Include quality and customer satisfaction strategies and goals in all levels of the company. Relay and demonstrate the expectations, and then hold employees accountable. Everyone should know that the company’s commitment to quality is real; it’s not just pretty words on paper.

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Find out the reasons why our industry, your company, and employees should value the unique skillset of the quality and compliance professionals more than ever in decentralized pharma.

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On Jan. 31, 2024, the FDA, in collaboration with the Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy, convened a public workshop, Building Quality into the Design and Conduct of Clinical Studies: Integrating Quality by Design (QbD) and Risk-Based Monitoring (RBM) Approaches.

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In an interview with PerceptivX, Penelope shares exclusive insight on her background and why it’s high time to revolutionize regulatory compliance strategy in the pharmaceutical industry. She also spoke about the importance of leading authentically, overcoming fears to achieve goals and things she’d like most to change about the world.

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The ultimate purpose of sponsor oversight is to act when required. Audits, meetings, and documentation are not always enough. Too many sponsors seem to be forgetting that they are the customer; one that’s paying a heavy price for services that can ultimately make or break them. Reset the industry balance with these 3 best practices.

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Many sponsors and CROs conduct mock inspections to determine organizational inspection and audit readiness. Investing in a regulatory mock inspection demonstrates a serious commitment to patient safety, data integrity, and regulatory compliance. It is also a proactive strategy to safeguard financial health, particularly for startups and companies with sparse pipelines.

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Small to midsize pharmaceutical or biotech companies (small pharma) are enjoying the best of times. Many have exciting products with fantastic preclinical and/or clinical results, great platforms for long-term company growth and licensing possibilities, outstanding medical and technical expertise, and support from intellectual/academic experts. However, from a quality systems perspective, it could be the worst of times. Many have weak quality systems, are not following global regulatory authority regulations and/or guidance, or lack the level of documentation required to reconstruct every aspect of clinical trials.

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When it comes to GCP audits and inspections, low-hanging fruit says a lot about the tree. Welcome to the mind of an auditor/inspector. I’m going to share the thought process auditors and inspectors commonly use while reviewing job descriptions, CVs, and organizational (org) charts. Ensuring these documents are in tip-top shape is a no-brainer given the high odds they will be requested and reviewed. While establishing excellent processes for SOP and training documentation and maintenance can be complex, updating job descriptions, CVs, and org charts is perhaps one of the simplest processes within the quality system.

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Over the last 10 years, the face of clinical research & development (R&D) and pharmacovigilance (PV) outsourcing has dramatically changed. What was a common industry scenario by 2010 — a full-scale operational pharma company utilizing both international and U.S.-based contract research organizations (CROs) to execute clinical investigator site monitoring and data management — has evolved into a new common scenario in 2019. More than ever, we see what I call a stick-figure pharma company (just the bones) utilizing vendors to execute as many of the required drug development processes as they possibly can. In fact, it’s not surprising to see a company using multiple vendors for the same process, such as regulatory reporting of expedited adverse event cases, investigator site monitoring, multiple types of auditing, and manufacturing. In my consulting work, I meet and interview numerous pharma employees at all levels who struggle when asked to explain how their stick-figure company connects with all the good clinical practice (GCP) and good pharmacovigilance (GVP) practice vendors in play.

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In addition to my career as a pharma industry consultant, I’m a writer. While I don’t claim to be the next Ernest Hemingway, I do consider myself a decent writer. I’ve put in the 10,000 hours of writing Malcolm Gladwell told us it takes to be an expert in his 2008 book, Outliers: The Story of Success . I’ve always had a passion for writing. At 24, I made a serious commitment to become a real “writer.” I dedicated bits and pieces of my free time over the next five years to writing my first novel. During that time, I wasn’t focused on how improving my writing skills might impact my pharma industry career, which was well underway. Now, I know firsthand that all those high school and college English, writing, and literature teachers and professors were right when they told us that excellent writing skills can take us far in any career.

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Standard operating procedures (SOPs) have become the documentation backbone of our industry and, yes, at times, a major pain in the neck. Those of us who were around during the 80s may be able to recall fuzzy memories of SOPs being a thing . Fast forward to 2019, past the birth of ICH, the evolution of outsourcing, the techno explosion and the FDA’s 21 CFR Part 11, the EU obsession with quality systems, and the more recent rise of the big vendor. Today, we’re buried in mountains of SOPs.

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There is a growing industry focus on standard operating procedure (SOP) remediation. Although outsourcing, mergers, and acquisitions have been in play for the last 20 years, these activities seem to be skyrocketing, which is creating quite a few scenarios that drive the need for SOP remediation.

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Developing storyboards for regulatory inspection readiness and facilitation is a growing trend, yet the tool is shrouded in mystery for many pharma industry professionals. Storyboarding is a powerful approach for boiling down your company’s unique drug development journey into compartmentalized, positive short stories or messages that clarify pivotal points in time or scenarios. They provide a framework for creating clear messaging that can be consistently communicated by the inspection team. This is particularly needed for situations when opportunities for company growth, mitigation of existing gaps, and/or other unique compliance scenarios were self-identified and action was taken to ensure compliance and enable forward movement. They ultimately serve to remove confusion, contradiction, and on-the-spot decision-making when addressing inspection questions about the most difficult, convoluted aspects of your product’s drug development story. All companies have those; you are not alone.

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Now that we have years of real-world regulatory outcomes data available, why are we ignoring their power to serve as a corrective lens for our interpretations of the law?

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The clinical quality management systems approach developed 20 years ago is not sustainable in the today's industry because we've seen dramatic industry changes in outsourcing, remote monitoring, the use of electronic systems in clinical research, and more. But how do we update our approach for 2022 pharma? This article examines 4 imperatives, including how to accomplish them.

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Unfortunately, whether you've chosen the right clinical research organization (CRO) isn't always obvious until contracts are signed and patients are enrolled. In 2022, basic industry standard steps are being skipped left and right. Here are 6 win-win suggestions to incorporate into your vendor selection strategy/

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In clinical research, perhaps our oldest code we live by is the Hippocratic oath. Our industry is more complicated today than ever before, so how can we remain loyal to our shared code while also supporting the innovative solutions and approaches of the modern world?

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Global biopharma regulations and guidelines require that individuals involved in conducting clinical trials be qualified by a combination of education, training, and experience. The components are straightforward to implement regarding internal employees, but not so clear when it comes to part-time consultants contracted to intermittently execute specific good clinical practice (GCP) tasks. Discover three trips for training independent consultants.

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Don't get caught on your heels. Conducting a mock regulatory inspection in preparation for an FDA, EMA, or other regulatory visit is a key industry inspection readiness activity. Explore six new inspection exercises to help your team prepare for the big day(s).

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Ask a handful of clinical research professional about the determination of "Day Zero" when reporting a suspected, unexpected, serious adverse reaction (SUSAR), and you may get a variety of answers. While sponsors are ultimately responsible for SUSAR reporting adherence, Penelope Przekop contends that clinical sites should be the ones that start the clock when it comes to meeting regulatory timelines.

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Part 1 of this article explained that the FDA's goal is to ensure safety not to provide a compliance safety net to sponsors by enabling arbitrary rules around SUSAR reporting timelines. A few readers raised points to justify using sponsor awareness as Day Zero for SUSAR reporting, regardless of when the PI becomes aware. Part 2 addresses those points and why they miss the mark.

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Despite recent progress in executing and documenting oversight, sponsor oversight remains a challenge, especially with monitoring reports. Penelope Przekop detail three reasons why they must remain top of mind.

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