Pharmaceutical Impurity Testing

Experienced cell-based neutralizing antibody assay capabilities. Our experts, at our GLP/GCP compliant laboratory, evaluate each therapeutic, conduct tailored assay development and ensure that each assay is optimized to suitably determine the presence of NAb with maximum possible level of drug toleran...

Our vaccines development experts provide a suite of services supporting the analysis and quality control of process and batch release samples and stability studies. We have support the development of a range of vaccines including mRNA, protein, glycoprotein, DNA, carbohydrate, lipopolysaccharide, lipi...

To address the challenges of product related impurities including truncated and other modified forms, aggregates, precursors and other degradation products arising during processing and/or storage, we deliver detailed characterization in reference to the ICH Q6B Guidance using a diverse range of techn...

Viral vector characterization and release testing services from Intertek's centre of Excellence for Biologics Characterisation, help you to establish and address critical quality attributes (CQAs) that impact product safety, purity, and potency. We deliver robust analytical assays to assess vector pro...

We design bespoke analytical programmes that ensure that the relevant quality attributes for your drug substance or product are evaluated to support your manufacturing process changes. We select analytics referenced by the ICH Q6B to examine the product's structural features (primary, secondary and&nb...

Our scientists use Real-time qPCR and digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) techniques for robust quantification to support process validation, monitor batch to batch variation and support of GMP lot release, helping to ensure that products produced from a range of common host cell lines (HEK293, E.coli an...

In line with ICH Q6B, we deliver glycosylation analysis for proteins, antibodies, bispecifics including assessment of the glycosylation site, carbohydrate content and glycan structure. With a range of MS approaches, our protein characterisation scientists provide detailed glycosylation studies designed to ...

Advanced therapy medicinal product (ATMP) analytical services & chemistry, manufacturing, and control (CMC) support including characterisation, stability and release testing. Our GLP / GCP / GMP laboratories have supported developers and manufacturers for over 20 years through the provision of adv...

We provide higher-order structure analysis to drive insight into the secondary and tertiary structures of protein in “normal “presentation as well as a function of temperature and pH, allowing the study of subtle structure changes that may occur during processing, storage or handling as well as protein agg...

Intertek offers quantitative immunoassays such as ligand binding assays for toxicokinetic and pharmacokinetic studies supporting biologic preclinical and clinical development. Our capabilities for quantitative immunoassays include developing methods for biologics and biosimilars, method transfer, opti...

Our falsified medicine analysis expertise is ideally positioned to address the highly technical issues involved in investigating the increasingly sophisticated falsified medicines or counterfeit medicines being discovered in legitimate supply chains. As a key tool in our pharmaceutical supply chain su...

We provide pharmaceutical organic and inorganic elemental analysis from trace levels to percent levels. Trace metals testing is a routine activity for our Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) laboratories and is carried out in accordance with pharmacopeia methods such as the United States Pharm...

In Vitro Test Methods for Nasal Drug Products VIDEO: Learn how our Alberta Idealised Nasal Inlet (AINI) capability can deliver enhanced IVBE studies for generics and support the development of novel intranasal products targeting specific nasal regions 

Covering our full breadth of contract laboratory services, auditing and regulatory consultancy expertise, this brochures provides a summary of our global capabilities.
Visit www.intertek.com/pharmaceutical for more information.

Celebrating 15 years of delivering flexible auditing solutions for the global healthcare, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics sectors, our Pharmaceutical Audit Services Team have continually innovated to build a set of relevant auditing services to help clients meet the evolving challenges of driving quality and visibility across complex global supply chains.

Our inhalation product experts have been working in the inhaled and nasal fields for nearly 30 years and possess the necessary experience to help design, implement and support full development, stability and testing services which are designed to provide the right information at the right time. Bringing quality and safety to life, we offer Total Quality Assurance expertise to help you to meet and exceed quality, safety and regulatory standards.

Our library of digital resources is available to enhance your knowledge-base and educate you along every step of the drug development process. Keep up-to-date with industry hot topics and the latest research developed by our thought-leaders. 

WHAT SHOULD YOU EXPECT FROM YOUR OUTSOURCING PARTNER? WHAT DOES YOUR OUTSOURCING PARTNER NEED FROM YOU? 
Intertek Melbourn have provided GMP stability storage services since 2004. Our Stability team are currently coordinating over 200 stability studies for more than different 30 clients from across all global territories. We offer over 375,000L of capacity over various conditions, including ICH and bespoke conditions.

Intertek Pharmaceutical Services has expanded laboratories services supporting mRNA vaccine and therapeutic products. At our GLP / GCP / GMP laboratories, scientists can test mRNA drug substance or drug products to help you confidently assess batch to batch manufacture and process repeatability as well as the quality of mRNA. Additionally, our experts provide mRNA specific methods including integrity, potency, capping efficiency, residual DNA template, residual dsRNA and delivery system testing. 

Our team support you across your development and production lifecycle including cGMP and GLP/GCP compliant characterization, stability, release testing and bioanalysis. You will need a strategic partner who invests in scientific and technical excellence to help you to develop and launch a pipeline of new products that meet the needs of patients, buyers and consumers.

Our scientists have supported oligo medicine drug development since the inception of this class of therapeutics. Through our dedicated suite of characterisation techniques we are focused on helping you to meet industry requirements for regulatory compliant (GMP or GLP) characterisation and quality control for oligonucleotide based drugs. Bringing quality and safety to life, our Total Quality Assurance expertise is delivered consistently to help you ensure you meet and exceed your quality, safety and efficacy requirements. 

We have nearly 30 years of experience in biopharmaceutical development support across a wide range of product types, including proteins, monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, PEGylated proteins, antibody drug conjugates, peptides, cytokines (e.g., interferons), oligonucleotides, glycoproteins, and biosimilars. With broad capabilities in Europe and North America, our Total Quality Assurance expertise is delivered consistently to help you meet and exceed your quality, safety, and efficacy requirements. Intertek's experts provide strong scientific and technical leadership, coupled with project management and regulatory support, to drive your development and manufacturing programs forward.

Global Stability Storage Facilities and Services.

Bioanalysis plays a critical role in the assessment of drug safety and efficacy. We understand that each project presents its unique challenges, and by applying our nearly 30 years of experience in conducting regulatory bioanalytical studies, our teams work closely with you to ensure that the best possible solutions are delivered, optimizing value for your programs. With Intertek as your partner, you have access to the scientific and regulatory knowledge of our bioanalytical experts, so that you can leverage the insight we bring to accelerate your drug development.

By integrating advanced analytical technology with a heritage supporting pharmaceutical product development, our experts offer Total Quality Assurance to help you ensure the safety, efficacy, and quality of your mRNA therapy.

The complexity of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs)  and their mode of action, present many challenges to development. Our experts provide analytical development and routine testing to help you meet regulatory expectations for safety and efficacy. 

Fit-for-purpose solutions for exploratory and confirmatory biomarkers.

Stability studies play a fundamental role across the lifecycle of pharmaceutical products to demonstrate that a new drug substance or drug product is within acceptable chemical and physical limits.

A host of considerations must be incorporated into the study design at the outset, with many variables that depend on the product type, the development phase, and the region that the product will be marketed in. In this paper, Tasmina Bokhari, Stability Team Leader, provides a review of the role stability studies play across the product development process.

Download whitepaper: www.intertek.com/pharmaceutical/stability-studies-drug-product-lifecycle

In this whitepaper, our oligonucleotide services experts describe analytical approaches to achieve identification and and characterisation including melting temperature determination, structural characterisation using NMR and high resolution mass spectrometry and determination of product or process related impurities.

In this whitepaper our expert, describes analytical approaches to evaluate the physicochemical properties of liposomes for drug delivery systems according to the FDA Guidance for Liposome Drug Products.

An introduction to N-linked glycosylation and available approaches for characterization.

N-linked glycosylation is a common post-translational modification on many antibody-based therapeutics, and has been linked to safety, stability and activity. Glycosylation should therefore be monitored and controlled.

In this white paper, our expert Michael Walker discusses complementary N-linked glycosylation characterization techniques that give relative levels of different glycoforms at specific sites and compares them to more common methodologies of enzymatic stripping and fluorescent labelling.

Download whitepaper: www.intertek.com/pharmaceutical/glycosylation-analytical-approaches-whitepaper-intertek

In this article our expert describes key considerations for the characterization of viral vectors including a case study focusing on the determination of empty vs full capsids.

In this whitepaper our expert describes the applications, considerations and challenges of utilizing Flow Cytometry techniques in a regulatory environment.

In this article our expert describes a strategy for screening nitrosamines that delivers clear and accurate results and avoids false positives, by applying both LC-MS/MS and HRMS techniques.

In this e-book, our expert looks at how a partnership with an experienced CRO can enable your business continuity through flexible analytical laboratory solutions with a focus on efficient method transfer.

This article discusses analytical approaches to characterise mRNA in early-stage development to support effective therapeutic programs.

In this article our expert describes new approaches to study design that lead to reliable, more robust cell potency assays.

In this article our experts describe the challenges which must be overcome when characterizing monoclonal antibodies in a GMP environment.

In this article our experts describe key considerations for the characterisation of bispecific antibodies.

Repurposing Vaccines for Intranasal Development
Benefits, Challenges and Considerations For a Non-Invasive Yet Effective Delivery

Intranasal vaccination offers significant benefits including ease of administration, and the potential induction of mucosal-specific as well as systemic immunity. Liquid and dry powder formulations can be delivered by intranasal routes. Challenges to development though, are posed by inefficient absorption, low permeability of the nasal tissues for high molecular weight therapeutics, and rapid mucociliary clearance, amongst others.In this article, Mark Parry, Technical Director, describes the challenges to intranasal delivery with a focus on how strategic formulation and device selection for mucosal vaccine delivery can help overcome development challenges.
Download whitepaper: 
www.intertek.com/pharmaceutical/repurposing-vaccines-vaccines-intranasal-development

In order to mitigate the risks of potentially harmful substances leaching from contact materials or process tubing into a medicinal/pharmaceutical product which may present a health risk to the patient, a robust approach to extractables and leachables (E&L) studies is required in order to gain a good understanding of the materials in the tubing products. In this short article, our expert, Dr Tino Otte, Senior Scientific Consultant, describes the steps of a rigorous E&L study that can be taken to ensure safe and high-quality materials and tubing products

The significance and challenges of delivering a biologic drug to the lungs and the nose.
Inhaled biologics have been forecast to grow in importance due to the fact that inhalation presents a highly attractive route for the administration of various classes of large molecule, particularly for the treatment of respiratory diseases. Here, Chris Vernall, Business Development Director, Intertek Pharmaceutical Services, discusses the significance and difficulties of biologics in the inhalables sector, and how Intertek’s Centre of Excellence for Inhaled and Nasal Biologics provides valuable services for those developing products in this area.

Nebuliser delivery of drugs offers a patient-friendly means of transforming a medicine into a breathable aerosol. They offer the advantage, over other types of inhaled device (such as pMDIs or DPIs), in that they do not require such strict patient coordination between inhalation and actuation, and so they are effective for the treatment of paediatric, elderly, ventilated and sedated patients.
Intertek Melbourn have been supporting clients’ product development for nearly 30 years across all classes of inhaled and nasal delivery technologies including nebulised therapeutics. In this bite-sized article our Formulation and Manufacturing Lead, David Ward, shares some considerations for successful development of nebulised drugs.

With a focus on bioequivalence testing in the development of generic inhalables, Mark Parry, Technical Director, Intertek Melbourn, highlights some of the shortcomings of aerodynamic particle size distribution and delivered dose testing, and introduces newer testing techniques that Intertek offers to allow its clients to de-risk clinical studies or even to support robustly in vitro data submissions as to avoid clinical work.

 The phenomenon of glass delamination is a serious quality issue. Delamination is characterised by the formation of small glass flakes, also known as lamellae, which are shed from the internal surface of the glass container, pH changes and extraction of ions from the glass material leaching into the product – all of which have significant potential to compromise product quality whilst also compromising the overall glass structure.

This white paper summarises testing approaches (such as USP<1660>), predictive screening studies, interaction studies, leaching experiments and microscopy investigations which can help to mitigate the risks which glass delamination pose to product quality and patient safety.

Transdermal delivery patches often contain multiple materials, adhesives and inks which increase the risk of unwanted leaching of potentially harmful substances from these materials. Such substances may penetrate the skin barrier and into the patient. For this reason, strategically designed extractables and leachables (E&L) studies are of critical importance to the development of transdermal delivery products.
In this application note, Dr Tino Otte, Senior Scientific Consultant, Intertek Reinach, describes the steps required to implement and adapt an E&L study design for a transdermal delivery patch device.

We describe the critical attributes required for a successful strategic partnership between a Contract Laboratory Organisation and sponsor and the benefits that this approach can yield. Download now to learn from our experts.

We look at how the nasal route of drug administration offers the potential to improve delivery of biologics and why strategic formulation is required to make this a reality.

Intertek's cell and gene therapy experts provide analytical development to help you meet regulatory expectations for safety and efficacy of your products. Cell and gene therapies are complex medicines for human use that are based on genes, tissues or cells. In addition, these may be incorporated into a delivery technology or a medical device. The wide variety of products within this category and their inherent complexity means that each will present different analytical development challenges and so specific characterisation, potency, purity and identity assays are required for each product. 
Learn more: 
www.intertek.com/pharmaceutical/biopharmaceuticals/gene-therapy-characterisation

Inhaled and nasal delivery platforms have specific applications outside of their traditional uses for asthma/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and seasonal rhinitis/sinusitis: They can offer real advantages for the delivery of therapeutic biologics. During this short presentation, Intertek's Technical Director, Mark Parry, will provide an overview of currently available technologies and successfully marketed products, with a look at the development challenges that might be encountered — and the solutions that are available — when formulating these delivery routes. Mark will also describe key considerations when rapidly repurposing existing products for inhaled delivery.

To ensure patient safety, precise knowledge about potential contamination associated with a drug product container closure systems (CCS) or single use process equipment is critical. As the complexity of materials and construction of CCS or process equipment increases, the risk of leachables being introduced as drug impurities increases significantly. Authorities are focused on accurate determination of leachables present in the real drug matrix and this demands the need for sensitive and robust analytical effort and interpretation of complicated complicates data.
During this presentation, our expert, Dr Tino Otte, Head Consulting at Intertek in Switzerland, focuses on how to design a robust extractables and leachables study design which covers all necessary steps to meet regulatory expectations whilst highlighting potential challenges of such a study with strategies and examples of how to address these challenges.

This video describes Intertek's GMP Cryo-TEM Services supporting the development of safe and effective advanced therapies.

In this webinar, our expert, Dr Tino Otte, Head Consulting at Intertek in Switzerland, discuss extractables and leachables studies which have been performed on multiple product types and contact materials. With increasing focus by the authorities on the accurate determination of leachables in real formulations, one of the biggest challenges is to differentiate between matrix related degradation products and real leachables from the packaging or contact materials. Typical examples and case studies will illustrate how, through a strategic approach, it is possible to differentiate between the two. Furthermore, these case studies will illustrate why it is important to analyse leachables in the actual formulation and not only in extraction solutions.

The characterization and quantification of impurities in pharmaceutical products is a critical part of quality control. In many cases, routine analysis techniques are not sufficient to fully characterize the impurity profile due to overlapping of peaks, low peak intensity or inaccurate mass detection. Even if the correct molar mass of a compound is known, multiple structures are still possible and the real concentration often cannot be detected due to absence of chemically similar standards. In this webinar, our expert speaker Sandro Laiso we will highlight different approaches to characterize impurities in pharmaceutical products, step by step, making use of unique combinations of analytical techniques such as PRE-LC, HR-MS or qNMR. 

Delivery to the lungs is important for COVID-19 and there is currently an unprecedented need to accelerate development of effective therapies and vaccines. There is a focus on repurposing existing candidates as a strategic route to get the products to patients faster, however, many candidates are not yet in a format suitable for delivery to the lungs. Redevelopment must be fast, effective and accurate with tight control over quality in order to get a drug ready for clinical trials. In this webinar, Mark Parry, Technical Director, Intertek Melbourn, describes the strategies required for rapid repurposing for inhaled delivery, discussing considerations whilst mitigating anticipated challenges.

Development of Next-Generation of mRNA-Based Vaccines & Therapeutics: With a combination of state-of-the-art analytical technology and a long history of working with advanced pharmaceutical development, our experts in Total Quality Assurance assist you in the drug development process. Get in touch with us today to learn how we can help you ensure the quality, efficacy, and safety of your mRNA therapy.

Structure elucidation and quantification of unknown species is one of the biggest challenges during development of analytical methods for routine quality control. The advantage of the NMR is the relatively simple and robust sample preparation combined with unique selectivity which often differs from those of chromatographic techniques. In many cases, matrix components and target species will show NMR signals with opposite shifts which enables the characterization of the targets directly in the sample mixture. In this webinar, we will explain how quantitative NMR can be used as a powerful tool for characterization of isolated unknowns or even complex mixtures of different compounds. Our expert will explain the advantages of the NMR method in detail with typical examples from routine analysis.

To ensure patient safety, precise knowledge about potential contamination associated with medical device materials is critical. For this reason, a robust chemical characterization is the first and mandatory step of any biocompatibility study which is performed according to the most recent version of the ISO 10993 guidance. With increasing complexity of medical devices and combination products, the risk of leachables being introduced into the body increases significantly. Depending on the type/class of device, application scenario and contact time, extractables and leachable studies can be divided in different sub-steps to build a comprehensive understanding of the related risks. 
During this webinar, our expert, Dr Tino Otte, Head Consulting at Intertek in Switzerland, will provide an analytical strategy for e/l screenings with a focus on the problems which may occur when targets above the analytical evaluation threshold are detected.

Structural integrity of protein-based therapeutics is one of the major challenges in the biopharmaceutical industry where multiple factors such as the stability, efficacy and shelf life could be affected following minor changes in manufacturing process. Multiple biophysical methods employing spectroscopic and calorimetric tools can be used for analysing Higher Order Structure (HOS). This presentation from Intertek’s biophysical expert, Anshuman Shukla, details different biophysical techniques, their application and usefulness in a regulatory setting.

Vaccines represent a diverse class of products within the pharmaceutical industry. All are complex and present their own unique challenges not only in production but in the design and implementation of strategic characterisation and quality control programs. The highest levels of safety and efficacy should be ensured through application of phase specific validated analytical methods.


In this webinar, our expert, Ashleigh Wake, describes how to build strategic quality control programs, with a focus on mRNA and DNA-based vaccines, which are product and phase specific covering the need for specialist, bespoke analytical approaches for these highly complex products.

In this webinar our expert discusses our HEK293 and E.Coli  Residual DNA quantification assays comparing a quantitative PCR (qPCR) approach with a more recent digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) technique in terms of sensitivity and reproducibility as well as discussing technical challenges.

Antibody-based Therapeutics N-linked glycosylation is a common post-translational modification on many antibody-based therapeutics, and has been linked to safety, stability and activity. Modification should therefore be monitored and controlled.


During this webcast, our expert Michael Walker discusses peptide mapping and middle-up mass spectrometry as characterization techniques that give relative levels of different glycoforms at specific sites, and compares to more common methodologies of enzymatic stripping and fluorescent labelling.

Intertek pharmaceutical contract laboratory services, regulatory guidance and supply chain assurance brings quality and safety to life to support your unique pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical outsourcing requirements. Our scientists and regulatory experts work with you at every stage of development, providing consistently high quality and flexible GLP/GMP/GCP services that enable you to achieve a marketplace advantage. We enable our clients to navigate the challenges of new product development, scale up, manufacturing and market release through our specialist services including analysis, bioanalysis, formulation development, biologics characterization, inhalation development, regulatory consultancy, risk assessment, auditing and supply chain management solutions.

This session was originally broadcast as part of the CPHI Worldwide 2021 digital content programme.
In today's dynamic pharmaceutical landscape, companies look to focus on their core competencies and outsource for success. In this webinar, based on our 20+ years of experience providing flexible outsourcing strategies to the world's most innovative biopharmaceutical organisations, we share key learnings and discuss four key considerations for a perfect outsourcing partnership with a contract research organisation that helps to build mutual trust, optimise cost efficiencies, and mitigate risks:
Communication What mode works for you? Focus on critical attributes Leverage partnership benefits

We share our thoughts on stability requirements for new drug substance or drug product, and steps required to ensure a robust stability program is implemented.

Watch our video tour now: https://youtu.be/XNRFUlrZcVQ

Our scientists provide consistently high quality and flexible GLP/GMP/GCP services to enable you to navigate the challenges of new product development, scale up, manufacturing and market release.

With all ICH conditions storage and over 375,000L of capacity, including large scale walk-in units, bespoke storage cabinets and standard or ULT freezers, we provide end-to-end support for design, testing, storage and management for #pharma #stability studies. Learn More: https://www.intertek.com/pharmaceutical/analysis/stability/

We focus on critical parameters impacting drug delivery efficacy to intended targets across all respiratory product classes (Nasal, DPIs, pMDIs, nebulizers..)

Our shared audits or joint audits for pharma or cosmetic supply chains provide a cost-effective solution for the audit of suppliers/subcontractors

Over the last 30 years, our network of GLP, GCP or cGMP laboratories and consultants have provided high quality custom services

Contract pharmaceutical laboratory services and outsourcing support to accelerate and optimise your drug development programs

30 years’ experience in stability studies integrated with comprehensive understanding of the latest developments in regional, country and ICH guidance.

Our scientists conduct E&L analysis studies in accordance with regional guidance and nationally and internationally recognized standards

Our thought-leaders have over 25 years’ experience in biopharma development support proteins, mRNA, mAbs, vaccines, ADCs, peptides, oligos, biosimilars +

Formulation development, reformulation, product characterization, method dev and validation, inhaler testing, device verification, IV BE, CMC support for NDAs +

Oligonucleotide analysis and drug development support services from the initial characterisation and CMC through to long term quality control.

With a network of ICH stability facilities in the UK, US and Australia, we offer extensive storage capacity and a range of conditions.

30 years of experience in conducting regulatory bioanalytical studies, optimizing value for your programs.

To meet growing demand for supplier information and greater detail about specific sites, our clients are increasingly requesting the purchase of audit reports

Rapid implementation and optimisation of your audit schedule, providing a ‘win-win’ solution

Assessment of extractables and leachables for pharmaceutical packaging and delivery systems, to assess interactions between drug formulations and materials

Genotoxic impurities analysis to assess and control DNA reactive mutagenic impurities in pharmaceuticals

Extractables and leachables to quantify risks associated with leachable impurities from container closure systems for packaging human drugs, process equipment

Comprehensive biopharmaceutical bioanalysis, analysis, characterization, and potency services

Formulation strategies, testing, characterisation, stability, performance/release testing and clinical manufacturing capabilities for inhaled or nasal delivery

Bioanalytical Expertise from Preclinical to Commercialisation

GMP Stability programs and ICH stability storage

Over 30 years of E&L study expertise across all CCS formats

Contract drug development expertise to accelerate your inhaled biomolecule to market

Formulation, Device selection, Stability, Analytical, CTM and more from our COE for OINDP development

CMC Development Support, Characterisation, Stability and Quality Control Services

CMC Development Support, Characterisation, Stability, and Quality Control Services

CMC Development & Delivery Technologies Support, Characterisation, Stability and Quality Control Services

30 years of biologics drug development support services, characterization, E&L, stability and drug delivery support (OINDP and other formats)

Contract pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical GLP/GCP/GMP laboratory services, supply chain audits and regulatory guidance

Over the past 30 years, Intertek Melbourn, UK, has provided clients with testing and development services for orally inhaled and nasal drug products, including method development/validation, stability, CMC support, formulation development, repurposing, and clinical manufacturing.