Particulate

Particulates in injectable drug products continue to be an area of great interest in the industry. The main reason is the potential clinical effects on patients, which can range from emboli to inflammations to infections. There are a series of clinical risk factors that should be considered in evaluating and mitigating these challenges. These factors are route of administration, patient population, and particulate composition (i.e., number, size, and shape). All are critical inputs to understanding risk and determining corrective and preventative actions.

Particles in parenteral drug products are a serious concern; they can cause issues such as product recalls, or worse, immunogenic responses. Sources of particles are varied; they can be from aggregates of biologic API’s, excipient contaminants, components, or silicone oil used to promote syringe function. With emphasis on safe and efficient delivery of drug products, West is focused on strategies to both measure particles, and mitigate their presence.

On March 26, the Delaware Valley Chapter of PDA and West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. co-sponsored a workshop: Defining a Strategy for Combination Products, at West’s headquarters in Exton, PA. More than 150 people from 45 companies that provide drug products and combination products attended. In prior PDA events, combination product regulatory challenges have been cited often as an area both of interest and confusion. This workshop aimed to address them.

To support customers as they navigate the path from drug product discovery to commercialization, West has undertaken a new, proactive strategy: Integrated Solutions. For almost 100 years, West has been developing technical and regulatory expertise in primary drug packaging, delivery devices, and combination products. That wealth of industry experience is now offered to customers who can employ it for any stage of development (Prescreen and Compatibility, Clinical Phases I / II / III, and Lifecycle Management).

Injectable drug products have stringent requirements for the presence of visible particles. However, there is currently no regulatory guidance for visible particles related to packaging components. Instead, specifications are established between suppliers and customers.

In Part I of this two-part series, several of the challenges with USP<789> Particulate Matter in Ophthalmic Solutions were discussed. Namely, the limits were established before routine intravitreal injections existed and the same acceptance criteria are applied to two different particle detection methods with different capabilities. Other challenges include the mismatch between required analysis volume and the very small fill volumes of ophthalmic injections and the lack of translatable limits for the syringe system alone. Regardless of the potential gaps in the pharmacopeial chapter, it is nevertheless clear that for ophthalmic injections, the industry expectations are to strive for the lowest possible visible and subvisible particle levels that are achievable.