Description
This guidance document provides to you, sponsors of a human gene therapy investigational new drug application (IND), recommendations on the chemistry, manufacturing, and control (CMC) information to include in an original IND. This guidance also applies to combination products that contain a human gene therapy biological product in combination with a drug or device as part of the final product. Also, this guidance instructs FDA CMC reviewers about the information to record and assess as part of an IND review, taking into consideration the various manufacturing challenges for these products.
Scope & Applicability
Product Classes
6Specific category for CMC guidance
Products explicitly excluded from the scope of this guidance
Use of Xenotransplantation Products in Humans
minimum acceptable viability specification is generally set at 70 percent
Products combining drug, device, or biological constituents; Generally recommended for Enhanced Documentation; Requires 14971-based framework incorporating ICH Q9; A drug-device combination where the device constituent part detects ingestion.
May meet the definition of a regenerative medicine therapy
Stakeholders
3Entity responsible for submitting applications under section 524B
The submitter will be contacted by the RPM who will provide a BQ number; Regulatory Project Manager provided as a contact.
Agency staff responsible for recording and assessing IND information.
Regulatory Context
Attributes
7Characteristic of cellular products that complicates distribution and testing.
expressed as a numerical value or range
Established during Phase 3 based on stability protocol data.
Stability testing parameter
Property measured by immunological assays or PCR
established based on data from stability studies
property of the MCB after multiple passages
Identified Hazards
Hazards
5Potential risk in the manufacturing of cell therapy products.
Risk from animal serum or culture environment
contamination with transmissible spongiform encephalopathy agents
risk introduced by reagents or cell substrates
Adventitious agent requiring testing on cell culture harvest.
Related CFR Sections (17)
- 21CFR312.22§ 312.22 General principles of the IND submission.
(a) FDA's primary objectives in reviewing an IND are, in all phases of the investigation, to assure the safety and rights of subjects, and, in Phase 2 and 3, to help assure that the quality of the scientific evaluation of drugs is adequate to permit an evaluation of the drug's effectiveness and safeRead full regulation →
- 21CFR312.42§ 312.42 Clinical holds and requests for modification.
(a) General. A clinical hold is an order issued by FDA to the sponsor to delay a proposed clinical investigation or to suspend an ongoing investigation. The clinical hold order may apply to one or more of the investigations covered by an IND. When a proposed study is placed on clinical hold, subjectRead full regulation →
- 21CFR211.192§ 211.192 Production record review.
All drug product production and control records, including those for packaging and labeling, shall be reviewed and approved by the quality control unit to determine compliance with all established, approved written procedures before a batch is released or distributed. Any unexplained discrepancy (inRead full regulation →
- 21CFR25.30§ 25.30 General.
The classes of actions listed in this section and §§ 25.31 through 25.35 are categorically excluded and, therefore, ordinarily do not require the preparation of an EA or an EIS:Read full regulation →
- 21CFR1271.250§ 1271.250 Labeling controls.
(a) General. You must establish and maintain procedures to control the labeling of HCT/Ps. You must design these procedures to ensure proper HCT/P identification and to prevent mix-ups.Read full regulation →
- 21CFR312.6§ 312.6 Labeling of an investigational new drug.
(a) The immediate package of an investigational new drug intended for human use shall bear a label with the statement “Caution: New Drug—Limited by Federal (or United States) law to investigational use.”Read full regulation →
- 21CFR1271.290§ 1271.290 Tracking.
(a) General. If you perform any step in the manufacture of an HCT/P in which you handle the HCT/P, you must track each such HCT/P in accordance with this section, to facilitate the investigation of actual or suspected transmission of communicable disease and take appropriate and timely corrective acRead full regulation →
- 21CFR312.23§ 312.23 IND content and format.
(a) A sponsor who intends to conduct a clinical investigation subject to this part shall submit an “Investigational New Drug Application” (IND) including, in the following order:Read full regulation →
- 21CFR211.165§ 211.165 Testing and release for distribution.
(a) For each batch of drug product, there shall be appropriate laboratory determination of satisfactory conformance to final specifications for the drug product, including the identity and strength of each active ingredient, prior to release. Where sterility and/or pyrogen testing are conducted on sRead full regulation →
- 21CFR610.13§ 610.13 Purity.
Products shall be free of extraneous material except that which is unavoidable in the manufacturing process described in the approved biologics license application. In addition, products shall be tested as provided in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section.Read full regulation →
- 21CFR600.3§ 600.3 Definitions.
As used in this subchapter:Read full regulation →
- 21CFR610.9§ 610.9 Equivalent methods and processes.
Modification of any particular test method or manufacturing process or the conditions under which it is conducted as required in this part or in the additional standards for specific biological products in parts 620 through 680 of this chapter shall be permitted only under the following conditions:Read full regulation →
- 21CFR610.12§ 610.12 Sterility.
(a) The test. Except as provided in paragraph (h) of this section, manufacturers of biological products must perform sterility testing of each lot of each biological product's final container material or other material, as appropriate and as approved in the biologics license application or supplemenRead full regulation →
- 21CFR211.184§ 211.184 Component, drug product container, closure, and labeling records.
These records shall include the following:Read full regulation →
- 21CFR589.2000§ 589.2000 Animal proteins prohibited in ruminant feed.
(a) Definitions —Read full regulation →
- 21CFR10.70§ 10.70 Documentation of significant decisions in administrative file.
(a) This section applies to every significant FDA decision on any matter under the laws administered by the Commissioner, whether it is raised formally, for example, by a petition or informally, for example, by correspondence.Read full regulation →
- 21CFR1271.90§ 1271.90 Are there other exceptions and what labeling requirements apply?
(a) Donor-eligibility determination not required. You are not required to make a donor-eligibility determination under § 1271.50 or to perform donor screening or testing under §§ 1271.75 , 1271.80 and 1271.85 for:Read full regulation →
Related Warning Letters (10)
- 2025-12-23
CGMP/Finished Pharmaceuticals/Adulterated
SV Labs Corporation
- 2025-12-16
CGMP/Deviations/Biologics License Application (BLA)
Microvascular Tissue, Inc.
- 2025-12-16
Deviations/CFR/Regulations for Human Cells, Tissues & Cellular Products (HCT/Ps)
Green Valley Fertility Partners
- 2025-12-11
CGMP/Finished Pharmaceuticals/Adulterated
Catalent Indiana, LLC
- 2025-12-09
Unapproved New Drug/Unlicensed Biological Product/Biologics License Application (BLA)
BioXtek LLC
- 2025-12-09
Unapproved New Drug/Unlicensed Biological Product/Biologics License Application (BLA)
Celularity, Inc
- 2025-12-09
Unapproved New Drug/Unlicensed Biological Product/Biologics License Application (BLA)
Lux Therapeutics LLC dba Ponya Therapeutics LLC
- 2025-12-02
Compounding Pharmacy/Adulterated Drug Products
PQ Pharmacy, LLC
- 2025-12-02
Compounding Pharmacy/Adulterated Drug Products
Turbare Manufacturing
- 2025-12-02
CGMP/Finished Pharmaceuticals/Adulterated
Rhyz Analytical Labs
See Also (8)
- INDs for Phase 2 and Phase 3 Studies Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls Information: Guidance for Industry (Status: Final)
- General Clinical Pharmacology Considerations for Pediatric Studies of Drugs, Including Biological Products (Status: Draft)
- Research Involving Children as Subjects and Not Otherwise Approvable by an Institutional Review Board: Process for Referrals to Food and Drug Administration and Office for Human Research Protections: Draft Guidance for Institutional Review Boards, Investigators, and Sponsors (Status: Draft)
- Manufacturing Changes and Comparability for Human Cellular and Gene Therapy Products (Status: Draft)
- Sterile Drug Products Produced by Aseptic Processing — Current Good Manufacturing Practice: Guidance for Industry (Status: Final)
- CPG Sec. 490.200 Parametric Release of Parenteral Drug Products Terminally Sterilized by Moist Heat (Status: Final)
- Reporting Amount of Listed Drugs and Biological Products Under Section 510(j)(3) of the FD&C Act (Status: Final)
- Investigating Out-of-Specification (OOS) Test Results for Pharmaceutical Production - Level 2 revision: Guidance for Industry (Status: Final)