A SEMINAR ON

PROCESS VALIDATION OF OINTMENT/CREAM FORMULATION

Why need of process validation for ointment/cream?

Product bio burden high? Multiple component? More adequate preservative system? All have Newtonian flow behavior?

History: Zinc oxide rash cream that was heated to a relatively high temperature solely by the action of rotating mixing plate.

Ointment
Soft, semisolid preparation intended for application to skin and mucus membrane.

Cream
Viscous emulsion of semisolid consistency intended for application to skin and mucus membrane.

Appearance: Opaque
Type: Oleaginous bases Absorption bases Emulsion bases Water soluble bases

Appearance: Translucent
Type: oil-in-water(o/w) water-in-oil(w/o)

 Processes must be validated in pharmaceutical manufacturing are:

Cleaning Sanitization Fumigation Depyrogenation Sterilization Sterile filling Fermentation Bulk production Purification Filling, capping, sealing Lyophilization

Process Validation
Documented evidence, a high degree of assurance that a specific process will consistently produce a product that meets its predetermined specification and quality characteristics.

Process Validation Program

cont..

Process validation
WHY ENFORCE IT? WHEN IS IT PERFORMED?
WHO PERFORMS IT?

Why?
Makes good engineering sense. Results in fewer product recalls and troubleshooting assignments in manufacturing operations.

Results in more technically and economically sound products and their manufacturing processes.

When?
Development stage Product design 1X batch size Batch size

Product characterization
Formula selection Process design Product optimization Process characterization Process qualification Process demonstration Process validation program Product / process certification

1X
1X 1X 10x batch size 10X 10x 100X batch size 100x 100x

Who?
Formulation development Process development Pharmaceutical manufacturing Engineering QA QC API operations Regulatory affairs IT operations

ORDER OF PRIORITY
A. Sterile products and their processes(High Risk)
1) LVP 2) SVP 3) Ophthalmic, other sterile products and medical devices

B. Non- sterile products and their processes(Low Risk)

1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Low dose/high potency tablets and capsules/ TDDS Drugs with stability problems Other tablets and capsules Oral liquids , topical ointment and cream Diagnostic aids

Validation Protocol
Written plan describing the process to be validated, including production equipment. How validation will be conducted Objective test parameter Product characteristics Predetermine specification Factors affecting acceptable result

Protocol for validation of manufacturing process

Purpose and prerequisite for validation Presentation of the whole process and sub processes including flow diagram and critical step analysis Validation protocol approvals Installation and Operation qualification Qualification reports including method, procedure, release criteria, calibration of test equipment, test data, summary of result.

Cont..
Product qualification test data from prevalidation batches Test data from formal validation batches Sampling plan - where, when and how the samples to be taken Evaluation of test data, conclusion Any need for requalification and revalidation Certification and approval Summary report of finding with conclusion Copies of product stability

Components Included in cGMP Process Validation

All should be validated. Facility Environment People Analytical laboratory Raw materials Equipment Procedures Process

Process Validation Option

Prospective Process Validation- performed before the process is put into commercial use Retrospective Validation- done for established products whose manufacturing processes are considered stable Concurrent validation- in process monitoring of critical processing steps and end product testing of current production

Revalidation
- change in critical component(raw material) - change or replacement in a critical piece of equipment. - change in a facility and/or plant - significant increase or decrease in batch size - sequential batches that fail to meet product and process specifications

Semisolids manufacturing consideration

1) Flow diagram
Combine water soluble ingredient in auxiliary kettle. Heat to critical temperature Transfer water phase by pump Combine oil soluble ingredient in main kettle. Heat to critical temperature. Counter sweep agitation

Filling and packaging operation

Transfer finished product by pump into drum or tank

Homogenize or pass thru colloid mill while warm. Cool slowly with counter sweep agitator

2) Unit Operation for semisolid System

Five unit operation 1) Mixing of liquid 2) Mixing of solid 3) Mixing of semisolid 4) Dispersing 5) Milling and size reduction of solid and semisolid

1. Mixing of Liquids
Equipment: Kettle and tank fitted with agitator
Process variables Capacity of unit Shape and position of agitation system Order of agitation Rate of addition Viscosity of liquid Appearance of liquid Potency Properties affected Monitoring Output by variables

Appearance pH

Fill volume Mixing speed of agitator

Temperature of liquid and time

Specific gravity Viscosity

2. Mixing and Blending of Solid

Equipment: Blade mixture and tumbler
Process variable Property affected by variable Monitoring output

Capacity of unit Mixing speed of unit Shape of unit and Position of mixing elements within unit Product load Particle size of Potency solids Blend uniformity Particle size analysis Content uniformity

Order of addition of solids to unit mixing time

3. Mixing and Blending of semisolid

Equipment: Blade mixture and knider
Process variable Type and capacity of unit Properties affected Monitoring Output by variable Potency

Shape of unit and position of mixing elements within unit

Product load Temperature Agitation speed Mixing time

Homogeneity

Content uniformity

Specific gravity Viscosity

Viscosity Density

4. Dispersing
Equipment: Homogenizers, Colloid mill, or ultrasonic device
Process variables Properties affected by Monitoring variables output
Potency Particle size of solids Particle size distribution viscosity Specific gravity

Bore opening/ power setting Pressure/rotor speed/power consumption Feed rate Temperature Dispersion time Order of mixing

Viscosity of liquid

5. Size Reduction of Solid and Semisolid

Equipment: end-runner mill, hammer mill, ball mill, colloid mill, micronizer
Process variable Mill type Mill size Mill speed/air pressure Particle size Bulk density Properties affected Monitoring output by variables Potency Particle size analysis Density/surface area

Product load
Feed rate

Dissolution rate of Dissolution rate/ solid flow rate of solid

Inert atmosphere

3) Filling and Packaging Operation

The following critical aspects must be evaluated and controlled during large-scale validation and manufacturing runs
1. Proper control of product temperature to aid product flow and maintain product consistency before and during filling and packaging operations 2. Proper agitation in holding tanks and filling heads in order to main product uniformity and homogeneity during filling and packaging operation 3. The use of air pressure and inert atmosphere to achieve product performance and stability in the primary container.

Product testing
Validation testing of bulk and finished product must be based on testing standard release criteria and in process testing criteria Routine QC release testing should be performed on a routine sample. These samples should be taken separately from the validation samples. Validation sampling and testing typically is 3 to 6 time the usual QC sampling.

Validation Batch :Bulk Sampling

Take 10 sample from the mixture, tank, or during product transfer to the storage/filling vessel. The samples must represent the top, middle and bottom of the vessel If sampling from the mixture/tank using an specific equipment, samples should be taken immediately adjacent to blades, baffles, and shafts where product movement during mixing may restricted. The bottom of the tank and any potential dead spots should be sampled and examined for unmixed material, if possible.

Sampling Plan
Samples must be representative of each filling nozzle.

For single filling size

Take a minimum of 3 fill containers from each of the beginning, middle and end of the filling run. The total number of samples must be not less than 10. All samples must be tested.

Multiple filling size

Take minimum 3 samples each at the beginning and end of the filling size

OTHER SAMPLING PATTERN

Ten equidistant points across the filling run must be sampled. The beginning and end of filling must be represented.
Samples should be taken in triplicate.

Monitoring Output
1) Particle size Consideration
Control of particle morphology and particle size are important parameters to attain high quality drug product manufacture and control procedure.

Particle size distribution for most disperse system should be in the range of 0.2-20 microns.

2) Viscosity
The Viscometer- Calibrated to measure the apparent viscosity of the disperse system at equilibrium at a given temperature to establish system reproducibility.
Consistency type Soft, spreadable
Plastic flow, spreadable

Approximate viscosity in cps at 25C

100,000300,000 300,0001,000,000

Pharmaceutical example
W/O, O/W CREAM

Ointment

3) Content Uniformity
Most important parameter governing product stability and process control of the disperse system.

In ointment/cream formulation are more dependent on particle size, shear rate, and mixing efficiency in order to attain and maintain uniformity of the active drug component(usually the internal phase).

Monitoring Output

Acceptance Criteria (n = 10)

Sampling Plan

Content Uniformity

3 4 units from UPL & LPL within 90 beginning, 110% LA middle and end of filling cycle; RSD 4.2% total = 10 units

The average result of 10 individual results must meet the release limit for assay. The usual sample size for testing ranges between 0.5 and 1.5 g per sample assay.

4) Preservative effectiveness
Incorporating a USP antimicrobial preservative testing procedure or microbial limit test into formal validation of aqueous dispersion.

Determination of bio burden for validation and production batches can also be used to establish appropriate validated cleaning procedure for the facilities and equipment used in manufacture of disperse system.

5) Dissolution Testing:
It is primary used as a quality control procedure to determine product uniformity.

as a means of assessing the in vivo absorption of the drug in terms of a possible in vitro/vivo correlation.
For cream/ointments, the Franz in vitro flow through diffusion cell has been modified by using silicon rubber membrane barrier to stimulate percutaneous dissolution unit for testing purpose.

secondary

Validation Report
STANDARD FORMAT 1. Executive summary 2. Discussion 3. Conclusions & recommendation 4. List of attachment Topic should be presented in the order in which they appear in the protocol. Protocol deviation are fully explained & justified. The report is signed & dated by designated representatives of each unit involved in water system validation.

References
Lieberman H. A. , Rieger M. M. and Banker G. S. Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms: Disperse System ,vol.3; Second Edition,473-511

R. A. Nash and A. H. Wachter Pharmaceutical process validation; Third edition Agalloco James, Carleton J. Fredric Validation of Pharmaceutical Processes; Third edition,417-428

Thank You