Source: https://www.fda.gov/iceci/enforcementactions/warningletters/2014/ucm400813
Timestamp: 2019-02-20 10:14:57
Document Index: 423273857

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 321', '§ 351', 'art 820', '§ 352', '§ 360', 'art 806', '§ 352', '§ 360', 'art 803']

Enhancement Medical, LLC 6/4/14
Refer to MIN 14 – 20
Robert A. Hofschulz
10201 Innovation Drive, Suite 450
Dear Mr. Hofschulz:
During an inspection of your firm located in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, on 12/16/13 through 1/15/14, an investigator from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined that your firm manufactures “Expression,” which you have listed as an intranasal splint. Under section 201(h) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act), 21 U.S.C. § 321(h), this product is a device because it is intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions or in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, or to affect the structure or any function of the body.
We received your firm’s response to the form FDA-483 (FDA 483) dated 2/4/14, and our evaluation is discussed below. Violations revealed during the inspection include, but are not limited to, the following:
This inspection revealed that this device is adulterated within the meaning of section 501(h) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 351(h), in that the methods used in, or the facilities or controls used for, their manufacture, packing, storage, or installation are not in conformity with the current good manufacturing practice requirements of the Quality System regulation found at Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 820.
1. You failed to adequately establish procedures for acceptance activities, as required by 21 CFR 820.80(a). Specifically, your firm lacks objective evidence of the concentration specification of (b)(4) mg/mL being met for your Expression product. There is currently no testing performed on the finished product to ensure this requirement is achieved.
We have reviewed your response dated 2/4/14. We acknowledge your commitment to addressing the final concentration of your product, including the manufacturing process; however, you have not addressed whether or not you will continue to manufacture product and how you will assure the product manufactured will meet the specified final concentration.
2. You failed to adequately establish procedures for corrective and preventive action (CAPA), as required by 21 CFR 820.100(a). Specifically, your firm lacks written corrective and preventive action procedures that include requirements for:
A. Analyzing quality data to identify existing and potential causes of non-conforming product or other quality problems, using appropriate statistical methodology, where necessary;
B. Investigating the cause of non-conformities;
C. Identifying actions needed to correct and prevent recurrence of non-conforming product and other quality problems;
D. Verifying and validating corrective and preventive actions;
E. Implementing and recording changes necessary to correct and prevent identified quality problems;
F. Disseminating information related to quality problems and non-conforming product; and
G. Submitting relevant information for management review.
We have reviewed your response dated 2/4/14. Your response is inadequate in that you have not committed to implement the required CAPA procedure per 21 CFR 820.100(a). The regulations require a procedure to specifically address corrective and preventive actions.
3. You failed to adequately establish procedures for receiving, reviewing, and evaluating complaints by a formally designated unit, as required by 21 CFR 820.198(a). For example:
A. Your firm routinely closes complaint records without an evaluation of whether the complaint represents an event which is required to be reported to FDA as a medical device report (MDR). Examples include:
Complaint #57, received on 8/20/13, reported a patient experiencing hard nodules after injection of the Expression product in the tear trough area and mental crease area. The Adverse Event Form indicates Vitrase was administered without resolving the nodules. The complaint was closed on 10/28/13 without resolution or information regarding the patient outcome.
Complaint #59, received on 8/21/13, reported a patient with a foreign body delayed reaction and nodule under the eye. The Adverse Event Form indicates Prednisone was administered and follow-up would occur in 30 days. There is no evidence of a follow-up and the complaint was closed on 10/28/13.
Complaint #60, received on 8/26/13, reported a patient experiencing itching/swelling after injection of the Expression product. The Adverse Event Form indicates the patient required a steroid pac [sic]; however, there is no additional information regarding the patient’s outcome or if the problem was resolved. The complaint was closed on 10/28/13.
Complaint #78, received on 9/26/13, reported a patient experiencing extreme swelling after injection of the Expression product. There is no additional information regarding the patient’s outcome or if the problem was resolved. The complaint was closed on 10/10/13.
B. Your firm failed to complete separate complaint records for complaints involving multiple lots or multiple patients. As a result, your complaint data is inaccurate and incomplete for analyzing trends. For example:
Complaint #25 - three patients were injected with Expression; two patients experienced adverse effects; the complaint record does not account for the follow-up of each patient.
Complaint #28 - five patients were injected with Expression and all five patients had significant swelling; the complaint record does not account for the follow-up of each patient.
Complaint #36 - two patients were injected with Expression and experienced adverse effects; the complaint record does not account for the follow-up of each patient.
Complaint #43 - five patients were injected with Expression. The Adverse Event Form states “***seeing various patients with significant swelling***.” The complaint record does not account for the adverse effect of each patient and the outcome for each patient.
Complaint #48 - eight patients were injected with Expression and all eight patients were swollen and lumpy and one patient developed a fever. The complaint record does not account for the follow-up of each patient.
C. Your firm failed to process complaints in a timely manner. Your procedure “Returned Material Authorization (RMA) and Complaint Processing Operating Procedure,” SAMA 2003 states “***complaints are recorded and followed-up upon in a timely manner.” For example:
Complaint #0 – received on 12/4/12, complaint investigated on 7/23/13 (days lapsed: 231);
Complaint #18 – received on 3/27/13, complaint investigated on 8/2/13 (days lapsed: 128);
Complaint #21 – received on 5/30/13, complaint investigated on 8/1/13 (days lapsed: 63);
Complaint #23 – received on 6/1/13, complaint investigated on 8/1/13 (days lapsed: 61);
Complaint #26 – received on 6/6/13, complaint investigated on 8/1/13 (days lapsed: 56);
Complaint #87 – received on 11/11/13, complaint investigation not started as of this inspection (days lapsed: 65 as of 1/15/14).
We have reviewed your response dated 2/4/14. We acknowledge your commitment to addressing your complaint procedures; however, the implementation of your corrective actions will require verification during our next inspection.
4. You failed to document the evaluation of potential suppliers, contractors, and consultants, as required by 21 CFR 820.50(a)(1). Specifically, your procedure “Purchasing Operating Procedure” (PURC-1000, Revision A, 6/22/12) requires a “New Vendor Qualifications Form” or equivalent to be completed. However, this form does not exist for:
A. (b)(4), raw material supplier for hyaluronic acid;
B. (b)(4), contract manufacturer;
C. (b)(4), contract testing facility;
D. (b)(4), steam sterilizer;
E. (b)(4) & (b)(6) nurse consultant;
F. (b)(4) & (b)(6) physician consultant.
We have reviewed your response dated 2/4/14. We acknowledge your commitment to addressing your lack of documented supplier evaluation, as required per your procedure; however, the implementation of your corrective actions will require verification during our next inspection.
5. Your firm failed to perform quality audits, as required by 21 CFR 820.22. Specifically, your procedure “Internal & External Auditing Operating Procedure” (QUAL-2000, Revision A, 6/22/12) states the purpose of the procedure is “***to ensure that components of the Company’s Management System are audited for compliance on a routine basis.***” However, no internal quality audits have been performed since the inception of your company in 2012.
We have reviewed your response dated 2/4/14. We acknowledge your commitment to conduct quality audits; however, the implementation of your corrective actions will require verification during our next inspection.
Our inspection also revealed that the Expression injectable filler is misbranded under section 502(t)(2) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 352(t)(2), in that your firm failed or refused to furnish material or information respecting the device that is required by or under section 519 of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360i, and 21 CFR Part 806 – Medical Devices; Reports of Corrections and Removals. Significant violations include, but are not limited to, the following:
6. Failure to submit a written Report of Correction or Removal to FDA for a medical device correction or removal initiated to reduce a risk to health or remedy a violation of the Act caused by the device which may present a risk to health, as required by 21 CFR 806.10. For example, your firm made a decision in August 2013 to contact customers and exchange product with a lower gel weight that correlated with a significant increase in complaints of excessive swelling and/or pain experienced by patients. This removal spanned (b)(4) different lots and impacted approximately (b)(4) syringes. Your firm did not submit a written report to FDA of that removal as required by 21 CFR 806.
Our inspection also revealed that the Expression injectable filler is misbranded under section 502(t)(2) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 352(t)(2), in that your firm failed or refused to furnish material or information regarding the devices that is required by or under section 519 of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360i, and 21 CFR Part 803 – Medical Device Reporting. Significant deviations include, but are not limited to:
7. Failure to adequately develop, maintain and implement written MDR procedures, as required by 21 CFR 803.17. For example, after reviewing your firm’s MDR procedure entitled “Medical Device Incident Operating Procedure,” Document Number REGU-2003, Revision A, dated 6/22/12, the following issues were noted:
A. REGU-2003, Revision A, does not establish internal systems that provide for timely and effective identification, communication, and evaluation of events that may be subject to the MDR requirements. Specifically, the procedure omits the definitions of the terms “caused or contributed” and “reasonably suggests” from 21 CFR 803.3 and 21 CFR 803.20(c)(1), respectively. The exclusion of the definitions for these terms from the procedure may lead your firm to make an incorrect reportability decision when evaluating a complaint that may meet the criteria for reporting under 21 CFR 803.50(a).
B. REGU-2003, Revision A, does not establish internal systems that provide for timely transmission of complete medical device reports. Specifically, the following are not addressed:
Instructions for how to obtain and complete the FDA 3500A form;
The procedure does not include the address for where to submit MDR reports: FDA/CDRH/Medical Device Reporting, P.O. Box 3002, Rockville, MD 20847-3002.
In addition, REGU-2003, Revision A, includes references to baseline reports. Baseline reports are no longer required and we recommend that all references to a Baseline Report be removed from your firm’s MDR procedure (see: 73 Federal Register Notice 53686, dated 9/17/08).
The eMDR Final Rule requiring manufacturers and importers to submit electronic Medical Device Reports (eMDRs) to FDA was published on 2/13/14. The requirements of this final rule will take effect on 8/14/15. If your firm is not currently submitting reports electronically, we encourage you to visit the following web link for additional information about the electronic reporting requirements: http://www.fda.gov/ForIndustry/FDAeSubmitter/ucm107903.htm.
Your firm should take prompt action to correct the violations addressed in this letter. Failure to promptly correct these violations may result in regulatory action being initiated by the FDA without further notice. These actions include, but are not limited to, seizure, injunction, and civil money penalties. Also, federal agencies may be advised of the issuance of Warning Letters about devices so that they may take this information into account when considering the award of contracts. Additionally, premarket approval applications for Class III devices will not be approved until the violations have been corrected. Requests for Certificates to Foreign Governments will not be granted until the violations related to the subject devices have been corrected.
Finally, you should know that this letter is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of the violations at your firm’s facility. It is your firm’s responsibility to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations administered by FDA. The specific violations noted in this letter and in the Inspectional Observations, FDA 483, issued at the close of the inspection may be symptomatic of serious problems in your firm’s manufacturing and quality management systems. Your firm should investigate and determine the causes of the violations, and take prompt actions to correct the violations and bring the product into compliance.