PDA Technical Glossary

PDA Technical Glossary

PDA Technical Reports are highly valued membership benefits because they offer expert guidance and opinions on important scientific and regulatory topics and are used as essential references by industry and regulatory authorities around the world. These reports include terms which explain the material and enhance the reader’s understanding.

The database presented here includes the glossary terms from all current technical reports. The database is searchable by keyword, topic, or by technical report. Each definition provided includes a link to the source technical report within the  PDA Technical Report Portal.

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Drug Substance (DS)
The active ingredient that is subsequently formulated with excipients to produce the drug product. It can be composed of the desired product, product-related substances, and product- and process-related impurities. It may also contain excipients, including buffers and other components. [Synonyms: bulk drug substance, bulk material, active pharmaceutical ingredient (API)] (TR14) (TR57) (TR74) (TR60) Active pharmaceutical ingredient in a drug product that is responsible for that product’s therapeutic activity.(TR67) (TR82) (TR88) See Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API). (TR56)
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Excipient
A component of a drug formulation that has no active pharmacologic function. Excipients are commonly used in drug formulations as modulators of pH or osmolality for parenteral administration and as stabilizers for APIs. (TR54-4) An ingredient added intentionally to the drug substance that should not have pharmacological properties in the quantity used. (TR57) Inactive pharmaceutical ingredients in a product formulation that are responsible for the product’s manufacturability and physicochemical attributes. (TR67) (TR88)
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Formulation
A listing of the ingredients and composition of the dosage form. (TR38) The percent composition of ingredients in a product. (TR67)
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Quality Risk Management (QRM)
A systematic process for the assessment, control, communication, and review of risk to the quality of the drug product across the product lifecycle.(TR43)(TR54-2)(TR54-3)(TR57)(TR67)(TR68) Documentation to prove that an installation/ equipment/process is designed and/or tested according to predefined specifications. Documentation may include Design Qualification (DQ), Installation Qualification (IQ), Operational Qualification (OQ) and Performance Qualification (PQ).(TR58) A systematic process for the assessment, control, communication, and review of risks to the quality of the drug (medicinal) product across the product lifecycle.(TR 54-5)(TR 76)(TR88)
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