Inspection of Injectable Products for Visible Particulates: Draft Guidance for Industry

Description

Visible particulates in injectable products can jeopardize patient safety. This guidance addresses the development and implementation of a holistic, risk-based approach to visible particulate control that incorporates product development, manufacturing controls, visual inspection techniques, particulate identification, investigation, and corrective actions designed to assess, correct, and prevent the risk of visible particulate contamination. The guidance also clarifies that meeting an applicable United States Pharmacopeia (USP) compendial standard alone is not generally sufficient for meeting the current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) requirements for the manufacture of injectable products. The guidance does not cover subvisible particulates or physical defects that products are typically inspected for along with inspection for visible particulates (e.g., container integrity flaws, fill volume, appearance of lyophilized cake/suspension solids).

Scope & Applicability

Regulatory Context

• 21CFR211.100§ 211.100 Written procedures; deviations.

  (a) There shall be written procedures for production and process control designed to assure that the drug products have the identity, strength, quality, and purity they purport or are represented to possess. Such procedures shall include all requirements in this subpart. These written procedures, inRead full regulation →

• 21CFR211.198§ 211.198 Complaint files.

  (a) Written procedures describing the handling of all written and oral complaints regarding a drug product shall be established and followed. Such procedures shall include provisions for review by the quality control unit, of any complaint involving the possible failure of a drug product to meet anyRead full regulation →

• 21CFR211.80§ 211.80 General requirements.

  (a) There shall be written procedures describing in sufficient detail the receipt, identification, storage, handling, sampling, testing, and approval or rejection of components and drug product containers and closures; such written procedures shall be followed.Read full regulation →

• 21CFR211.84§ 211.84 Testing and approval or rejection of components, drug product containers, and closures.

  (a) Each lot of components, drug product containers, and closures shall be withheld from use until the lot has been sampled, tested, or examined, as appropriate, and released for use by the quality control unit.Read full regulation →

• 21CFR211.94§ 211.94 Drug product containers and closures.

  (a) Drug product containers and closures shall not be reactive, additive, or absorptive so as to alter the safety, identity, strength, quality, or purity of the drug beyond the official or established requirements.Read full regulation →

• 21CFR600.11§ 600.11 Physical establishment, equipment, animals, and care.

  (a) Work areas. All rooms and work areas where products are manufactured or stored shall be kept orderly, clean, and free of dirt, dust, vermin and objects not required for manufacturing. Precautions shall be taken to avoid clogging and back-siphonage of drainage systems. Precautions shall be taken Read full regulation →

• 21CFR211.68§ 211.68 Automatic, mechanical, and electronic equipment.

  (a) Automatic, mechanical, or electronic equipment or other types of equipment, including computers, or related systems that will perform a function satisfactorily, may be used in the manufacture, processing, packing, and holding of a drug product. If such equipment is so used, it shall be routinelyRead 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 →

• 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 →

• CGMP/Finished Pharmaceuticals/Adulterated

  SV Labs Corporation

  2025-12-23

• CGMP/Finished Pharmaceuticals/Adulterated

  Guangdong Renhe Guozhuang Biotechnology Co., Ltd.

  2025-12-23

• CGMP/Finished Pharmaceuticals/Adulterated

  Medinatura New Mexico, Inc.

  2025-12-23

• CGMP/Finished Pharmaceuticals/Adulterated

  Sklar Personal Care Inc.

  2025-12-16

• CGMP/Deviations/Biologics License Application (BLA)

  Microvascular Tissue, Inc.

  2025-12-16

• CGMP/Finished Pharmaceuticals/Adulterated

  Catalent Indiana, LLC

  2025-12-11

• CGMP/Finished Pharmaceuticals/Adulterated

  DeVere Manufacturing Inc.

  2025-12-09

• CGMP/Finished Pharmaceuticals/Adulterated

  CDL Services, Inc. DBA Technichem

  2025-12-09

• CGMP/Finished Pharmaceuticals/Adulterated

  Seaway Pharma Inc.

  2025-12-09

• Compounding Pharmacy/Adulterated Drug Products

  PQ Pharmacy, LLC

  2025-12-02

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