PHOTOSTABILITY OF DRUG SUBSTANCE:
For drug substances, photostability testing should consist of two parts: forced degradation testing and confirmatory testing.
The purpose of forced degradation testing studies is to evaluate the overall photosensitivity of the material for method development purposes and/or degradation pathway elucidation.
This testing may involve the drug substance alone and/or in simple solutions/suspensions to validate the analytical procedures.
In these studies, the samples should be in chemically inert and transparent containers.
In these forced degradation studies, a variety of exposure conditions may be used, depending
on the photosensitivity of the drug substance involved and the intensity of the light sources used.
For development and validation purposes it is appropriate to limit exposure and end the studies if extensive decomposition occurs.
For photostable materials, studies may be terminated after an appropriate exposure level has been used.
The design of these experiments is left to the applicant’s discretion although the exposure levels used should be justified.
Under forcing conditions, decomposition products may be observed that are unlikely to be formed under the conditions used for confirmatory studies.
This information may be useful in developing and validating suitable analytical methods.
If in practice it has been demonstrated they are not formed in the confirmatory studies, these
degradation products need not be further examined.
Confirmatory studies should then be undertaken to provide the information necessary for handling, packaging, and labeling (see section Procedure, and Presentation, for information on the design of these studies).
Normally, only one batch of drug substance is tested during the development phase, and then the photostability characteristics should be confirmed on a single batch selected as described in the Parent Guideline if the drug is clearly photostable or photolabile.
If the results of the confirmatory study are equivocal, testing of up to two additional batches should be conducted.
Samples should be selec
ted as described in the Parent Guideline.
Presentation of Samples
Care should be taken to ensure that the physical characteristics of the samples under test are taken into account and efforts should be made, such as cooling and/or placing the samples in sealed containers, to ensure that the effects of the changes in physical states such as sublimation, evaporation or melting are minimized.
All such precautions should be chosen to provide minimal interference with the exposure of
samples under test.
Possible interactions between the samples and any material used for containers or for general protection of the sample should also be considered and eliminated wherever not relevant to the test being carried out.
As a direct challenge for samples of solid drug substances, an appropriate amount of
sample should be taken and placed in a suitable glass or plastic dish and protected
with a suitable transparent cover if considered necessary.
Solid drug substances should be spread across the container to give a thickness of typically not more than 3 millimeters.
Drug substances that are liquids should be exposed in chemically inert and transparent containers.
Analysis of Samples
At the end of the exposure period, the samples should be examined for any changes in physical properties (e.g., appearance, clarity, or color of solution) and for assay and degradants by a method suitably validated for products likely to arise from photochemical degradation processes.
Where solid drug substance samples are involved, sampling should ensure that a representative portion is used in individual tests.
Similar sampling considerations, such as homogenization of the entire sample, apply to other materials that may not be homogeneous after exposure.
The analysis of the exposed sample should be performed concomitantly with that of any protected samples used as dark controls if these are used in the test.
Judgment of Results
The forced degradation studies should be designed to provide suitable information to develop and validate test methods for the confirmatory studies.
These test methods should be capable of resolving and detecting photolytic degradants that appear during the confirmatory studies.
When evaluating the results of these studies, it is important to recognize that they form part of the stress testing and are not therefore designed to establish qualitative or quantitative limits for change.
The confirmatory studies should identify precautionary measures needed in manufacturing or in formulation of the drug product, and if light-resistant packaging is needed.
When evaluating the results of confirmatory studies to determine whether change due to exposure to light is acceptable, it is important to consider the results from other formal Stability studies in order to assure that the drug will be within justified limits at the time of use (see the relevant ICH Stability and Impurity Guidelines)
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