PIER Archives - European Industrial Pharmacists Group (EIPG)

UK will participate to European research programmes


by Giuliana Miglierini The divergent road opened as a consequence of the Brexit, in January 2021, between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) is now converging again as for the possibility for UK researchers to participate to Read more

Insights to the Industrial Pharmacist role for the future


A concept paper from EIPG Advisory Group on Competencies vol.2, 2023 This paper is an update of the previous EIPG paper and intends to raise awareness of the changing requirements of the professional profile of Industrial Pharmacists for Pharmacists at Read more

EMA’s reflection paper on AI in the pharmaceutical lifecycle


by Giuliana Miglierini The rapidly evolving role of artificial intelligence (AI) and its possible application in the pharmaceutical field led the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to publish a draft Reflection paper on the use of AI along the entire lifecycle Read more

Webinar: ICH Q12 Product Lifecycle Management – open road or dead end?

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Next EIPG webinar is to be held on Tuesday 18th April 2023 at 17.00 CEST (16.00 BST) in conjunction with PIER and University College Cork. Graham Cook, former Pfizer’s Quality Intelligence and Compliance Information team leader and chair of EFPIA’s Manufacturing and Quality Expert Group (MQEG) will explain the context for the development of the ICH Q12 guideline on Product Lifecycle Management.

The ICH Q12 Product Lifecycle Management guideline reached step 4 in the ICH process in November 2019 – where are we with the adoption of this guideline? This webinar will provide an overview of the content, and discuss the opportunities and implications for implementation of Q12 by industry and regulators.

Graham Cook is a pharmacist with a Ph.D. in pharmaceutics. He was appointed to the British Pharmacopoeia Commission between 2010 and 2021 and chairs the Medicinal Chemicals (MC2) Expert Advisory Group and the Analytical Quality by Design Working Party. Between 2012-2018 he was Chairman of the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) International E55 Technical Committee developing pharmaceutical manufacturing standards and continues to serve as a member of the E55 Executive Committee. He was a past chair of Pfizer’s Quality by Design Council and previous roles include Technical Director supporting Wyeth Europa Manufacturing and External Supply, and Director Formulation Development for Wyeth Consumer Healthcare (Richmond, Virginia, USA).

This is an event for members of EIPG member organisations. Contact your national association EIPG representative for further information.


Webinar: The impact of pharmaceuticals on the environment

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At the next EIPG webinar to be held on Wednesday 9th November at 17.00 CET (16.00 GMT) in conjunction with PIER and University College Cork, Bengt Mattson will present the impact of pharmaceuticals on the environment and what industrial pharmacists can do to help decrease the potential environmental impact.

Understandable concerns have been expressed regarding the presence of pharmaceuticals in the environment. Environmental protection contributes to safeguarding the health and safety of future generations. However, medicines play a critical role in ensuring a high level of public health.

Bengt has been the co-chair of the European industry’s Inter-Associations Task Force on Pharmaceuticals in the Environment for the past 8 years. He will discuss R&D initiatives, which influence green manufacturing and design safe, rational and effective use of medicinal products and the correct disposal of any unused or expired medicines.

The competence of industrial pharmacists in participating in these initiatives will be discussed.

This is an event for members of EIPG member organisations. Contact your national association EIPG representative for further information.


Webinar: Implications and Opportunities of ICHQ2(R2) and ICHQ14

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The next EIPG webinar will be held in conjunction with PIER and University College Cork on Wednesday 15th June 2022 (17.00 CEST), on the implications and opportunities of the revision of ICHQ2 (on validation of analytical procedures) and the ICHQ14 (on analytical procedure development). Our speaker Phil Borman, Director and Senior Fellow at GlaxoSmithKline, pioneered the adaptation of Quality by Design principles to analytical procedures and currently co-leads the EFPIA ICH Q2(R2) and ICH Q14 guidance on Quality by Design, will explain why these guidelines are being developed and will highlight their implications and opportunities.

The revision of ICHQ2(R1): Validation of Analytical Procedures and the development of ICHQ14: Analytical Procedure Development reached the key ICH milestone of Step 2 publication for public consultation in March 2022. The combined topic Q2(R2)/Q14 represents an opportunity to provide guidance on how to apply enhanced development approaches (‘Quality by Design’) to analytical procedures and how to use the knowledge obtained to support routine use of procedures. Q2(R2)/Q14 will also have the potential to facilitate the selection or identification of development approaches that will reduce the risk incurred by post-approval changes to analytical procedures discussed in ICHQ12: Pharmaceutical product Lifecycle Management. This webinar will explain why these guidelines are being developed as well as highlighting the implications and opportunities.

This is an event for members of EIPG member organisations. Contact your national association EIPG representative for further information.


Continuous Manufacturing of Pharmaceuticals: Higher Quality, Greater Flexibility

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The next EIPG webinar will be held in conjunction with PIER and University College Cork on Wednesday 30th March 2022 (17.00 CEST), on Continuous Manufacturing of Pharmaceuticals. Giustino Di Pretoro a subject matter expert and drug product development lead will provide his expert practical experience of continuous manufacturing. Our speaker is Giustino Di Pretoro the Scientific Director at Janssen Pharmaceutica, a Johnson & Johnson Company. He is a subject matter expert and drug product development lead for continuous manufacturing, and coordinator for a series of academic collaborations within the field.

For more than 50 years, pharmaceuticals have been produced using a method known as “batch manufacturing,” a multi-step, lengthy process that usually involves the use of large-scale equipment. However, recent advances in manufacturing technology have prompted the pharmaceutical industry to consider moving away from batch manufacturing to a faster, more efficient process known as “continuous manufacturing”. The Regulatory Agencies are taking proactive steps to facilitate the pharma industry’s implementation of emerging technologies, including continuous manufacturing, to improve product quality and to address many of the underlying causes of drug shortages and recalls. Our speaker will provide his expert practical experience of continuous manufacturing.

This is an event for members of EIPG member organisations. Contact your national association EIPG representative for further information.


Webinar: Antimicrobial Resistance – How do we make Antibiotics Economically Viable again?

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Our first EIPG Webinar of 2022 will be held in conjunction with PIER and University College Cork on Tuesday 18th January 2022 (17:00 CET). It is entitled: «Antimicrobial Resistance – How do we make Antibiotics Economically Viable again? ».

Our speaker is Professor Philip Howard, a hospital pharmacist who is the immediate past President of the British Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. He is a member of the UK Department of Health’s advisory group on Antimicrobial Resistance & Healthcare Associated Infections and the NICE Common infections guidelines group, NICE living CoVID guidelines group and the NICE New models of antimicrobial funding committee. He is a spokesman for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society on Antimicrobials and for the Antibiotic-Action and British Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy charities. The webinar chairman is Dr Luigi Martini former Chief Scientist at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

Antibiotic sales during the golden era of antibiotic discovery of the 1960s and 1970s outstripped most other therapeutic areas. As soon as antimicrobial resistance became an issue, there was a focus on using them more prudently. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the high-income countries is driven by over-consumption, so antimicrobial stewardship initiatives to avoid starting or stopping or de-escalating antibiotics as soon as possible have seen diagnostic scoring systems or point of care tests flourish. Other challenges seen are the lack of transparency in the supply chain, coupled with low prices and these have made antimicrobial shortages common. New antimicrobials are needed to combat AMR. The pharmaceutical industry should be able to play an important role in antimicrobial stewardship whilst still marketing economically viable new products.

This is an event for members of EIPG member organisations. Contact your national association EIPG representative for further information.


IMP manufacturing in the era of the clinical trial regulation 536/14

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The next EIPG’s and PIER’s webinar to be held on Thursday 18th November 2021 (17.00 CET) will be chaired and the subject introduced by Irene Gonzales-Conde, Board Member of AEFI (Spanish Association of Industrial Pharmacists).

The main speaker, Luciano Gambini has spent most of his working life in global R&D quality assurance, setting up internal policies for the quality of Investigational Medicinal Products (IMPs). He is the coordinator of the AFI (Italian Association of Industrial Pharmacists) working group on manufacture of IMPs.

There has been extensive debate about the Clinical Trial Regulation which finally enters into force on 31st January 2022. However, little has been discussed about manufacture of the IMPs. The aim of this webinar is to raise questions and provide preliminary answers to any differences between the current and new manufacturing and labelling requirements.

This is an event for members of EIPG member organisations. Contact your national association EIPG representative for further information.


Webinar: PBPK Modelling and Simulation – A valuable tool for Pharmaceutical Development

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Over the last 20 years Physiologically – Based Pharmacokinetic (PBPK) Modelling and Simulation has developed and is now used extensively within Discovery and Development in the Pharmaceutical Industry. Its adoption has been driven by the availability of commercial software platforms and a realisation of the benefits to be gained including the potential to reduce the number of in vivo studies performed. 

In EIPG’s and PIER’s next webinar, to be held on 21st October 2021 (17.00 CEST), Jonathan Brown will cover an introduction to PBPK modelling, what it is and how it can be applied to support Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) development. It will provide an overview of usage in oral, small molecule development, supported by examples from the areas of biopharmaceutics and formulation development. Current and potential future applications of PBPK modelling in Quality and Regulatory fields will also be discussed.

This is an event for members of EIPG member organisations. Contact your national association EIPG representative for further information.