ASTM International Committee E55 on Pharmaceutical Application of Process Analytical Technology has now approved its first practice. ASTM E 2474, Practice for Pharmaceutical Process Design Utilizing Processing Analytical Technology, is under the jurisdiction of Subcommittee E55.02 on PAT System Implementation and Practice.
 
Practice E 2474 covers process design, which is integral to process development as well as post-development process organization. In the context of ASTM E 2474, process design refers both to the activities involved in designing a process and the outcome of the activity. E 2474 describes practices that should be considered in order to design effective and efficient pharmaceutical manufacturing processes that ensure product quality and performance.
 
Gerd Fischer, member of Committee E55 and director, industrial quality and compliance, Sanofi-Aventis, says that the Process Analytical Technology guidance published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2004 introduces PAT as a regulatory framework that will encourage the voluntary development and implementation of innovative pharmaceutical development, manufacturing and quality assurance. ASTM E 2474 outlines scientific principles and tools that support process design in a PAT environment, and that are suitable to facilitate innovation and risk-based decisions.
 
“E 2474 will help to focus process design and development on science- and risk-based design strategies to manage variation,” says Fischer. “Integration of PAT principles and tools during process design will enhance opportunities to build, maintain and expand science- and risk-based process understanding throughout a product’s life cycle.”
 
Because process design is such an important part of the development process, as well as post-development process optimization, Fischer notes that the main users of E 2474 will be pharmaceutical process developers, manufacturers and quality assurance workers.
 
ASTM International standards are available from Customer Service (phone: 610/832-9585; https://www.astm.org/contact/) or at www.astm.org.

For technical information, contact Gerd Fischer, Sanofi-Aventis, Frankfurt, Germany (phone: +49 69 305 17932; Gerd.Fischer@sanofi-aventis.com). Committee E55 meets May 22-24, 2007, at the May Committee Week in Norfolk, Va. For membership or meeting information, contact Pat Picariello, director, developmental operations, ASTM International (phone: 610/832-9720; ppicarie@astm.org).

Release #7597