Guest Columns

  1. Why Should We Rescue The Legislative Intent Of The BPCIA? 7/28/2021

    What happens when regulatory ambiguity displaces sound scientific guidance, deterring the legislative intent of Congress? This is precisely the situation regarding the FDA changing the regulatory rules of the road regarding a biosimilar’s strength versus its potency.

  2. 10 Critical Validation Parameters For Microbiological Experiments 7/26/2021

    In studying a microbiological method, different validation parameters require assessment. These are variables or factors that can be controlled, changed, or measured in the experiment. This article outlines the key parameters to consider.

  3. What To Expect From A Remote Inspection -- & How To Navigate It 7/23/2021

    Regulators have moved toward remote inspections since the pandemic began, and this is likely to continue. This article presents an overview of the remote inspection process and provides advice on how to prepare for and deal with the inspection on the day, as well as how to respond to any concerns raised following the audit.

  4. The 6 Pillars Of Effectively Managing Up In Clinical Development 7/22/2021

    Managing up, regardless of title, can be a challenging skill to master from the onset. Laurie Halloran and Michelle Pratt of Halloran Consulting share their 6 key lessons that they've learned along their careers in clinical development. This article will help you manage your relationships with your colleagues in a more senior role, while also positioning yourself for success.

  5. Selecting The Best Human Factors Method For Your Medical Or Drug Delivery Device Evaluation 7/21/2021

    A robust human factors process has become critical to product optimization and market competitiveness for medical devices and drug delivery devices, but not all companies have the resources, funding, or time to conduct such user studies. This article from Genentech's head of human factors engineering examines the three major categories of evaluation that you should consider, the pros and cons of each, and how to select study participants.

  6. The 8-Step Checklist To Write Effective Investigation Reports 7/16/2021

    It’s always best to prevent the need to investigate a non-compliance, but if you experience a non-compliance, it’s necessary to quickly and effectively perform an investigation. The investigation report needs to be clearly understandable to anyone reviewing the report, and hopefully you'll also learn enough to make sure the non-compliance doesn't recur.

  7. Rare Diseases: How To Leverage Social Media For Patient Analysis 7/15/2021

    Due to insufficient sample sizes and a lack of granularity, traditional data analysis of rare diseases produces unreliable results. What can you do to learn more about patients with rare diseases? Leverage data from social media and other online sources! The internet offers a trove of public data waiting to be tapped into.

  8. FDA Releases Guidance On CMC Changes To An Approved Application: Certain Biological Products 7/14/2021

    At the end of June, the FDA released a new guidance to assist applicants and manufacturers of certain licensed biological products in determining which reporting category is appropriate for a change in chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC) information to an approved biologics license application. This article summarizes the guidance.

  9. Medtech Innovation: 3 Strategies For Leveraging Agile Methodologies 7/14/2021

    While medtech firms have had proven success with scaling and short bursts of innovation from special projects and acquisitions, many firms have struggled to achieve a steady stream of disruptive innovation. This article provides three strategies for leveraging agile methodologies for better innovation.

  10. eClinical Systems Post-COVID: Have You Realized Your Digital Transformation? 7/13/2021

    When the pandemic started to impact our communities, what happened next exemplified the commitment and passion of TMF professionals, clinical researchers, and the pharmaceutical industry as a whole. Now, as the U.S. is in a summer characterized less by COVID and more by time spent with family and friends, are we willing to face COVID’s hard lessons?