Improved quality control metrics for cascade impaction measurements of orally inhaled drug products (OIPs).

This study of aerodynamic mass-weighted particle size distribution (APSD) data from orally inhaled products (OIPs) investigated whether a set of simpler (than currently used) metrics may be adequate to detect changes in APSD for quality control (QC) purposes. A range of OIPs was examined, and correlations between mass median aerodynamic diameter and the ratio of large particle mass (LPM) to small particle mass (SPM) were calculated. For an Andersen cascade impactor, the LPM combines the mass associated with particle sizes from impactor stage 1 to a product-specific boundary size; SPM combines the mass of particles from that boundary through to terminal filter.

A two one-sided parametric tolerance interval test for control of delivered dose uniformity--part 2--effect of changing parameters.

This article examines the effects of changing parameters in the test which was proposed by the FDA at the October 2005 Advisory Committee meeting for confirming delivered dose uniformity in orally inhaled and nasal drug products. This article is an extension of the characterization study presented in an accompanying article (Part 1). The goal of this study is to understand how parameters of the test affect the test performance.

A two one-sided parametric tolerance interval test for control of delivered dose uniformity. Part 1--characterization of FDA proposed test.

The FDA proposed a parametric tolerance interval (PTI) test at the October 2005 Advisory Committee meeting as a replacement of the attribute (counting) test for delivered dose uniformity (DDU), published in the 1998 draft guidance for metered dose inhalers (MDIs) and dry powder inhalers (DPIs) and the 2002 final guidance for inhalation sprays and intranasal products. This article (first in a series of three) focuses on the test named by the FDA "87.5% coverage.

A two one-sided parametric tolerance interval test for control of delivered dose uniformity--part 3--investigation of robustness to deviations from normality.

The robustness of the parametric tolerance interval test, which was proposed by the Food and Drug Administration for control of delivered dose uniformity in orally inhaled and nasal drug products, is investigated in this article using different scenarios for deviations from a univariate normal distribution. The studied scenarios span a wide range of conditions, the purpose of which is to provide an understanding of how the test performs depending on the nature and degree of the deviation from normality. Operating characteristic curves were generated to compare the performance of the test for different types of distributions (normal and non-normal) having the same proportion of doses in the tails (on one or both sides) outside the target interval.

Minimizing variability of cascade impaction measurements in inhalers and nebulizers.

The purpose of this article is to catalogue in a systematic way the available information about factors that may influence the outcome and variability of cascade impactor (CI) measurements of pharmaceutical aerosols for inhalation, such as those obtained from metered dose inhalers (MDIs), dry powder inhalers (DPIs) or products for nebulization; and to suggest ways to minimize the influence of such factors. To accomplish this task, the authors constructed a cause-and-effect Ishikawa diagram for a CI measurement and considered the influence of each root cause based on industry experience and thorough literature review. The results illustrate the intricate network of underlying causes of CI variability, with the potential for several multi-way statistical interactions.

Product Quality Research Institute evaluation of cascade impactor profiles of pharmaceutical aerosols. Part 3. Final report on a statistical procedure for determining equivalence.

The purpose of this article is to report final results of the evaluation of a chi-square ratio test proposed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for demonstrating equivalence of aerodynamic particle size distribution (APSD) profiles of nasal and orally inhaled drug products. A working group of the Product Quality Research Institute previously published results demonstrating some limitations of the proposed test. In an effort to overcome the test's limited discrimination, the group proposed a supplemental test, a population bioequivalence (PBE) test for impactor-sized mass (ISM).

Comparison of two approaches for treating cascade impaction mass balance measurements.

The multistage cascade impactor (CI) is the most appropriate tool for measuring the aero-dynamic particle size distribution (APSD) of active pharmaceutical ingredient(s) (API) in the aerosol from an orally inhaled drug product. It is possible to determine the total emitted mass per actuation of the inhaler by summing the individual component results obtained when determining APSD. The determination of total mass per actuation recovered from the CI components (or "mass balance" [MB]) has inherently lower precision than that of a delivered dose (DD) determination.