viva interview.
What is are the objectives of documentation in quality assurance?
State in advance what has to be done • Do it in accordance with the instructions • Make a record of what has been done
What are the reasons for completing documentation in quality assurance?
Approved Instructions – Reproducible products – Training • Defined standards • Confirmation that steps have been carried out • Records • Investigation of Complaints • Help necessary corrective actions
What types of documentation are there in quality assurance?
• Specifications • Manufacturing and Packaging Instructions • Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) • Records