US FDA Process Validation Guidance

The U.S. FDA (Food and Drug Administration) provides guidance on process validation for the pharmaceutical industry. Process validation is a critical aspect of ensuring that a pharmaceutical manufacturing process consistently produces a product that meets its predefined quality attributes. The FDA's guidance on process validation emphasizes a lifecycle approach, which includes three stages: Stage 1: Process Design: This stage involves understanding the manufacturing process and defining critical quality attributes (CQAs) and critical process parameters (CPPs). During this stage, manufacturers design their processes to ensure that they can consistently produce products that meet quality requirements. Stage 2: Process Qualification: In this stage, the manufacturing process is evaluated to determine whether it can consistently produce product that meets predetermined specifications. Process qualification involves executing process performanc...