Ensuring quality in the management of outsourced activities and purchased materials

摘要

In this article, Terrance Holbrook, MasterControl, explains how working closely with suppliers and contractors, coupled with adopting robust automation tools, can yield greater visibility into partners' quality related processes and, ultimately, lead to higher quality in pharmaceutical manufacturers' outsourced activities and purchased materials. The pharmaceutical outsourcing of manufacturing, quality and development functions is expanding. It has become common for pharmaceutical manufacturers to use many suppliers, contract manufacturing organisations (CMOs), contract research organisations (CROs) and contract development and manufacturing organisations (CDMOs). As the pharmaceutical supply chain grows longer, so too do suppliers' own networks.