Don’t forget the Process in PAT

By Daniel R. Matlis  

Do an internet search on Process Analytical Technology and you will be bombarded with sites for companies selling sensors, software and systems claiming to meet FDA’s PAT requirements.
I’m an engineer, and I like gadgets as much as the next person, but technology ought to enable change, not drive it.
Today I see companies following two distinct paths to PAT; one is technological, the other philosophical.

The technological approach to PAT, calls for the implementation of dedicated PAT systems.  This approach generally revolves around a specific technology or set of technology products and relies on a “silver bullet” to achieve the benefits of PAT. This is often driven by sensing or process analysis tools such as SPC, process modeling and process optimization.

This approach often involves the implementation of dedicated data acquisition tools and historians to gather and analyze the data in an information-only, non-validated environment.

The second and more holistic approach requires the development of a PAT philosophy and process across the enterprise. This approach sees technology as a tool to achieving process excellence as opposed to the end goal.

It is founded on mining the vast amounts of underutilized data currently available in automation manufacturing systems, such as SCADA, CIM, Historian, Batch, EBR and MES, It also looks to systems such as LIMS and ERP to correlate process and market data to identify key performance indicators and key process parameters based on historical information. This approach mines the vast amount of existing raw data and transforms it into actionable information through deep process understanding and data modeling.

To achieve the benefits of PAT, Life-Science companies need to design, analyze and control manufacturing through timely measurements of critical quality and performance attributes of raw and in-process materials and processes with the goal of ensuring final product quality.