On May 4th, 2021, Hospira—a Pfizer company, issued a voluntary nationwide recall to lot DN9185 for potential presence of visible particles. This drug product is a sterile water for injectables and is used to dilute or dissolve drugs for injection. Risks to patients are rare, but could potentially conclude anaphylaxis, fever, gastrointestinal disturbances, vein irritation,…
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Testing Container Closures with Dye Ingress Method
The dye ingress test method is a routine test for container closures attached to parenteral drugs and large molecule drugs. Traditionally, this method uses ten test samples and three positive controls. During this testing, the test samples are place in a vacuum chamber and pressurized with dye. Three vials are punctured to allow dye to…
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Essentially Free: How A Definition Tamed The Visible Particulate Matter Debate
In an article written by Louis Garguilo, Chief Editor for Outsourced Pharma, it talks about defining the term “essentially free” of visible particulate matter. In 2005, it has become a big concern with the number of injectable drug product batches being rejected or recalled because of particulate matter being present. In 2014, recalls in injectable…
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Visible Particulate Matter in Single-Use Bags
In an article published by BioProcess International, visible particulate matter in single-use systems (SUS) is stated to be a big concern. SUS is a product/equipment designed to be used once; it is primarily composed of plastic that can be discarded easily. It is necessary when creating products with SUS, the parenteral drugs must be “essentially…
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