An updated version of the article published in the Financial Express, Express Pharma on 16 May 2016. The picture below is based on a LinkedIn blog by the author entitled “Pharmaceutical quality: Elephant in the Dark or Six Blind Men?” (September 8, 2015).

1. 1
Pharmaceutical Quality
Assurance in the 21st
Century: Sharper Focus
Needed on Education,
Training & Experience
Ajaz S. Hussain, Ph.D.
Insight Advice & Solutions LLC*, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
The National Institute for Pharmaceutical Technology & Education, Inc., USA
* ajaz@ajazhussain.com
An updated version of the article published in the Financial Express,
Express Pharma on 16 May 2016. The picture below is based on a blog by the author entitled
“Pharmaceutical quality: Elephant in the Dark or Six Blind Men?” (September 8, 2015).

2. 2
India’s aspiration to be ‘Pharmacy of the
World’ is credible, palpable and indispensable.
Progress achieved over the past several dec-
ades is remarkable.
A key determinant of this success is the talent
pool in India; which is relatively young and
getting younger. The quality of their education,
training and experience (maturity) is an im-
portant determinant of the level of assurance
in pharmaceutical quality they can deliver.
In the current state, inspectional observations,
particularly by several international regulatory
authorities, have given a reason for a “pause”
- to reflect on how global regulatory expecta-
tions for assurance of pharmaceutical quality
should be met. Although this challenge is not
unique to India; it points to certain “blind-
spots” in the current system. Attention to
these gaps is in need of urgent attention.
Many products we develop and manufacture
today are complex, and this complexity is on a
rapid rise. This additional complexity places a
higher demand on scientific evidence neces-
sary to assure quality, safety and efficacy (and
equivalence) over the life-cycle of these prod-
ucts. Assurance of data integrity is the critical
basis for assuring pharmaceutical quality.
There is a need to bring more attention to the
integrity of evidence.
Noted CGMP deviations are, perhaps, a
“blessing in disguise”. Learning from these the
India’s pharma sector can and should accel-
erate its progress towards achieving its goals
with a better accounting of complexity and un-
certainty in their systems.
Unless proactive steps are taken, “blind-
spots” can emerge in any rapidly growing
business. Examples of such “blind-spots” can
include: (a) human tendency for optimistic
business forecasts and expectations (e.g.,
rate of ‘right first time’), (b) under-appreciating
intrinsic error rates in a system, and (c) not
recognizing the increasing complexity in phar-
maceutical quality assurance. Such cognitive
biases can put a high burden on achieving ra-
tional assurance of quality; especially when
results, and the not the process for getting to
the result, is often the primary incentive. In
such situations staff and managers—and all of
us - can be in over our heads (1) and be vul-
nerable to irrational decision making (2).
Other cognitive biases or blind-spots such “it
is US FDA approved”, and “process is validat-
ed” can sometimes provide reasons for ration-
alizing deviations from established and com-
mitted (to regulatory authorities) procedures.
Gaps that may have existed in an “FDA Ap-
proved” submission (due to an attitude such
as “file first and figure it out later” (3)) can re-
sult in the development of a commercial man-
ufacturing process that is not sufficiently sta-
ble and in control. After FDA approval, such
gaps are not easy to remember (4-7). Again,
this scenario can manifest anywhere in the
world.
Response to the “pause” induced by the nu-
merous warning letters and import alerts, has
varied. Some have questioned the validity of
this pause. While others have focused on un-
derstanding what needs to be understood
more clearly and more consistently. This pa-
per seeks to support the latter view-point by
sharing insights gained by the author on how
to strengthen the ‘culture of pharmaceutical
quality’ (4-7). This paper recapitulates, sum-
marize and consolidate these insights in the
current context:
 Recapitulating insights shared previously,
in the year 2013 - “Strategies for making
high pharma quality affordable” (8);
 Summarize new insights gathered while
conducting a training program entitled
“Culture of Pharmaceutical Quality” at
many companies located in diverse geog-
raphies of India (5-7); and,
 Consolidate these in a global context utiliz-
ing experience gained as a teacher, a reg-
ulator (at US FDA) (4), and as a corporate
executive.

3. 3
Recapitulating insights shared previously
Table 1 (see below) lists insights shared in
2013. It also provides an update - where are
we in 2016. The growing evidence supporting
the significance of perception factors and pla-
cebo/nocebo effects in quality assurance, par-
ticularly in the US, is remarkable. It makes the
case stronger on the importance of corporate-
name recognition, even for companies making
generic products.
In the US, the year 2015 marks a ‘tipping
point’ for adoption of continuous manufactur-
ing technologies (12). As discussed in 2013,
this potentially sets up different strategies and
path to the coveted title of ‘Pharmacy of the
World’ (8). To compete, India’s pharma will
need to factor these technological develop-
ments into their strategies. Companies with a
high interest in serving markets in the US will
also need to consider changes outlined in the
FDA’s review and inspections approaches;
particularly on FDA’s sharper focus on ‘One
Quality Voice’ (14).
The efforts proposed by leaders of India’s
pharma sector to collaborate, to engage with
global regulators, and to commit to “Quality
Excellence” (11) are commendable. Some of
the insights shared here are intended to en-
courage and contribute to such efforts.
New insights gathered since 2013
Efforts expended to develop and conduct a
training program on ‘Culture of Pharmaceutical
Quality’, for several companies with facilities
distributed across India (see 5-7), provided
valuable insights. The key take-away from
this effort is that “confidence (of/in people, in
process/system/results, and in the assurance
of product quality) is a critical quality attribute”.
Understanding the Why, What, and How of this
critical quality attribute is highly variable, and
this variability needs to be reduced, signifi-
cantly.
Insight 2013 (8) Where are we in 2016?
Perceptions about quality can change effica-
cy and safety of a drug product via placebo
and nocebo effects.
Evidence on the significance of perception
factors, and placebo/nocebo effects emerged
very prominently, particularly in the US (9).
The US FDA had to issue a final guidance
highlighting the importance of color and
shape of tablets have on adherence rates
(10).
Remediation of cGMP issues are often diffi-
cult and expensive.
CGMP remediation, particularly as it relates
to US FDA Warning Letter and Import Alerts,
are on-going with very few exceptions and
other companies have been added to this list.
Leaders should consider working together in
pre-competitive space to strengthen training
and education, and, for creating venues for
dialog with regulators to improve understand-
ing and to seek out solutions to common
challenges.
Leaders of India’s pharma sector have taken
significant steps to collaborate and to engage
with global regulators and have outlined a
plan for “Quality Excellence” (11).
With the active encouragement of the US
FDA, there is visible progress in the area
of continuous monitoring – a potential
shift in paradigm in the making.
Automated continuous manufacturing is
now rapidly becoming a reality in the US
and Europe; the tipping point was
reached in 2015. Significant collabora-
tions have been announced among major
companies (12).
Increasingly patients across the globe will
ask the question “who makes the drug I
take”; and trust and credibility will be criti-
cal.
Media coverage of FDA Warning Letters
and Import Alerts have continued to be a
source of concern (13).

4. 4
Education, Training, and Experience in the
21st
Century
Pharmaceutical quality assurance in the 21st
century necessitates development of curricula
and training approaches to facilitate acquisi-
tion of new technical know-how alongside
communication skills and the maturity to adapt
with confidence to environments where com-
plexity and uncertainty are high and increas-
ing. As noted in 2005, in the US context (4),
industrial pharmacy education was and contin-
ues to be in need, for a transformation. For
example, material science, process design,
and control, more rigorous mathematical and
statistical skill sets, and systems engineering
are some of the areas that are in need for ad-
ditional emphasis. More importantly, attention
to developing adaptive-learning skills – to in-
crease orders of consciousness (1), design/
system thinking, and leadership development
must be key areas of focus (7).
As leaders of India’s pharma sector progress
their efforts on “Quality Excellence” (11), it
would be useful to consider establishing world
class “Global Institutes of Pharmaceutical
Quality” (GIPQ). Given the aspirations of this
sector – it is important to take a global per-
spective with short-, mid-, and long-term
goals.
In the short-term the focus should be on de-
veloping adaptive-learning skills, design/
system thinking, improving investigations, rig-
orous risk assessment, and the know-how to
seamlessly implement continued process veri-
fication and other topics relevant to proactive
compliance with cGMP. In the mid-term focus
could be on improving (e.g., standardization
and reducing variability in) the broader educa-
tional system and providing more opportuni-
ties for effective training and experience in
quality by design, process analytical technolo-
gy, and control strategies. In the long-term, to
be a global leader, the focus should be on de-
veloping institutions that are recognized as
important contributors of knowledge and ex-
pertise needed to improve regulatory science
and policy across the globe.
Increasing complexity and uncertainty place a
high demand on knowledge management and
on the correct analysis of prior knowledge.
There are significant gaps (e.g., objective
quality risk assessment, establishing the clini-
cal relevance of quality specifications and in
the science of pharmaceutical materials as it
pertains to functionality and process-ability).
The next decade places a high demand for
improving pharmaceutical ontology and epis-
temology such that the benefits of quality by
design methodology, which is now an im-
portant foundation of the global regulatory
system, are fully realized (15). The pharma-
ceutical science and technology, as a disci-
pline, has much work to do to fill these gaps.
Patients and their care givers need to have
trust in our systems.
India’s pharma is already a major global play-
er. It can and must nurture institutions such
as the proposed GIPQ to develop knowledge
and expertise needed to support the sector
and to also inform on ways to improve domes-
tic and global regulatory policies to meet the
needs of patients in India and across the
globe.
The pharmaceutical sector is a major part of
India’s economy. India already is and will con-
tinue to progress as one of the major econo-
mies of the world. Let this journey accelerate
(16).
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Macmillan; 2011.
3. Ted Fuhr and Katy George (McKinsey &
Co). Moving Beyond the Business Case for
QbD. 13 March 2011. http://www.pharmaqbd.com/
mckinsey_beyond_business_case_qbd/ (accessed 28
March 2016)
4. Ajaz S. Hussain. The Nation Needs a
Comprehensive Pharmaceutical Engineer-
ing Education and Research System. Phar-
maceutical Technology. September 2005.

5. 5
5. Ajaz S. Hussain. Culture of Pharmaceutical
Quality: Connecting the Dots. Biopharma Asia,
September/October 2015.
6. Ajaz S. Hussain. Culture of Pharmaceutical
Quality: Quality Management System. Biophar-
ma Asia, November/December 2015.
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Quality: Personnel Development. Biopharma
Asia, March/April 2016.
8. Ajaz S. Hussain. Strategies for making high
pharma quality affordable. Express Pharma. 2
November 2013. http://archivepharma.financialexpress.com/
sections/management/2907-strategies-for-making-high-pharma-quality-
affordable (accessed 28 March 2016).
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codynamics of placebo: Expectation effects of
price as a proxy for efficacy Neurology,84:766–
767 (2015)
10. US FDA Guidance for Industry: Size, Shape,
and Other Physical Attributes of Generic Tablets
and Capsules. June 2015.
11. Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance. Quality Excel-
lence: The next frontier for the Indian pharma-
ceutical industry (2016) http://ipa-india.org/pdf/ipa-report-
quality-excellence-2016.pdf (Accessed 28 March 2016).
12. Eric Palmer. Vertex, J&J, GSK, Novartis all
working on continuous manufacturing facilities.
FDA supports the move as a way to improve
quality in manufacturing. Fierce Pharma Manu-
facturing. February 2015. http://
www.fiercepharmamanufacturing.com/story/vertex-jj-gsk-novartis-all-
working-continuous-manufacturing-facilities/2015-02-09 . (accessed 28
March 2016).
13. Caroline Chen and Anna Edney. Generic Drugs:
As Imports Rise, Regulators Struggle. Bloom-
berg, Mar 18, 2016. http://www.bloombergview.com/quicktake/
generic-drugs . (accessed 28 March 2016).
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fices/OfficeofMedicalProductsandTobacco/CDER/UCM442666.pdf
(accessed 28 March 2016).
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oration. NIPTE Seminar at US FDA, 16 March
2016. http://www.slideshare.net/a2zpharmsci/visioning-the-next-decade-
niptefda-collaboration (accessed 28 March 2016).
16. Ajaz S. Hussain. A 21st Century Fable about
Pharmaceutical Quality and Preventing a Clash
of Cultures. LinkedIn Post. Sep 13, 2015. https://
www.linkedin.com/pulse/21st-century-fable-pharmaceutical-quality-
preventing-hussain-ph-d- (accessed 28 March 2016).
About the Author: Ajaz is a globally recognized leader in
pharmaceutical quality and is one of the most influential
‘Medicine Maker’ (named in the 100 Power list by the UK’s
Medicine Maker magazine in 2015). He trained at the Bom-
bay College of Pharmacy (B. Pharm, 1981) and received an
interdisciplinary doctoral degree from University of Cincin-
nati (1986). He began his career as Assistant Professor of
Pharmacy at the Ohio Northern University and in 1989 he
returned to University of Cincinnati as Research Assistant
Professor of Pharmaceutics. He was promoted to Associate
Professor (1992) and achieved tenure status in 1994. In
1995 he moved to the US FDA CDER as Branch Chief for
Biopharmaceutics Research and thereafter was rapidly pro-
moted with increasing oversight and policy development
responsibilities in the area of product quality (Director Prod-
uct Quality Research (DPQR) and then Director Office of
Testing and Research). In 2000 he was promoted to the
position of Deputy Director Office of Pharmaceutical Sci-
ence and served under the Senior Biomedical Research
Service (SBRS – a track under the Public Health Service
Act). His contributions at FDA range from research on spe-
cific topics (such as the Biopharmaceutics Classification
System Guidance) to global policy development (such as
ICH Q8) in the area of Quality by Design. He launched and
led the FDA’s PAT Initiative. He and his teams were recog-
nized by two FDA Scientific Achievement Awards. In 2005
he moved to Sandoz (a division of Novartis Corp.) as Vice
President and Global Head for Biopharmaceutical Develop-
ment and contributed to this organization for achieving the
industry leadership position in Biosimilars. He was then
recruited by Philip Morris International (PMI) in Switzerland
to develop adjacent business opportunities (tobacco plant-
based vaccines) and to establish a rigorous scientific basis
for tobacco harm reduction. At PMI he was promoted to the
position of Chief Scientific Officer. For about a year he
served as the Chief Scientific Officer and President Biotech-
nology at Wockhardt Ltd. He launched his consulting firm
Insight Advice and Solutions LLC in July 2013. In October
2014 he was also appointed as the Executive Director of
the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Technology and
Education, a collaboration among pharmaceutical science
and engineering programs at 15 major universities in the
USA. He was elected President of NIPTE in February
2016. Ajaz is a Fellow of the American Association of Phar-
maceutical Scientist and of the Swiss Society of Pharma-
ceutical Sciences.
Email;: Ajaz@ajazhussain.com
Phone: +12404577064