WARNING LETTER
Custom Assemblies, Inc.
MARCS-CMS 540535 —
April 06, 2018
Delivery Method:
VIA Electronic Mail
Product:
Medical Devices
Recipient:
Recipient Name
Mr. William A. J. Peacock
Recipient Title
President
Custom Assemblies, Inc.
330 East Main Street
PO Box 177
Pine Level
,
NC
27568
United States
Jack.Peacock@customassemblies.com
Kathy.Jackl@customassemblies.com
Issuing Office:
Division of Medical Device and Radiological Health Operations Central
United States
April 06, 2018
WARNING LETTER
CMS# 540535
Dear Mr. Peacock:
During an inspection of your firm located in Pine Level, North Carolina on July 17 through July 31, 2017, an investigator from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined that your firm manufactures intravascular (IV) administration sets, along with custom medical trays and kits. Under section 201(h) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act), 21 U.S.C. § 321(h), these products are devices because they are 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.
This inspection revealed that these devices are 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. You may find the Act and FDA's regulations through links in FDA's home page at
www.fda.gov.
We received your firm's response to the Form FDA 483 (FDA 483) dated August 11, 2017, and our evaluation is discussed below. These violations include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Failure to establish procedures for design control, as required by 21 CFR 820.30(a). Specifically, the firm manufactures approximately 70 different Class 2 medical devices that are sold to
(b)(4)
. Neither firm has established design control procedures.
We reviewed your firm's response and find it inadequate. Your firm is responsible for establishing design control procedures for those elements of design control you have responsibility for. In order to "replicate" an already marketed device, you are engaging in elements of design controls. Your firm would need to determine the design inputs (e.g., intended use, dimensions, material type, etc.) and outputs (e.g., drawings). You are also conducting elements of design verification (i.e., design output meets design input requirements) and validation (i.e., devices conform to defined user needs and intended uses) when you produce a prototype to be sent to the customer for approval based on user needs. Further, design transfer would also be conducted to ensure the device design is correctly translated into production specifications. The specifications determined based on the sample and subsequent prototype would need to be translated into production requirements and procedures.
(2) Failure 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. Four of 10 complaints reviewed (409, 410, 412, and one unnumbered/undated complaint) do not have documentation of an investigation. Additionally, there is no rationale documented on why an investigation was not performed.
B. Three of 10 complaints reviewed (349, 402, and 413) had limited investigation activities performed, and attributed all failures to the suppliers. However, there was no documented investigation into the suppliers. Further, the firm's procedure "Customer Complaint" (SOP 8.3.5, Rev. D., 7 Feb 17) states "all customers will receive some type of response and documented on the complaint form." However, there was no documented communication with the customer for any of these complaints.
C. An allegation was received from a customer that the quality/durability of the plastic used in a drainage bag was defective. The firm's procedure "Customer Complaint" states "all negative feedback from customers regarding product will be considered a complaint." However, this allegation was not documented as a complaint even though it alleged a product deficiency.
We reviewed your firm's response and it appears adequate. The implementation of your corrective actions will be reviewed during the next inspection. It is important to note that investigation activities should be documented as they are happening and according to procedural requirements.
(3) Failure to adequately establish procedures for corrective and preventive action, as required by 21 CFR 820.100(a). For example:
A. CAPA #1231 was opened on 20 Dec 2016 with no corrective action taken until 25 July 2017. The CAPA was opened due to a high number of complaints related to bonding. An initial corrective action was issued in January 2017 with a followup in February 2017. There was no documentation between February and July 2017 when it was stated the initial corrective action was not a cost effective solution and instead retrained employees on correct bonding on 25 July 2017 at which time the CAPA was closed. The "Corrective Action" procedure (SOP 8.3.6, Rev. D, 7 Feb 17) states "corrective action will be taken to prevent recurrence without undue delay."
B. The procedure "Corrective Action" procedure states "verification will be made that the corrective and preventative action is effective and will not adversely affect the manufactured product and documented in the log book." However, the corrective actions implemented for CAPA #1231 for retraining on bonding, reinforcing bonding procedures, and 100% quality checks on products had 0 days to determine if these actions were effective.
We reviewed your firm's response and it appears adequate. The implementation of your corrective actions will be reviewed during the next inspection. It is important to note that investigation activities should be documented as they are happening and according to procedural requirements. In addition, in order to maintain consistent bonding techniques, the current technique should be documented for future employees and training purposes.
(4) Failure to establish procedures for finished device acceptance, as required by 21 CFR 820.80(d). Specifically, the "Acceptance Status" procedure (SOP 8.2.12, Rev. D, 7 Feb 17) states "finished product/devices are released for distribution after all inspections have been completed, including final inspection." However, lots were released prior to all inspections being completed. For example:
A. The DHR for Lot #42087-1706 noted that 230 of 1000 devices were manufactured (actual number of devices manufactured were 240). These devices were observed to released, sold, and in the inventory of the firm's customer. The Final Inspection form in the DHR was not filled out. Further, the Final Inspection, Manufacturing Sign-off, and Certificate of Compliance forms were not signed for the devices released and sold.
B. Lot #36997-1411 documents 500 devices were completed on 23 Jan 15, 86 devices on 24 Mar 15, 150 devices on 12 May 15, and 100 devices on 14 May 15. The Final Inspection form for the above devices was signed 14 May 15. However, documentation demonstrated devices were received by customers on 2 Feb 15 and 30 Mar 15, prior to the Final Inspection form sign-off.
We reviewed your firm's response and it appears adequate. The implementation of your corrective actions will be reviewed during the next inspection.
(5) Failure to document rework and reevaluation activities in the device history record, as required by 21 CFR 820.90(b)(2). Specifically, lot #36997-1411 had 86 units returned that were confirmed to have a product defect. The complaint file for these devices states the 86 units were returned for rework and that the corrective action was to rebond the devices. However, the DHR does not contain any documentation of the rework activities.
We reviewed your firm's response and it appears adequate. The implementation of your corrective actions will be reviewed during the next inspection.
(6) Failure to adequately establish procedures for changes to a specification, as required by 21 CFR 820.70(b). Specifically, the "Changes in Products" procedure (SOP 8.2.1.2, rev. A, 1 Mar 13) states "changes are made by customer and approved by customer before product is produced ... design/specifications are made by the customer." However, lot #36997-1411 of part #S4231-01 Rev B had a material change during manufacturing without notifying the specification developer/customer. Further, the purchase order for 800 units was stamped "MAKE NO CHANGE TO MATERIAL OR PROCESS WITHOUT. .. APPROVAL." A deviation form documented that 18 of 836 pieces had T0079 (material: 2232A/R-78S NON-DEHP) tubing replaced with T0136 (material: 6811-02 68 Shore A hardness containing DEHP).
We reviewed your firm's response and find it inadequate. Although the inner diameter and outer diameter did not change with the substitution of a different supplier's tubing, the material of the tubing did change. All changes should have been approved through your customer, as the customer's purchase order clearly states "MAKE NO CHANGE TO MATERIAL OR PROCESS WITHOUT. .. APPROVAL." It is important for the customer (in this case, whose name appears on the label) to review and approve changes in the device so that they can make a determination whether the change may affect the quality of the finished device.
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 to which the Quality System regulation violations are reasonably related 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.
Additionally, for your information, after reviewing your firm's MOR Procedure titled "8.2.21 Medical Device Reporting," Revision A, dated 3/1/2013, the following issues were noted:
(1) The procedure does not establish internal systems that provide for timely and effective identification, communication, and evaluation of events that may be subject to MDR requirements. For example, the procedure omits definitions for the terms "become aware", "caused or contributed", "malfunction" and "serious injury", found in 21 CFR 803.3 and the definition for the term "reasonably suggests," found in 803.20(c)(1). 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).
(2) The procedure does not establish internal systems that provide for a standardized review process to determine when an event meets the criteria for reporting under this part. For example, there are no instructions for how your firm will evaluate information about an event to make MDR reportability determinations in a timely manner.
(3) The procedure does not establish internal systems that provide for timely transmission of complete medical device reports. Specifically, the following are not addressed:
a. The circumstances under which your firm must submit supplemental or follow-up and 5 day reports and the requirements for such reports.
b. How your firm will submit all information reasonably known to it for each event. Specifically, which sections of the electronic Form 3500A will need to be completed to include all information found in your firm's possession and any information that becomes available as a result of a reasonable follow up within your firm.
(4) The procedure does not describe how your firm will address documentation and recordkeeping requirements, including:
a. Documentation of adverse event related information maintained as MDR event files.
b. Systems that ensure access to information that facilitates timely follow-up and inspection by FDA.
In your response dated August 11, 2017 you described the revision to "Complaint and Non-Conformance Investigation Form." However, you did not provide a copy of a revised MDR procedure. In addition, your response did not provide a description or evidence of consideration for systemic corrective actions to address the issues noted in the current MDR procedure.
If your firm wishes to discuss MDR reportability criteria or to schedule further communications, you may contact the Reportability Review Team by email at ReportabilityReviewTeam@fda.hhs.gov.
Please notify this office in writing within fifteen business days from the date you receive this letter of the specific steps your firm has taken to correct the noted violations, as well as an explanation of how your firm plans to prevent these violations, or similar violations, from occurring again. Include documentation of the corrections and/or corrective actions (which must address systemic problems) that your firm has taken. If your firm's planned corrections and/or corrective actions will occur over time, please include a timetable for implementation of those activities. If corrections and/or corrective actions cannot be completed within fifteen business days, state the reason for the delay and the time within which these activities will be completed. Your firm's response should be comprehensive and address all violations included in this Warning Letter.
If you have questions regarding any issues in this letter, please contact Compliance Officer, Melissa Michurski at
612-758-7185
or at melissa.michurski@fda.hhs.gov. Please send your reply electronically to Blake Bevill, Program Division Director, oradevices2firmresponse@fda.hhs.gov. Refer to the Unique Identification Number (CMS Case# 540535) when replying.
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 products into compliance.
Sincerely,
/S/
Blake Bevill, MS
Program Division Director
Office of Medical Device and Radiological Health
Division 2 - Central
Content current as of:
04/17/2018
Regulated Product(s)
Medical Devices