PHARMACEUTICAL INSPECTION CONVENTION

PHARMACEUTICAL INSPECTION CO-OPERATION SCHEME

PI 002-3
25 September 2007

RECOMMENDATION

ON

QUALITY SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

FOR PHARMACEUTICAL INSPECTORATES

© PIC/S September 2007

Reproduction prohibited for commercial purposes.
Reproduction for internal use is authorised,
provided that the source is acknowledged.

Editor: PIC/S Secretariat

e-mail: [email protected]
web site: http:/www.picscheme.org

PI 002-3 25 September 2007

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

1. Document history .............................................................................................. 1

2. Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1
3. Purpose............................................................................................................. 2
4. Scope................................................................................................................ 2
5. Definitions ......................................................................................................... 2
6. Quality Manual .................................................................................................. 3
7. Administrative Structure .................................................................................... 3
8. Organisation and Management ......................................................................... 4
9. Documentation and Change Control ................................................................. 4
10. Records............................................................................................................. 5
11. Inspection Procedures....................................................................................... 5
12. Inspections Resources ...................................................................................... 6
13. Internal Audit ..................................................................................................... 6
14. Quality Improvement and Corrective/Preventive Action..................................... 6
15. Complaints ........................................................................................................ 7
16. Issue and Withdrawal of Licences and GMP certificates ................................... 7
17. Handling Suspected Quality Defects and Rapid Alert System ........................... 8
18. Liaison with the Official Medicine Control Laboratory (OMCL) ........................... 8
19. Sub-Contracting and Assessing ........................................................................ 8
20. Publications....................................................................................................... 9
21. Revision history................................................................................................. 9

_______________

PI 002-3 -i- 25 September 2007

1. DOCUMENT HISTORY

Adopted by the PIC/S Committee on 24 October 2000

Entry into force of PI 002-1 on 1 January 2001
Entry into force of PI 002-2 on 1 October 2004

2. INTRODUCTION

2.1 One of the main purposes of the Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation

Scheme is to facilitate the exchange of information on national inspections in
respect of the manufacture and, where relevant, wholesale distribution of
medicinal products. The general requirements for National Pharmaceutical
Inspectorates are to fulfil the requirements of National Legislation and of the
relevant EU Directives for EU/EEA countries. Specific obligations of inspections
as contained in national law and if any European Directives (for the EU/EEA
countries), must be included in the National Inspectorate's quality systems.

2.2 This document outlines the quality system requirements for GMP
Pharmaceutical Inspectorates. It is intended that each GMP Pharmaceutical
Inspectorate uses the document as the basis for developing and implementing
its own quality system and for preparing its own quality manual. In addition to
providing a basis for self-assessment and a reference document for use by
external assessors, establishing and maintaining an effective quality system will
generate confidence within and between GMP National Pharmaceutical
Inspectorates in the assessment of compliance with good manufacturing
practice and/or good wholesale distribution practice.

2.3 National GMP Pharmaceutical Inspectorates, the European Commission (EC),

the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) and the Pharmaceutical Inspection
Co-operation Scheme (PIC/S) should co-operate with one another in
exchanging experiences in the maintenance and operation of quality systems
and in the further development of this document.

2.4 Only on a voluntary basis, this document could be useful for other inspectorates
assessing compliance with GXP or for the inspection of pharmacies.

2.5 In preparing this text, the following documents were used (or noted):

EN 45004 : 1995 General criteria for the operation of various types of

bodies performing inspections;

EN 45012 : 1998 General requirements for bodies operating assessment

and certification/ registration of quality system;

ISO 9001-2000
Quality management systems-Requirements;

ISO 9004-2000 Quality management systems: guidelines for

performance improvements;

PI 002-3 Page 1 of 9 25 September 2007

 ISO 19011 : 2002 Guidelines for quality and/ or environmental managerial
systems auditing;

PI 002-1 : 2000 PIC/S Recommendations on quality system

requirements for pharmaceutical inspectorates;

October 2003 EU Revised Compilation of Community procedures on

administrative collaboration and harmonisation of
inspections;

1998 Proceedings of the PIC-PIC/S seminar on quality

systems for pharmaceutical inspectorates.

3. PURPOSE

3.1 The primary purpose of a quality system is to ensure that adequate quality
standards are maintained. The purpose of adopting a common standard for
quality system requirements is to achieve consistency in inspection standards
between GMP National Pharmaceutical Inspectorates and thus to facilitate
mutual recognition of and mutual confidence between those Inspectorates. This
standard should help facilitate the implementation of the EEA Joint Audit
Programme and PIC/S Joint Re-assessment Programme.

3.2 Each GMP national inspection service should use this document as the basis
for developing its own quality system, so that inspection activities within each
inspection service are carried out in accordance with a system which is
compatible with systems of the other Participating Authorities.

4. SCOPE

4.1 This document specifies the quality system requirements for National
pharmaceutical inspection services concerned with good manufacturing
practice activities.

4.2 Where wholesale inspections are required by national legislation to be carried

out by GMP National Pharmaceutical Inspectorate Service, this document
specifies the quality system requirements for National Pharmaceutical
Inspection Services competent for the inspection of good wholesale distribution
practice of medicinal products.

4.3 The quality system should include all activities involved in the GMP inspection
process.

5. DEFINITIONS

5.1 Quality system: The sum of all that is necessary to implement an

organisation's quality policy and meet quality objectives.
It includes organisation structure, responsibilities,
procedures, systems, processes and resources.
Typically these features will be addressed in different
kinds of documents as the quality manual and
documented procedures, modus operandi etc

PI 002-3 Page 2 of 9 25 September 2007

5.2 Quality Selected data intended to be periodically observed to
Indicators assist in assessing trends in performance.

5.3 Pharmaceutical The National body responsible for co-ordinating and

Inspectorate carrying out GMP inspections, including inspections of
pharmaceutical manufacturers and/or wholesale
distributors. If relevant, this could include making
decisions concerning the issue or withdrawal of
establishment licences or authorisations for their
activities, the issue or withdrawal of GMP certificates,
providing advice and handling suspected quality defects.

5.4 Licence: For the purposes of this document, a licence is defined

as an authorisation to manufacture and/or distribute
medicinal products

6. QUALITY MANUAL

6.1 The Pharmaceutical Inspectorate should prepare and maintain a quality manual
covering the elements described in this document. It is for each Pharmaceutical
Inspectorate to decide on the format and style of their quality manual, but it
must include, or make reference to, the quality system procedures which define
the activities of the Inspectorate and the arrangements for maintaining the
quality system. The reference used to complete it (as ISO or EN norms) must
be quoted too.

7. ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE

7.1 The structure, membership and operation of the GMP Pharmaceutical

Inspectorate should be such as to enable it to meet the objectives of quality
management and to ensure that impartiality is safeguarded.

7.2 The personnel of the inspection service, including sub-contracted personnel

and experts, should be free from any commercial, financial and other pressures
which might affect their judgement and freedom to act. The Pharmaceutical
Inspectorate should ensure that persons or organisations external to the
inspection organisation cannot influence the result of inspections. The system
for obtaining fees should not improperly influence the inspection procedure.
Rules for deontology, ethics, conflict of interest and improper influence should
be clearly defined.

7.3 The relationship of the Pharmaceutical Inspectorate to other agencies and to

other organisations within and outside the Inspectorate should be described
where relevant.

7.4 The Pharmaceutical Inspectorate should implement a policy which distinguishes

between the process of inspection and that of issuing a manufacturing licence.

7.5 Where relevant, the Pharmaceutical Inspectorate should implement a policy

which distinguishes between the process of inspection and that of providing an
advisory service. This service should be of benefit to all of industry and not
solely to individual organisations.

PI 002-3 Page 3 of 9 25 September 2007

8. ORGANISATION AND MANAGEMENT

8.1 Senior management of the Pharmaceutical Inspectorate should make a formal

commitment to support the recommended principles embodied in this
document by ensuring that the quality policy of the Inspectorate is documented,
that it is relevant to the objectives of that organisation and that it is
implemented.

8.2 The responsibility, authority and reporting structure of the Pharmaceutical

Inspectorate should be clearly defined and documented. The structure should
be defined in organisation charts and should be supported by written job
descriptions for each member of staff.

8.3 There should be nominated an appropriately qualified and experienced person

or persons with responsibility to carry out the quality assurance function,
including implementing and maintaining the quality system. This person should
have direct access to senior management.

8.4 The Pharmaceutical Inspectorate should have sufficient resources at all levels
to enable it to meet its objectives effectively and efficiently. Senior management
should ensure that all personnel are competent and qualified to carry out their
assigned duties and that they receive appropriate training. Such training should
be documented and its effectiveness assessed periodically.

8.5 There should be a system for periodic management review of the quality
system. Such reviews should be documented and records should be retained
for a defined period.

9. DOCUMENTATION AND CHANGE CONTROL

9.1 The Pharmaceutical Inspectorate should establish and maintain a system for
the control of all documentation relating to the inspection system. This should
include policies, procedures, guidelines and any documents of external origin
such as regulations and directives which may direct the activities of the
Inspectorate or influence the quality of its operations.

9.2 The document control system should ensure that documents are authorised by
appropriate persons prior to issue and that only current versions are held by
nominated individuals. A record of all relevant documents and document
holders should be maintained. The system should ensure that superseded
documents are withdrawn from use. Superseded documents should be retained
for an appropriate and defined period.

9.3 The documentation system should ensure that any changes to documents are
made in a controlled manner and are properly authorised. There should be a
means of identifying changes in individual documents.

PI 002-3 Page 4 of 9 25 September 2007

10. RECORDS

10.1 The Pharmaceutical Inspectorate should establish and maintain a system of

records relating to its activities which complies with any existing regulations. If
relevant, the system should include documents received from licence applicants
and licence holders as appropriate.

10.2 Records shall provide detailed information about the planning and scheduling of
inspections, the way in which each inspection is to be conducted, a description
of the inspection process, follow-up activities and recommendations to the body
responsible for issuing licences.

10.3 All records should be handled in such a way as to prevent their damage or loss
and should be retained for an adequate period consistent with any legal
requirements. All records should be maintained in confidence to the inspected
party unless otherwise required under freedom of information legislation, or
unless required under exchange of information procedures and arrangements
between National Pharmaceutical Inspectorates, the EU/EEA, the EMEA and
Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) partners.

11. INSPECTION PROCEDURES

11.1 The Pharmaceutical Inspectorate should conduct repeated inspections of

manufacturers and/ or wholesale distributors and should issue inspection
reports in accordance with National or European Community requirements as
appropriate.

11.2 The Pharmaceutical Inspectorate should have the documented procedures and
resources to enable inspection of manufacturing and wholesale distribution
operations to be carried out in accordance with the official guidelines and
National legislation and in accordance with a formal inspection plan. All
instructions, standards or written procedures, worksheets, check lists and
reference data relevant to the work of the Pharmaceutical Inspectorate should
be maintained up-to-date and be readily available to staff.

11.3 When more than one inspector is involved in an inspection, a lead inspector
should be appointed to co-ordinate inspection activities. The inspection report
should normally be prepared by the lead inspector and should be agreed by all
participating inspectors.

11.4 Inspection report format should be in compliance with the PIC/S procedure or
European model.

11.5 Report should follow the procedure above. The inspection report should be sent
to the responsible person of the inspected company (preferably the authorised
person or qualified person). The lead inspector and all concerned inspectors
should participate in assessing the eventual reply or replies to determine the
appropriateness of corrective actions and the GMP status of the company.

11.6 Observations and/or data obtained in the course of inspections should be

recorded in a timely manner to prevent loss of relevant information.

11.7 Completed inspections should be reviewed to ensure that the requirements are
met.

PI 002-3 Page 5 of 9 25 September 2007

12. INSPECTION RESOURCES

12.1 Personnel

12.1.1 The Pharmaceutical Inspectorate should possess the required personnel,

expertise and other resources to perform inspections of manufacturers and/ or
wholesale distributors to determine their compliance with the principles and
guidelines of current good practices and with the relevant legislation.

12.1.2 The staff responsible for inspections should have appropriate qualifications,
training, experience and knowledge of the inspection process. They should
have the ability to make professional judgements as to the conformance of the
inspected party with the requirements of good practices and the relevant
legislation and be able to apply an appropriate degree of risk assessment.
They should have knowledge of current technology, including computerised
systems and information technology.

12.1.3 The Pharmaceutical Inspectorate should establish a documented system for

recruiting and training its personnel and should carry out a regular review of
the training received and the training needs for each member of staff.
Individual training and qualification records should be maintained.

12.2 Resources and equipment

12.2.1 The Pharmaceutical Inspectorate should have available the necessary

resources and equipment to enable it to carry out its obligations effectively and
efficiently.

13. INTERNAL AUDIT

13.1 The Pharmaceutical Inspectorate should carry out and document periodic
internal audits of its operations to assess compliance with the requirements of
the quality system. Results of internal audits and associated corrective actions
should be reviewed as part of the management review process.

13.2 Internal audit processes and documents, auditors qualifications should be

clearly defined (e.g. reference to ISO 19011 : 2002).

13.3 Internal audit records should be retained for a defined period.

14. QUALITY IMPROVEMENT AND CORRECTIVE/PREVENTIVE ACTION

14.1 Quality indicators

14.1.1 The Pharmaceutical Inspectorate should establish and maintain

quality indicators related to its activities notably in the area of timeframe
mentioned in existing EU or national regulations (e.g. licensing system for
manufacturing or marketing authorizations) and/ or documentation (e.g. writing
reports).

PI 002-3 Page 6 of 9 25 September 2007

14.1.2 Quality indicators should be reviewed as part of the management review
process.

14.2 Corrective/ preventive action

14.2.1 The Pharmaceutical Inspectorate should establish and maintain a procedure

for the investigation of non-compliances with the quality system which are
identified through internal or external audit of its activities. The procedure
should include the prescribing, implementation and verification of corrective
action. The procedure should cover also corrective actions arising from the
investigation of complaints and other observations relating to the activities of
the Inspectorate.

14.2.2 The system should include a description of the steps to be taken in assessing
the need for quality improvement and preventive action.

14.2.3 Corrective and preventive actions should be documented and records should
be retained for a defined period.

15. COMPLAINTS

15.1 The Pharmaceutical Inspectorate should establish and maintain a procedure for
dealing with complaints relating to its activities, or those of its personnel, and
any contracted persons or organisations. The procedure should describe the
application and verification of corrective action arising from the investigation of
complaints.

15.2 Records should be maintained of all complaints received and actions taken and
should be retained for a defined period.

16. ISSUE AND WITHDRAWAL OF LICENCES AND GMP CERTIFICATES

16.1 The Pharmaceutical Inspectorate should establish and maintain a system for
the issue and withdrawal of licences and GMP certificates, or for advising about
the issue and withdrawal of licences and GMP certificates, as appropriate.

16.2 Licence and GMP certificate applications should be assessed and determined
in a timely manner and within any time limits imposed by National or European
Community requirements. Where time limits are imposed, inspection activities
should be included in the total time taken to determine the application.

16.3 There should be a documented system for taking appropriate action against a
licence / or a GMP certificate notably in the event of an adverse inspection
report. The system should include descriptions of the actions available to the
Inspectorate; such actions may include suspension or revocation of the licence
and/or the GMP certificate(s). There should be a system for assessing
compliance of an organisation with imposed licensing action.

16.4 The system should include a description of the appeals procedure available to
licence holders.

PI 002-3 Page 7 of 9 25 September 2007

16.5 If the licensing system is not part of the Pharmaceutical Inspectorate, the latter
should establish and maintain defined liaison with it to obtain and guarantee
targets quoted in paragraphs 16.1 to 16.3.

17. HANDLING SUSPECTED QUALITY DEFECTS AND RAPID ALERT SYSTEM

17.1 The Pharmaceutical Inspectorate should establish and maintain a system for
handling of reports of suspected quality defects in medicinal products as
defined in a related Standard Operating Procedure or the related Community
procedure.

17.2 The Pharmaceutical Inspectorate should establish and maintain a system for
issuing Rapid Alert as defined in a related Standard Operating Procedure or the
related Community procedure.

17.3 The Pharmaceutical Inspectorate should establish and maintain an updated list
of all performed recalls.

17.4 If the organization in charge of handling suspected quality defects and rapid
alert system is not part of the Pharmaceutical Inspectorate, the latter should
establish and maintain defined liaison with it to obtain and guarantee targets
quoted in paragraphs 17.1 and 17.2.

18 LIAISON WITH THE OFFICIAL MEDICINE CONTROL LABORATORY

(OMCL)

The Pharmaceutical Inspectorate should establish and maintain defined liaison

with the OMCL(s) of its own Participating Authority in order to exchange
information concerning the quality of medicinal products existing on the national
market. In particular, an SOP should define sampling processes for starting
material and medicinal products.

19. SUB-CONTRACTING AND ASSESSING

19.1 The Pharmaceutical Inspectorate should normally carry out the GMP
inspections for which it is responsible and whilst it may sub-contract some of its
work it cannot sub-contract any of its accountability. Sub-contracted personnel
or experts may be employed as part of an inspection team to assist or advise in
a technical capacity, but that team should normally be led by a GMP lead
inspector. Sub-contracted personnel should be bound by the requirements of
the quality system and there should be a written contractual agreement
between the parties.

19.2 Persons or organisations to whom inspection activities are contracted out and
experts should be free from any commercial or financial pressures which might
affect their freedom to act. They should follow defined rules to avoid conflict of
interests and regarding ethic and deontology. Senior management of the
Pharmaceutical Inspectorate should ensure that these persons are
appropriately qualified and experienced and that they are independent of any
organisations which they might be asked to inspect.

PI 002-3 Page 8 of 9 25 September 2007

20. PUBLICATIONS

20.1 The Pharmaceutical Inspectorate should have at its disposal an updated list of
licensed manufacturers and/ or wholesale distributors. The list should be made
available to authorised bodies when requested.

21 REVISION HISTORY

Date Version Number Reasons for revision

15.06.2004 PI 002-2 Amendment made to bring PIC/S
recommendation in line with the EU
document on quality system requirements;
deletion of the Appendix (guidelines for
documenting a quality manual); change in
the Editor’s co-ordinates.
25.09.2007 PI 002-3 Change in the Editor’s co-ordinates.

PI 002-3 Page 9 of 9 25 September 2007