E55.03 - General Pharmaceutical Standards

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
4.1 This guide will encompass considerations for manufacturers regarding sources and potential causes of subvisible particles in biomanufacturing operations and the use of dynamic imaging particle analyzers as a suggested common method to monitor them. The guide will address the following components of particle analysis using dynamic imaging microscopy: fundamental principles, operation, image analysis methods, sample handling, instrument calibration, and data reporting.
SCOPE
1.1 Biotherapeutic drugs and vaccines are susceptible to inherent protein aggregate formation which may change over the product shelf life. Intrinsic particles, including excipients, silicone oil, and other particles from the process, container/closures, equipment or delivery devices, and extrinsic particles which originate from sources outside of the contained process, may also be present. Monitoring and identifying the source of the subvisible particles throughout the product life cycle (from initial characterization and formulation through finished product expiry) can optimize product development, process design, improve process control, improve the manufacturing process, and ensure lot-to-lot consistency.  
1.2 Understanding the nature of particles and their source is a key to the ability to take actions to adjust the manufacturing process to ensure final product quality. Dynamic imaging microscopy (also known as flow imaging or flow microscopy) is a useful technique for particle analysis and characterization (proteinaceous and other types) during product development, in-process and commercial release with a sensitive detection and characterization of subvisible particles at ≥2 µm and ≤100 µm (although smaller and larger particles may also be reported if data are available). In this technique brightfield illumination is used to capture images either directly in a process stream, or as a continuous sample stream passes through a flow cell positioned in the field of view of an imaging system. An algorithm performs a particle detection routine. This process is a key step during dynamic imaging. The digital particle images in the sample are processed by image morphology analysis software that quantifies the particles in size, count, image intensity, and morphological parameters. Dynamic imaging particle analyzers can produce direct determinations of the particle count per unit volume (that is, particle concentration), as a function of particle size by dividing the particle count by the volume of imaged fluid (see Appendix X1).  
1.3 This guide will describe best practices and considerations in applying dynamic imaging to identification of potential sources and causes of particles during biomanufacturing. These results can be used to monitor these particles and where possible, to adjust the manufacturing process to avoid their formation. This guide will also address the fundamental principles of dynamic imaging analysis including image analysis methods, sample preparation, instrument calibration and verification and data reporting.  
1.4 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard.  
1.5 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.  
1.6 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
4.1 Application of the approach described within this practice applies the science-based, risk-based, and statistics-based concepts and principles introduced in Guides E3106 and E3219.  
4.2 Application of the approach described within this practice provides a science-, risk-, and statistical-based approach for qualifying the inspection of equipment for cleanliness in accordance with 21 CFR 211.67(b)(6) and is in accordance with FDA Process Validation Guidance Life Cycle approach.  
4.3 Application of the approach described within this practice provides a science-, risk-, and statistical-based approach for qualifying the visual inspection of equipment for cleanliness in accordance with European Medicines Agency (EMA) Annex 15.  
4.4 Application of the approach described within this practice provides a science-, risk-, and statistical-based approach for qualifying the visual inspection of equipment for cleanliness in accordance with the EMA’s Q&A Guidance (Q&A’s #7 and #8) (2).  
4.5 Visual Inspection used as described in 4.4 should only be used in situations where there is a suitable safety margin between the VRL and MSSR and robust detectability at the VRL.  
4.6 Application of the approach described within this practice applies the risk-based concepts and principles introduced in ICH Q9. As stated in ICH Q9, the level of effort, formality, and documentation for validation (including cleaning validation) should also be commensurate with the level of risk.  
4.7 Application of the approach described within this practice provides a science-, risk-, and statistical-based approach for releasing manufacturing equipment and manufactured medical devices or cleanliness that is compatible with the U.S. FDA Guidance for Industry, PAT – A Framework for Innovative Pharmaceutical Development, Manufacturing, and Quality Assurance.  
4.8 Key Concepts—This practice applies the following key concepts: (1) visual inspection, (2) quality risk management, (3) science-based appr...
SCOPE
1.1 This practice provides statistically valid procedures for determining the visual detection limit of residues and the qualification of inspectors to perform the visual inspection of pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment surfaces and medical devices for residues.  
1.2 This practice applies to pharmaceuticals (including active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs); dosage forms; and over-the-counter, veterinary, biologics, and clinical supplies) and medical devices following all manufacturing and cleaning. This practice is also applicable to other health, cosmetics, and consumer products.  
1.3 This practice applies to many types of chemical residues (including APIs, intermediates, cleaning agents, processing aids, machining oils, and so forth) that could remain on manufacturing equipment surfaces or medical devices that have undergone all manufacturing steps including cleaning.  
1.4 This practice applies only to equipment or devices that have been justified through a Quality Risk Management program to have an acceptable hazard analysis, have cleaning processes that are repeatable and validated and where Visual Inspection can be relied upon to determine the cleanliness of the equipment at the residue limit justified by the HBEL.  
1.5 The values stated in International System of Units (SI) units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard.  
1.6 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.  
1.7 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommend...

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
4.1 Application of the approach described within this practice applies the science-based, risk-based, and statistics-based concepts and principles introduced in Guides E3106 and E3219.  
4.2 Application of the approach described within this practice provides a science-, risk-, and statistical-based approach for qualifying the inspection of equipment for cleanliness in accordance with 21 CFR 211.67(b)(6).  
4.3 Application of the approach described within this practice provides a science-, risk-, and statistical-based approach for qualifying the visual inspection of equipment for cleanliness in accordance with European Medicines Agency (EMA) Annex 15 (2).  
4.4 Application of the approach described within this practice provides a science-, risk-, and statistical-based approach for qualifying the visual inspection of equipment for cleanliness in accordance with the EMA’s Q&A Guidance (Q&A’s #7 and #8) (2).  
4.5 Application of the approach described within this practice applies the risk-based concepts and principles introduced in ICH Q9. As stated in ICH Q9, the level of effort, formality, and documentation for validation (including cleaning validation) should also be commensurate with the level of risk.  
4.6 Application of the approach described within this practice provides a science-, risk-, and statistical-based approach for releasing manufacturing equipment and manufactured medical devices or cleanliness that is compatible with the U.S. FDA Guidance on Process Analytical Technology Initiative (3).  
4.7 Key Concepts—This practice applies the following key concepts: (1) visual inspection, (2) quality risk management, (3) science-based approach, (4) statistics-based approach, and (5) process knowledge and understanding.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice provides statistically valid procedures for determining the visual detection limit of residues and the qualification of inspectors to perform the visual inspection of pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment surfaces and medical devices for residues.  
1.2 This practice applies to pharmaceuticals [including active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs); dosage forms; and over-the-counter, veterinary, biologics, and clinical supplies] and medical devices following all manufacturing and cleaning. This practice is also applicable to other health, cosmetics, and consumer products.  
1.3 This practice applies to all types of chemical residues (including APIs, intermediates, cleaning agents, processing aids, machining oils, and so forth) that could remain on manufacturing equipment surfaces or medical devices that have undergone all manufacturing steps including cleaning.  
1.4 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard.  
1.5 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.  
1.6 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
4.1 Application of the approach described within this guide applies risk-based concepts and principles introduced in ICH Q9. As stated in ICH Q9, the level of effort, formality and documentation for cleaning should also be commensurate with the level of risk.  
4.2 Application of the approach described within this guide applies many of the science-based, risk-based, and statistical concepts and principles introduced in the FDA’s Guidance for Industry Process Validation: General Principles and Practices   (3).  
4.3 This guide supports, and is consistent with, elements from ICH Q8, ICH Q9, ICH Q10, and ICH Q11.  
4.4 Key Concepts—This guide applies the following key concepts: (1) quality risk management, (2) science-based approach, (3) statistics-based approach, (4) process understanding, and (5) continued improvement as described in the ICH Q series.
SCOPE
1.1 This guide applies the life-cycle approach to cleaning process validation, which includes the development, qualification, and verification of cleaning processes. It is applicable to pharmaceuticals (including active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs); dosage forms; and over-the-counter, veterinary, biologics, and clinical supplies) and is also applicable to other health, cosmetics, and consumer products.  
1.2 This guide is focused only on the cleaning of equipment product contact surfaces and does not cover disinfection or non-product contact surfaces (which are covered under other existing guides: Ref (1),2 USP , Guide E2614, and ISO 14698).  
1.3 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard.  
1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.  
1.5 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
4.1 Application of the approach described within this guide applies risk-based concepts and principles introduced in ICH Q9. As stated in ICH Q9, the level of effort, formality and documentation for cleaning should also be commensurate with the level of risk.  
4.2 Application of the approach described within this guide applies many of the science-based, risk-based, and statistical concepts and principles introduced in the FDA’s Guidance for Industry Process Validation: General Principles and Practices   (3).  
4.3 This guide supports, and is consistent with, elements from ICH Q8, ICH Q9, ICH Q10, and ICH Q11.  
4.4 Key Concepts—This guide applies the following key concepts: (1) quality risk management, (2) science-based approach, (3) statistics-based approach, (4) process understanding, and (5) continued improvement as described in the ICH Q series.
SCOPE
1.1 This guide applies the life-cycle approach to cleaning process validation, which includes the development, qualification, and verification of cleaning processes. It is applicable to pharmaceuticals (including active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs); dosage forms; and over-the-counter, veterinary, biologics, and clinical supplies) and is also applicable to other health, cosmetics, and consumer products.  
1.2 This guide is focused only on the cleaning of equipment product contact surfaces and does not cover disinfection or non-product contact surfaces (which are covered under other existing guides: Ref (1),2 USP , Guide E2614, and ISO 14698).  
1.3 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard.  
1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.  
1.5 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
4.1 Application of the approach described within this guide applies risk-based concepts and principles introduced in ICH Q9. As stated in ICH Q9, the level of effort, formality and documentation for cleaning should also be commensurate with the level of risk.  
4.2 Application of the approach described within this guide applies many of the science-based, risk-based, and statistical concepts and principles introduced in the FDA’s Guidance for Industry Process Validation: General Principles and Practices  (3).  
4.3 This guide supports, and is consistent with, elements from ICH Q8, ICH Q9, ICH Q10, and ICH Q11.  
4.4 Key Concepts—This guide applies the following key concepts: (1) quality risk management, (2) science-based approach, (3) statistics-based approach, (4) process understanding, and (5) continued improvement as described in the ICH Q series.
SCOPE
1.1 This guide applies the life-cycle approach to cleaning process validation, which includes the development, qualification, and verification of cleaning processes. It is applicable to pharmaceuticals (including active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs); dosage forms; and over-the-counter, veterinary, biologics, and clinical supplies) and is also applicable to other health, cosmetics, and consumer products.  
1.2 This guide is focused only on the cleaning of equipment product contact surfaces and does not cover disinfection or non-product contact surfaces (which are covered under another existing guide (1)2).  
1.3 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard.  
1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.  
1.5 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
4.1 The methodology was originally developed (1-4)6 for use in drug content uniformity and dissolution but has general application to any multistage test with multiple acceptance criteria. Practice E2709 summarizes the statistical aspects of this methodology. This practice applies the general methodology of Practice E2709 specifically to the UDU test.  
4.1.1 While other methods can be used to estimate the probability of passing the UDU test, they are outside the scope of this practice.  
4.2 The UDU test procedure describes a two-stage sampling test, where at each stage one can pass or continue testing, and the decision to fail is deferred until the second stage. At each stage there are acceptance criteria on the test results as outlined in Table 1.  
4.3 The UDU test is a market standard. The USP General Notices include the following statement about compendial standards. “The similarity to statistical procedures may seem to suggest an intent to make inference to some larger group of units, but in all cases, statements about whether the compendial standard is met apply only to the units tested.” Therefore, the UDU procedure is not intended for inspecting uniformity of finished product for lot/batch release or as a lot inspection procedure.  
4.3.1 The UDU test defines a product requirement to be met at release and throughout the shelf-life of the product.  
4.3.2 Passing the UDU test once does not provide statistical assurance that a batch of drug product meets specified statistical quality control criteria.  
4.4 This practice provides a practical specification that may be applied when uniformity of dosage units is required. An acceptance region for the mean and standard deviation of a set of test results from the lot is defined such that, at a prescribed confidence level, the probability that a future sample from the lot will pass the UDU test is greater than or equal to a prespecified lower probability bound. Having test results fall in the acceptance re...
SCOPE
1.1 This practice provides a general procedure for evaluating the capability to comply with the Uniformity of Dosage Units (UDU) test. This test is given in General Chapter  Uniformity of Dosage Units of the USP, in 2.9.40 Uniformity of Dosage Units of the Ph. Eur., and in 6.02 Uniformity of Dosage Units of the JP, and these versions are virtually interchangeable. For this multiple-stage test, the procedure computes a lower bound on the probability of passing the UDU test, based on statistical estimates made at a prescribed confidence level from a sample of dosage units.  
1.2 This methodology can be used to generate an acceptance limit table, which defines a set of sample means and standard deviations that assures passing the UDU test for a prescribed lower probability bound, confidence level, and sample size.  
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.  
1.4 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
5.1 Application of the approach described within this guide is intended to achieve a biopharma industry-wide standard format that will be available for electronic data transfer between Supplier and Customer for monitoring and studying variability.  
5.2 This guide supports and facilitates fast data transfer, thereby avoiding data recapture, human interaction, and transcription errors; and thus enables a more streamlined business process.  
5.3 If the eData structure does not conform to the XSD defined by this guide then it is not guaranteed to be inter-operable. Feedback or change requests should be directed to ASTM Headquarters, to the attention of the Committee E55 Staff Manager.  
5.4 Digital Signature can be adopted and used as part of the eData transfer. XML and XSD are provided in two formats: with and without digital signature configuration. User can follow either format for implmenation to ensure conforming with the ASTM eData XSD structure.
SCOPE
1.1 This guide is applicable to all elements of raw material electronic data (eData) transfer from a Supplier which provides a raw material to a Customer which receives the raw material.  
1.2 This guide is developed for pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturers and their suppliers, but may be suitable for other industries that routinely transfer data.  
1.3 The guide may also be applicable to raw material eData transfer between companies in the supply chain.  
1.4 The guide is applicable to new and existing raw materials.  
1.5 This guide is applicable to the life-cycle of a raw material (that is, data generated throughout the processing stages of the raw material) and is not dependent on the Supplier or Customer.  
1.6 This guide describes two major areas of eData standard: the data format and the data content including the taxonomy and nomenclature.  
1.7 The guide currently only covers data content and data format in the English language. The data format shall not be translated. Use of other languages for the data content outside the scope of this guide.  
1.8 The format is based on Extensible Markup Language (XML) 1.0.  
1.9 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
5.1 Application of the approach described within this guide is intended to achieve a biopharma industry-wide standard format that will be available for electronic data transfer between Supplier and Customer for monitoring and studying variability.  
5.2 This guide supports and facilitates fast data transfer, thereby avoiding data recapture, human interaction, and transcription errors; and thus enables a more streamlined business process.  
5.3 If the eData structure does not conform to the XSD defined by this guide then it is not guaranteed to be inter-operable. Feedback or change requests should be directed to ASTM Headquarters, to the attention of the Committee E55 Staff Manager.  
5.4 Digital Signature can be adopted and used as part of the eData transfer. XML and XSD are provided in two formats: with and without digital signature configuration. User can follow either format for implmenation to ensure conforming with the ASTM eData XSD structure.
SCOPE
1.1 This guide is applicable to all elements of raw material electronic data (eData) transfer from a Supplier which provides a raw material to a Customer which receives the raw material.  
1.2 This guide is developed for pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturers and their suppliers, but may be suitable for other industries that routinely transfer data.  
1.3 The guide may also be applicable to raw material eData transfer between companies in the supply chain.  
1.4 The guide is applicable to new and existing raw materials.  
1.5 This guide is applicable to the life-cycle of a raw material (that is, data generated throughout the processing stages of the raw material) and is not dependent on the Supplier or Customer.  
1.6 This guide describes two major areas of eData standard: the data format and the data content including the taxonomy and nomenclature.  
1.7 The guide currently only covers data content and data format in the English language. The data format shall not be translated. Use of other languages for the data content outside the scope of this guide.  
1.8 The format is based on Extensible Markup Language (XML) 1.0.  
1.9 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
5.1 This test method is designed to assess the retentivity of a sterilizing filter under standard challenge conditions.  
5.1.1 A challenge of 107 bacteria per cm2 of effective filtration area is selected to provide a high degree of assurance that the filter will be challenged uniformly across the membrane surface to assure it will quantitatively retain large numbers of organisms. The model challenge organism, B. diminuta, is widely considered to be a small bacterium and is recognized as an industry standard for qualifying sterilizing filters. Other species may represent a worst-case test in terms of ability to penetrate a filter. This test does not provide assurance that filters can completely retain such bacteria.  
5.1.2 The analytical procedure utilized in this test method provides a method to assign a numerical value to the filtration efficiency of the filter being evaluated under standard filtration conditions. For the purpose of product sterility assurance, additional process-specific studies should be performed.
SCOPE
1.1 This test method determines the bacterial retention characteristics of membrane filters for liquid filtration using Brevundimonas diminuta as the challenge organism. This test method may be employed to evaluate any membrane filter system used for liquid sterilization.  
1.2 This test method is not intended to be used in performance of product- and process-specific validation of the bacterial retention characteristics of membrane filters to be used in pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical sterilizing filtration, or both. Process- and product-specific bacterial retention validation should be carried out using the intended product manufacturing process parameters and the product solution or surrogate as the carrier fluid.  
1.3 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard.  
1.3.1 Exception—The inch-pound values given for units of pressure are to be regarded as standard; SI unit conversions are shown in parentheses.  
1.4 This standard may involve hazardous materials, operations, and equipment. This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
5.1 This test method is designed to assess the retentivity of a sterilizing filter under standard challenge conditions.  
5.1.1 A challenge of 107 bacteria per cm2 of effective filtration area is selected to provide a high degree of assurance that the filter will be challenged uniformly across the membrane surface to assure it will quantitatively retain large numbers of organisms. The model challenge organism, B. diminuta, is widely considered to be a small bacterium and is recognized as an industry standard for qualifying sterilizing filters. Other species may represent a worst-case test in terms of ability to penetrate a filter. This test does not provide assurance that filters can completely retain such bacteria.  
5.1.2 The analytical procedure utilized in this test method provides a method to assign a numerical value to the filtration efficiency of the filter being evaluated under standard filtration conditions. For the purpose of product sterility assurance, additional process-specific studies should be performed.
SCOPE
1.1 This test method determines the bacterial retention characteristics of membrane filters for liquid filtration using Brevundimonas diminuta as the challenge organism. This test method may be employed to evaluate any membrane filter system used for liquid sterilization.  
1.2 This test method is not intended to be used in performance of product- and process-specific validation of the bacterial retention characteristics of membrane filters to be used in pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical sterilizing filtration, or both. Process- and product-specific bacterial retention validation should be carried out using the intended product manufacturing process parameters and the product solution or surrogate as the carrier fluid.  
1.3 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard.  
1.3.1 Exception—The inch-pound values given for units of pressure are to be regarded as standard; SI unit conversions are shown in parentheses.  
1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.  
1.5 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
5.1 This test method is designed to assess the retentivity of a sterilizing filter under standard challenge conditions.  
5.1.1 A challenge of 107 bacteria per cm2 of effective filtration area is selected to provide a high degree of assurance that the filter will be challenged uniformly across the membrane surface to assure it will quantitatively retain large numbers of organisms. The model challenge organism, B. diminuta, is widely considered to be a small bacterium and is recognized as an industry standard for qualifying sterilizing filters. Other species may represent a worst-case test in terms of ability to penetrate a filter. This test does not provide assurance that filters can completely retain such bacteria.  
5.1.2 The analytical procedure utilized in this test method provides a method to assign a numerical value to the filtration efficiency of the filter being evaluated under standard filtration conditions. For the purpose of product sterility assurance, additional process-specific studies should be performed.
SCOPE
1.1 This test method determines the bacterial retention characteristics of membrane filters for liquid filtration using Brevundimonas diminuta as the challenge organism. This test method may be employed to evaluate any membrane filter system used for liquid sterilization.  
1.2 This test method is not intended to be used in performance of product- and process-specific validation of the bacterial retention characteristics of membrane filters to be used in pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical sterilizing filtration, or both. Process- and product-specific bacterial retention validation should be carried out using the intended product manufacturing process parameters and the product solution or surrogate as the carrier fluid.  
1.3 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard.  
1.3.1 Exception—The inch-pound values given for units of pressure are to be regarded as standard; SI unit conversions are shown in parentheses.  
1.4 This standard may involve hazardous materials, operations, and equipment. This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
5.1 Application of the approach described within this guide is intended to satisfy international regulatory expectations in ensuring that manufacturing systems and equipment are fit for intended use, and to satisfy requirements for design, installation, operation, and performance.  
5.2 The approach described in this guide applies concepts and principles introduced in the FDA initiative, Pharmaceutical cGMPs for the 21st Century—A Risk-Based Approach.  
5.3 This guide supports, and is consistent with, the framework described in ICH Q8, ICH Q9, ICH Q10, and ICH Q11.  
5.4 This guide may be used independently or in conjunction with other E55 standards published by ASTM International.
SCOPE
1.1 This guide is applicable to all elements of pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturing systems including: facility equipment, process equipment, supporting utilities, associated process monitoring and control systems, and automation systems that have the potential to affect product quality and patient safety.  
1.2 For brevity, these are referred to throughout the rest of this guide as manufacturing systems.  
1.3 This guide may also be applied to laboratory, information, and medical device manufacturing systems.  
1.4 This guide is applicable to both new and existing manufacturing systems. The approach may be used for the implementation of changes to existing systems, and their continuous improvement during operation.  
1.5 This guide is applicable throughout the life-cycle of the manufacturing system from concept to retirement.  
1.6 This standard does not address employee health and safety, environmental, or other non-GxP regulations. This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
5.1 Since all sterilizing filtration processes are performed under positive pressure, this test method is designed to assess the retentivity of a sterilizing filter under process conditions.  
5.1.1 A challenge of 107 bacteria per cm2 of effective filtration area is orders of magnitude higher than one would expect to encounter in a sterilizing filtration process. This level was selected in order to provide a high degree of assurance that the filter would quantitatively retain large numbers of organisms. This concept is important, in view of the requirement to provide a quantitative assessment in validating a sterilization process.  
5.1.2 The analytical procedure utilized in this test method provides a method to assign a numerical value to the filtration efficiency of the filter being evaluated. This value, coupled with a knowledge of the number and types of organisms (bioburden) indigenous to the process, may then be utilized to determine the probability of obtaining a sterile filtrate. Conversely, the numerical value of the filtration efficiency may be used when one must meet a specified probability of sterility assurance to calculate the volume of fluid that may be filtered in order to maintain that level of assurance.
SCOPE
1.1 This test method determines the bacterial retention characteristics of membrane filters for liquid filtration using Pseudomonas diminuta as the challenge organism. This test method may be employed to evaluate any membrane filter system used for liquid sterilization.  
1.2 This standard may involve hazardous materials, operations, and equipment. This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
2.1 This practice outlines a procedure for the mechanical calibration of paddle and basket dissolution units to ensure reproducibility of results.  
2.2 Once a unit meets all of the mechanical specifications included in this practice, it is considered calibrated and further calibration with dissolution calibrator tablets is not required.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice covers the set-up and calibration of the paddle and basket dissolution apparatus.  
1.2 Use of this practice may be applied to apparatus that have been modified to enable automatic dissolution testing (that is, a valve in the bottom of the vessel or sampling through the shaft).  
1.3 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard.  
1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
2.1 This practice outlines a procedure for the mechanical calibration of paddle and basket dissolution units to ensure reproducibility of results.  
2.2 Once a unit meets all of the mechanical specifications included in this practice, it is considered calibrated and further calibration with dissolution calibrator tablets is not required.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice covers the set-up and calibration of the paddle and basket dissolution apparatus.  
1.2 Use of this practice may be applied to apparatus that have been modified to enable automatic dissolution testing (that is, a valve in the bottom of the vessel or sampling through the shaft).  
1.3 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard.  
1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
5.1 Application of the approach described within this guide is intended to satisfy international regulatory expectations in ensuring that manufacturing systems and equipment are fit for intended use, and to satisfy requirements for design, installation, operation, and performance.  
5.2 The approach described in this guide applies concepts and principles introduced in the FDA initiative, Pharmaceutical cGMPs for the 21st Century—A Risk-Based Approach.  
5.3 This guide supports, and is consistent with, the framework described in ICH Q8 and ICH Q9.  
5.4 This guide may be used independently or in conjunction with other proposed E55 standards to be published by ASTM International.
SCOPE
1.1 This guide is applicable to all elements of pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturing systems including: facility equipment, process equipment, supporting utilities, associated process monitoring and control systems, and automation systems that have the potential to affect product quality and patient safety.  
1.2 For brevity, these are referred to throughout the rest of this guide as manufacturing systems.  
1.3 This guide may also be applied to laboratory, information, and medical device manufacturing systems.  
1.4 This guide is applicable to both new and existing manufacturing systems. The approach may be used for the implementation of changes to existing systems, and their continuous improvement during operation.  
1.5 This guide is applicable throughout the life-cycle of the manufacturing system from concept to retirement.  
1.6 This standard does not address employee health and safety, environmental, or other non-GxP regulations. This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
4.1 The methodology was originally developed (1-4)6 for use in drug content uniformity and dissolution but has general application to any multistage test with multiple acceptance criteria. Practice E2709 summarizes the statistical aspects of this methodology. This practice applies the general methodology of Practice E2709 specifically to the UDU test.  
4.1.1 While other methods can be used to estimate the probability of passing the UDU test, they are outside the scope of this practice.  
4.2 The UDU test procedure describes a two-stage sampling test, where at each stage one can pass or continue testing, and the decision to fail is deferred until the second stage. At each stage there are acceptance criteria on the test results as outlined in Table 1. Note 1—All measurements of dosage units and criteria values are in percentage label claim (%LC). At each stage calculate the sample average, X, and the sample standard deviation, s.
4.3 The UDU test is a market standard. The USP General Notices include the following statement about compendial standards. “The similarity to statistical procedures may seem to suggest an intent to make inference to some larger group of units, but in all cases, statements about whether the compendial standard is met apply only to the units tested.” Therefore, the UDU procedure is not intended for inspecting uniformity of finished product for lot/batch release or as a lot inspection procedure.  
4.3.1 The UDU test defines a product requirement to be met at release and throughout the shelf-life of the product.  
4.3.2 Passing the UDU test once does not provide statistical assurance that a batch of drug product meets specified statistical quality control criteria.  
4.4 This practice provides a practical specification that may be applied when uniformity of dosage units is required. An acceptance region for the mean and standard deviation of a set of test results from the lot is defined such that, at a prescribed confidence level, the...
SCOPE
1.1 This practice provides a general procedure for evaluating the capability to comply with the Uniformity of Dosage Units (UDU) test. This test is given in General Chapter  Uniformity of Dosage Units of the USP, in 2.9.40 Uniformity of Dosage Units of the Ph. Eur., and in 6.02 Uniformity of Dosage Units of the JP, and these versions are virtually interchangeable. For this multiple-stage test, the procedure computes a lower bound on the probability of passing the UDU test, based on statistical estimates made at a prescribed confidence level from a sample of dosage units.  
1.2 This methodology can be used to generate an acceptance limit table, which defines a set of sample means and standard deviations that assures passing the UDU test for a prescribed lower probability bound, confidence level, and sample size.  
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
4.1 The methodology was originally developed (1-4)6 for use in drug content uniformity and dissolution but has general application to any multistage test with multiple acceptance criteria. Practice E2709 summarizes the statistical aspects of this methodology. This practice applies the general methodology of Practice E2709 specifically to the UDU test.  
4.1.1 While other methods can be used to estimate the probability of passing the UDU test, they are outside the scope of this practice.  
4.2 The UDU test procedure describes a two-stage sampling test, where at each stage one can pass or continue testing, and the decision to fail is deferred until the second stage. At each stage there are acceptance criteria on the test results as outlined in Table 1.  
4.3 The UDU test is a market standard. The USP General Notices include the following statement about compendial standards. “The similarity to statistical procedures may seem to suggest an intent to make inference to some larger group of units, but in all cases, statements about whether the compendial standard is met apply only to the units tested.” Therefore, the UDU procedure is not intended for inspecting uniformity of finished product for lot/batch release or as a lot inspection procedure.  
4.3.1 The UDU test defines a product requirement to be met at release and throughout the shelf-life of the product.  
4.3.2 Passing the UDU test once does not provide statistical assurance that a batch of drug product meets specified statistical quality control criteria.  
4.4 This practice provides a practical specification that may be applied when uniformity of dosage units is required. An acceptance region for the mean and standard deviation of a set of test results from the lot is defined such that, at a prescribed confidence level, the probability that a future sample from the lot will pass the UDU test is greater than or equal to a prespecified lower probability bound. Having test results fall in the acceptance re...
SCOPE
1.1 This practice provides a general procedure for evaluating the capability to comply with the Uniformity of Dosage Units (UDU) test. This test is given in General Chapter  Uniformity of Dosage Units of the USP, in 2.9.40 Uniformity of Dosage Units of the Ph. Eur., and in 6.02 Uniformity of Dosage Units of the JP, and these versions are virtually interchangeable. For this multiple-stage test, the procedure computes a lower bound on the probability of passing the UDU test, based on statistical estimates made at a prescribed confidence level from a sample of dosage units.  
1.2 This methodology can be used to generate an acceptance limit table, which defines a set of sample means and standard deviations that assures passing the UDU test for a prescribed lower probability bound, confidence level, and sample size.  
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
The methodology was originally developed (1-4) for use in drug content uniformity and dissolution but has general application to any multistage test with multiple acceptance criteria. Practice E2709 summarizes the statistical aspects of this methodology. This practice applies the general methodology of Practice E2709 specifically to the UDU test.
While other methods can be used to estimate the probability of passing the UDU test, they are outside the scope of this practice.
The UDU test procedure describes a two-stage sampling test, where at each stage one can pass or continue testing, and the decision to fail is deferred until the second stage. At each stage there are acceptance criteria on the test results as outlined in Table 1.  
The UDU test is a market standard. The USP General Notices include the following statement about compendial standards. “The similarity to statistical procedures may seem to suggest an intent to make inference to some larger group of units, but in all cases, statements about whether the compendial standard is met apply only to the units tested.” Therefore, the UDU procedure is not intended for inspecting uniformity of finished product for lot/batch release or as a lot inspection procedure.  
The UDU test defines a product requirement to be met at release and throughout the shelf-life of the product.
Passing the UDU test once does not provide statistical assurance that a batch of drug product meets specified statistical quality control criteria.
This practice provides a practical specification that may be applied when uniformity of dosage units is required. An acceptance region for the mean and standard deviation of a set of test results from the lot is defined such that, at a prescribed confidence level, the probability that a future sample from the lot will pass the UDU test is greater than or equal to a prespecified lower probability bound. Having test results fall in the acceptance region provides assurance that a sample wou...
SCOPE
1.1 This practice provides a general procedure for evaluating the capability to comply with the Uniformity of Dosage Units (UDU) test. This test is given in General Chapter 905> Uniformity of Dosage Units of the USP, in 2.9.40 Uniformity of Dosage Units of the Ph. Eur., and in 6.02 Uniformity of Dosage Units of the JP, and these versions are virtually interchangeable. For this multiple-stage test, the procedure computes a lower bound on the probability of passing the UDU test, based on statistical estimates made at a prescribed confidence level from a sample of dosage units.  
1.2 This methodology can be used to generate an acceptance limit table, which defines a set of sample means and standard deviations that assures passing the UDU test for a prescribed lower probability bound, confidence level, and sample size.
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
Pharmaceutical water is the most common component or ingredient used in pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Acceptable purity of the water is important to the quality of the final pharmaceutical product. TOC concentration is a key indicator and attribute of the purity of this water and also an important monitor of the overall performance of the water purification system. TOC analysis is the measurement of all the covalently bound carbon present in the water, not including carbon in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2), bicarbonate icon (HCO3–), or carbonate ion (CO32–), and is reported as the mass of organic carbon per volume.
Application of this practice provides pertinent information to make informed decisions on the release of water meeting pharmaceutical TOC concentration specifications.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice establishes an approach to the real-time release testing (RTRT) of pharmaceutical water based on the total organic carbon (TOC) attribute using on-line total organic carbon (OLTOC) instrumentation that is in agreement with current regulatory thinking.  
1.2 This practice is harmonized with or supports the concepts of relevant ASTM International Committee E55 on Manufacture of Pharmaceutical Products standards, ICH Harmonized Tripartite Guidelines, the US FDA PAT Guidance, and US FDA Pharmaceutical cGMPs.  
1.3 This practice does not provide general guidance information for pharmaceutical procedures that are considered standard practice in the pharmaceutical industry. This practice provides specific guidance for non-standardized procedures.
1.4 This practice does not address the user’s various internal procedures for risk, change, or quality management systems. The overall project effort associated with this practice shall be proportional to the overall risk of failing the pharmaceutical water’s TOC concentration specification.
1.5 This practice does not purport to establish how to comply with pharmacopeias. The RTRT methodology selected must assure compliance with the user’s current required pharmacopeias. However, compliance with pharmacopeia TOC methods is not necessarily sufficient to meet current regulatory expectations for RTRT.
1.6 This practice does not purport to substitute for or replace compendial bioburden testing requirements. It is strictly applicable to the TOC attribute of water quality.
1.7 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
Application of the approach described within this standard guide applies science-based concepts and principles introduced in the FDA initiative Pharmaceutical cGMPs for the 21st Century.
This guide supports, and is consistent with, elements from ICH Q8 and ICH Q9.
According to FDA Guidance for Industry, PAT, “With real time quality assurance, the desired quality attributes are ensured through continuous assessment during manufacture. Data from production batches can serve to validate the process and reflect the total system design concept, essentially supporting validation with each manufacturing batch.” In other words, the accumulated product and process understanding used to identify the Critical Quality Attributes (CQAs), together with the knowledge that the risk-based monitoring and control strategy will enable control of the CQAs, should provide the confidence needed to show validation with each batch. This is as opposed to a conventional discrete process validation approach.
SCOPE
1.1 This guide describes Continuous Quality Verification (CQV) as an approach to process validation where manufacturing process (or supporting utility system) performance is continuously monitored, evaluated and adjusted (as necessary). It is a science-based approach to verify that a process is capable and will consistently produce product meeting its predetermined critical quality attributes. CQV is similarly described as Continuous Quality Assurance (U.S. FDA) and Continuous Process Verification (ICH Q8).
1.2 Pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical product manufacturing companies are required to provide assurance that the processes used to manufacture regulated products result in products with the specified critical quality attributes of strength identity and purity associated with the product safety, and efficacy. Process validation is a way in which companies provide that assurance.
1.3 With the knowledge obtained during the product lifecycle, a framework for continuous quality improvement will be established where the following may be possible: (1) risk mitigated, (2) process variability reduced, (3) process capability enhanced, (4) process design space defined or enhanced, and ultimately (5) product quality improved. This can enable a number of benefits that address both compliance and operational goals (for example, real time release, continuous process improvement).
1.4 The principles in this guide may be applied to drug product or active pharmaceutical ingredient/drug substance pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical batch or continuous manufacturing processes or supporting utility systems (for example, TOC for Purified Water and Water for Injection systems, and so forth).
1.5 The principles in this guide may be applied during the development and manufacturing of a new process or product or for the improvement and/or redesign of an existing process.
1.6 Continuous quality verification may be applied to manufacturing processes that use monitoring systems that provide frequent and objective measurement of process data. These processes may or may not employ in-, on-, or at-line analyzers/controllers that monitor, measure, analyze, and control the process performance. The associated processes may or may not have a design space.
1.7 This guide may be used independently or in conjunction with other proposed E55 standards to be published by ASTM International.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
Application of the approach described within this guide is intended to satisfy international regulatory expectations in ensuring that manufacturing systems and equipment are fit for intended use, and to satisfy requirements for design, installation, operation, and performance.
The approach described in this guide applies concepts and principles introduced in the FDA initiative, Pharmaceutical cGMPs for the 21st Century—A Risk-Based Approach.
This guide supports, and is consistent with, the framework described in ICH Q8 and ICH Q9.
This guide may be used independently or in conjunction with other proposed E55 standards to be published by ASTM International.
SCOPE
1.1 This guide is applicable to all elements of pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturing systems including: facility equipment, process equipment, supporting utilities, associated process monitoring and control systems, and automation systems that have the potential to affect product quality and patient safety.
1.2 For brevity, these are referred to throughout the rest of this guide as manufacturing systems.
1.3 This guide may also be applied to laboratory, information, and medical device manufacturing systems.
1.4 This guide is applicable to both new and existing manufacturing systems. The approach may be used for the implementation of changes to existing systems, and their continuous improvement during operation.
1.5 This guide is applicable throughout the life-cycle of the manufacturing system from concept to retirement.
This standard does not address employee health and safety, environmental, or other non-GxP regulations. This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
This practice outlines a procedure for the mechanical calibration of paddle and basket dissolution units to ensure reproducibility of results.
Once a unit meets all of the mechanical specifications included in this practice, it is considered calibrated and further calibration with dissolution calibrator tablets is not required.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice covers the set-up and calibration of the paddle and basket dissolution apparatus.
1.2 Use of this practice may be applied to apparatus that have been modified to enable automatic dissolution testing (that is, a valve in the bottom of the vessel or sampling through the shaft).
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.