FDA Warning Letter
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Result
Background
A global health care company received an FDA Warning Letter for quality issues with its manufacturing facility. As the organization began working through the issues identified in the Warning Letter, it became clear, even with good quality systems, improved operational execution was needed to sustain successful results.
Operations Improvement (OI)
The operational improvements were focused in areas such as shop floor discipline / execution, facility housekeeping and maintenance, managerial focus on all levels and, most of all, assessing and attacking specific operational shortfalls within all the operational groups.
Solution
The manufacturing facility engaged Regulatory Compliance Associates® life science consultants to develop and implement a plan for data quality improvements to support the evolving quality management system.
Quality Management System (QMS)
This assessment and subsequent improvements involved needed support from the somewhat skeptical quality management system (QMS) group. RCA and the local operations management team worked jointly to assess the plant and identify gap areas needing improvement to support the quality initiatives.
RCA helped the organization recognize data quality gaps, develop action plans, and create tracking mechanisms to monitor operational progress of the Quality initiatives. RCA raised the bar on operational discipline and feedback.
Data Integrity (DI)
RCA assisted the facility to develop and implement a tracking system to monitor operational tasks, ongoing process improvements and ways to enforce accountability of key personnel. This tracking included key performance metrics for the following areas: training compliance, floor audit performance, batch record error improvement, document timeliness and line clearance performance.
Operational Excellence (OE)
Recognizing that the operations management team was inexperienced, RCA engaged and mentored the key operations floor managers as they began implementing improvements and tracking progress. Besides crafting and implementing the operations improvement plan, RCA assisted the company to instill a culture of operational excellence and individual accountability with an inexperienced team. RCA helped the organization recognize gaps, develop action plans and create a tracking mechanism to monitor operational progress.
Quality Assured
Not only did these actions clearly improve quality assurance (QA) and compliance, but they provided financial returns such as a deviation and inspection cost reductions as well as increased available line time which more than covered the cost of RCA’s third party support.
Quality Circle
Most importantly, the quality circle team learned the importance of communication across all departments and at all levels to achieve success. Ultimately, the facility’s commitment will contribute to an environment of sustainability long after the RCA consultants have left.
About RCA’s Quality Consulting Services
Quality is something our software quality assurance consultants are experts at with experience spanning major corporations and start-ups. We know firsthand how to achieve, maintain, and improve quality, and we excel in transferring this knowledge to your quality engineering team.
QA Services
- Quality Assurance Consultants – Interim Management, staff augmentation or outsourcing quality and regulatory management has become an increasingly common in the life science industry. The quality assurance (QA) and regulatory affairs (RA) functions create extra complexity for large and small life science companies. Business consultant needs may vary greatly depending on the lifecycle of the organization, and RCA’s quality consultants are up to the task.
- QA Audit – Virtual gap assessments can assist your team in advance for an upcoming QA inspection by a notified body. These proactive organizations turn to RCA for management consulting Experts who can describe exactly what a notified body looks for.
- Quality Assurance in Software Testing – Cybersecurity is becoming more essential to our industry based on updated FDA cybersecurity guidance. Pharmaceutical manufacturers partner with RCA for their cybersecurity FDA strategy and how to stay ahead of hackers.
QA Process
Early in a company’s lifecycle, strategic leadership is needed for product filings, regulatory pathway, manufacturing setup, and quality management systems creation. As the company matures, QA planning often transitions to a continuous improvement stage.
- Total Quality Assurance
- Quality Assurance Methodologies
- QA Procedures
- Project QA
- Product QA
- Supplier QA
- Digital QA
- Agile QA
Outsourcing QA management can often provide a more strategic perspective when you’re challenged across changing quality control in engineering teams. The pharmaceutical quality experts of RCA® bring a wealth of quality assurance management needed to help you cut cost via unique QA methodologies.
QA Planning
- Quality Control Audit
- QA Procedures
- QA Reporting
- QA Responsibility
- SOP Quality Control
- QA Best Practices
- QA Programmer
- QA Project Manager
- QA Software Tester
- SQA Tester
- Software QA Analyst
- Software Quality Analyst
- QA Testing Services
- Standard Quality Control
- Quality Control Tester
- Quality Assurance Analyst
- Data Quality Analyst
Software QA
- Software QA Outsourcing
- Agile Quality Management
- Web Quality Assurance
- Software Quality Control
- Quality System Automation Using Software
- Quality Systems Implementation
- Quality System Remediation / Improvement
- Quality Control Procedures
- Computerized System Validation Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) – Our computer validation experts and software engineers have extensive experience with the GAMP5 validation model. RCA’s healthcare consulting Experts can ensure that you have the appropriate level of documentation.
- Risk Management ICH Q9 – RCA’s business management consultant team can provide you with the tools needed to implement or remediate your quality systems. Every RCA® quality technical consultant understands current industry standards and how to train your personnel.
QA Teams
- Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) and Complaint Systems – We manage implementation and remediation of CAPA systems and Complaint Handling Systems.
- 21 CFR Part 210 and 211
- Quality Control Assurance
- EU Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)
- Quality Assurance Best Practices
- QA Testing Process
- Performing Quality Control
- QA Workflow
- Quality Culture Guidelines
- QA process
- QA Tester
- QA Analyst
- QA Management
- Laboratory Support
- SOP Development
- Method Transfer
- Method Validation
- Data QA
About RCA
Regulatory Compliance Associates® (RCA) provides regulatory compliance consulting to the following industries for resolution of life science challenges:
We understand the complexities of running a life science business and possess areas of expertise that include every facet of R&D, operations, regulatory affairs, quality, and manufacturing. We are used to working on the front lines and thriving in the scrutiny of FDA, Health Canada, MHRA and globally-regulated companies.
As your partners, we can negotiate the potential minefield of regulatory compliance and regulatory due diligence with insight, hindsight, and the clear advantage of our unique expertise and experience.
- Founded in 2000
- Headquartered in Wisconsin (USA)
- Expertise backed by over 500 industry subject matter experts
- Acquired by Sotera Health in 2021
About Sotera Health
The name Sotera Health was inspired by Soteria, the Greek goddess of safety, and reflects the Company’s unwavering commitment to its mission, Safeguarding Global Health®.
Sotera Health Company, along with its three best-in-class businesses – Sterigenics®, Nordion® and Nelson Labs®, is a leading global provider of mission-critical end-to-end sterilization solutions and lab testing and advisory services for the healthcare industry. With a combined tenure across our businesses of nearly 200 years and our industry-recognized scientific and technological expertise, we help to ensure the safety of over 190 million patients and healthcare practitioners around the world every year.
We are a trusted partner to more than 5,800 customers in over 50 countries, including 40 of the top 50 medical device companies and 8 of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies.
To begin the Regulatory Compliance Associates® scoping process today, please enter your information in the blue form below and click the submit button at the bottom of the webpage.