Testing a New Chromatography Column for Cleaning Effectiveness

Chris Antoniou , Hillary Carter
BioPharm International, January 2006
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Cleaning validation is a critical consideration in the pharmaceutical industry. Inadequate cleaning can result in contamination of drug products with bacteria, endotoxins, active pharmaceuticals from previous batch runs, and cleaning solution residues. Such contaminants must be reduced to safe levels, both for regulatory approval and to ensure patient safety.

Regulatory agencies worldwide require validation of pharmaceutical cleaning processes. None, however, offer a specific formulation for validation. Cleaning processes vary according to the nature of the drug being produced, the type of equipment being used, and whether equipment is dedicated or multi-use, among other variables. Thus, a one-size-fits-all validation strategy is impossible. A validated pharmaceutical cleaning process must use principles that are scientifically sound and reproducible. It is the pharmaceutical company's responsibility to set acceptance criteria and to explain the scientific basis for those limits to the regulatory authorities.

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