| Public Health Service |
Cincinnati District Office |
Departmentof Health and Human ServicesJanuary 30, 2008
WARNING LETTER
CIN-08-33785-09
VIA FEDERAL EXPRESS
Mr. Victor B. Anderson
CEO/President
A-Solutions, Inc.
3600 Chamberlain Lane, Suite 104
Louisville, Kentucky 40241-1954
Dear Mr. Anderson:
During an inspection of your firm located in Louisville, Kentucky on June 13 through July 2, 2007, investigators from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined that your firm is a manufacturer (specification developer) for reusable and disposable sharps containers. 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 are intended to affect the structure or function of the body.
This inspection revealed 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 (CGMP) requirements of the Quality System (QS) regulation found at Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 820. We received a response from you date d July 31, 2007,concerning our investigator's observations noted on the List of Inspectional Observations (FDA 483), that was issued to you. We address this response below, in relation to each of the noted violations. These violations include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Failure to establish adequate management controls to ensure that an effective quality system hasbeen established and maintained, as required by 21 CFR 820.20. Specifically:
a) Your firm has not written many of the quality procedures required by 21 CFR Part 820; and those you have written have not been implemented. [21 CFR 820.20(e)]
For example, there are no written corrective and preventive action procedures, design control procedures, complaint procedures, process control procedures, and labeling control procedures.
Additionally, the MDR procedure, purchasing control ("Vendor Selection") procedure, receiving procedure, and training procedure have not been approved and have not been implemented.
b) Your firm has not established a written quality policy. [21 CFR 820.20(a)]
We have reviewed your response and it does not contain enough information for us to determine if your corrective actions are adequate. Please provide a detailed list of all the procedures that your FDA consultant is helping your firm develop to assure you are in compliance with the Quality System regulation, 21 CFR Part 820.
2. Failure to establish procedures for quality audits and conduct such audits to assure that the quality system is in compliance with the established quality system requirements, as required by 21 CFR 820.22. Specifically, your firm has no written audit procedures and has never conducted a quality audit.
We have reviewed your response and it does not contain enough information for us to determine if your corrective actions are adequate. Please provide a copy of your written audit procedure and when you will perform an audit of your quality system.
3. Failure to establish written corrective and preventive action procedures, as required by 21 CFR 820.100.
We have reviewed your response, and it is inadequate because it does not specifically address corrective and preventive actions.
4. Failure to maintain complaint files; and failure to establish and maintain procedures for receiving, reviewing, and evaluating complaints by a formally designated unit, as required by 21 CFR 820.198(a).
We have reviewed your response, and it is inadequate because it does not address a written complaint handling procedure. Additionally, in your response, you state that you have a complaint file, but it is empty because you do not have any complaints. Since you do not place your firm's name, address and/or telephone number on the Sharps Away containers, your customers would not have known where to send their complaints.
5. Failure to maintain a complete Device Master Record (DMR) for your reusable sharps containers, as required by 21 CFR 820.181.
Specifically, your firrn has not developed a DMR that contains or refers to the location of the specifications (i.e., drawings), production process specifications (i.e., manufacturing equipment specifications), quality assurance procedures and specifications (i.e., finished device testing criteria), and packaging and labeling specifications.
We have reviewed your response and it does not contain enough information for us to determine if your corrective actions are adequate. Please provide us with a description of what information will be kept in your Device Master Record; and the timeframe in which this corrective action will be completed.
6. Failure to maintain device history records (DHRs) for the reusable sharps containers to demonstrate the device was manufactured in accordance with the device master record, as required by 21 CFR 820.184.
Specifically, your firm was placing the label on all unlabeled reusable sharps containers received from your contract manufacturer; and the dates of the labeling, quantity of devices labeled, quantity released for distribution, acceptance records, primary identification label, and any deviceidentification(s) and control number(s) were not documented.
Your response states that your firm will no longer apply the label to the containers and the contract manufacturer will perform this function. Please provide a copy of the contract manufacturer'sprocedures that ensure that DHRs are being maintained and an example of a DHR for a reusable sharps container.
7. Failure to establish and maintain instructions and procedures for performing and verifying that servicing of the reusable sharps containers meets specified requirements, as required by 21 CFR820.200.
The 510(k) cleared for your reusable sharps containers specified a reprocessing protocol for these devices and a three year shelf life with a change-out frequency of once per week. You have notdeveloped service instructions and procedures to assure that these requirements are met or that your customers are even aware of them and the resultant limitation on device life.
Your response is not adequate to address this charge. It merely states that your devices will have a three year service life. You do not address how you will establish and maintain instructions andprocedures for performing and verifying the associated servicing necessary to meet the requirements specified in your premarket notifications.
8. Failure to maintain distribution records which include or refer to the name and location of the initial consignees; the identification and quantities of devices shipped; the date shipped; and any control number(s) used, as required by 21 CFR 820.160(b).
Your response to this observation appears adequate. Please provide a copy of the written procedure and record that will be used to assure that you will be able to identify the lot number of thecontainer(s) that each customer receives.
9. Failure to perform design control activities and establish Design History Files for the reusable sharps containers, as required by 21 CFR 820.30(a) through (j).
Specifically, your firm has made several changes to the design of the reusable sharps containers and these changes have not been documented, and verification and/or validation of these changes have not been performed.
We have reviewed your response and it does not contain enough information for us to determine if your corrective actions are adequate. Please provide detailed information of the contents of the Design History File and the timeframe for which the DHF will be completed. Also provide a copy of the verification/validation for the removal of the needle un-winder, and for the use of the counter top holder with the sharps container. Also, your response indicates that there has been "no design change to the sizes of the container or the molds," but that you changed the size description of theexisting containers based on "more accurate volume assessment." Please provide further explanation and documentation of this change.
10. Failure to establish and maintain procedures to control the design of the device in order to ensure that specified design requirements are met, as required by 21 CFR 820.30(a) through (i).
We have reviewed your response and it does not contain enough information for us to determine if your corrective actions are adequate. Please provide copies of your written design control procedures and the timeframe in which these procedures will be completed and implemented.
11. Failure to ensure that all purchased or otherwise received product and services conform to specified requirements; and failure to implement written purchasing control procedures, as required by 21 CFR 820.50.
Specifically, you have not established requirements, including quality requirements that must be met by your suppliers and contract manufacturers; and have not documented your evaluation of suppliers and contract manufacturers.
We have reviewed your response and it states you are developing purchasing controls and you now have a written contract with your manufacturers. Please provide a copy of this contract, and the timeframe in which the purchasing control procedures will be completed and implemented.
Our inspection also revealed that your "Sharps Away" reusable sharps container, is adulterated under the section 501(f)(1)(B) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 351(f)(1)(B), because you do not have an approved application for premarket approval (PMA) in effect pursuant to section 515(a) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360e(a), or an approved application for an investigational device exemption (IDE) under section 520(g) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360j(g). The device is also misbranded under section 502(o) of the Act, 21 U.S.C § 352(o), because you did not notify the Agency of your intent to introduce the device into commercial distribution, as required by section 510(k) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. 360(k). For a device requiring premarket approval, the notification required by section 510(k) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360(k), is deemed satisfied when a PMA is pending before the Agency, 21 CFR 807.81(b). The kind of information you need to submit in order to obtain approval or clearance for your device is described on the internet at http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/devadvice/3122.html. The FDA will evaluate the information you submit and decide whether your product may be legally marketed.
Specifically, our records show that [redacted] received a determination of substantial equivalence, identified as [redacted], for reusable Sharps Away containers. Your records indicate that in June 2003, you purchased this Premarket Notification Submission [510(k)], identified as [redacted] from the original owner, [redacted]Since the change in ownership, changes or modifications have been made to the Sharps Away containers that could significantly affect the safety or effectiveness of the device, and thus require the submission of a new 510(k), in accordance with 21 CFR 807.81(a)(3). These changes are described below:
1. The Sharps Away container manufactured by A-Solutions, Inc. since the beginning of 2007 includes a horizontal pull down lid that does not snap close or lock into position as various sharps (needles, syringes, vials, test tubes, etc.,) are dropped into the container. You also market the Sharps Away container with a stainless steel "trap door" lid as an accessory to the container.
The original submission was cleared with a vertical drop lid or a horizontal drop lid with a locking mechanism. The ability of the Sharps Away lid to simultaneously permit quick and safe sharps entry, while providing optimal protection to the user is a critical design feature the modification of which could significantly affect the safety or effectiveness of the device.
2. In 2004, you removed the needle un-winder mechanism and port from the vertical drop lid.
The original 510(k) submission was cleared with a needle un-winder mechanism and port. The removal of the needle un-winder mechanism and port, in conjunction with the changes to the lid indicated above, eliminates the option of discarding both the container and its attached needle as a unit. For that reason, the removal of the needle un-winder entry is considered a critical change.
3. This inspection revealed that in 2003, you extended the life span for the Sharps Away container beyond the three year period cleared in the original 510(k), without validation testing to supportthe change.
The device life span is a critical feature for a reusable sharps container. The three year device life span was validated for the Sharps Away container in the [redacted] submission. If a sharps container is labeled or marketed with a specified life span, that period of time must be validated under normal conditions of use, by the manufacturer. A sharps container used beyond its validated life span could increase the risk of the device failure, resulting in the exposure of users to blood-contaminated sharps devices.
4. In addition, the Sharps Away container cleared in [redacted]; (a) was to be collected and reprocessed by the original 510(k) owner, at its facility with trained employees, in accordance to a specific protocol and a validated reprocessing procedure; (b) included an Instruction Manual and a User Manual for employees responsible for handling and sanitizing the containers; (c) included a transport closure cap for the vertical drop opening which was to be placed on the container at the time the container was collected; (d) stated that a sticker or stamp would be placed on the container to reference the date the container was first placed into service; and (e) contained a validated procedure to monitor the product use life for each container.
Information collected during this inspection, indicates that after you purchased [redacted] in 2003, the devices you have marketed have not been marketed in accordance with these elements of the cleared submission. Also, you have not provided your customers with standard operating procedures to ensure that the containers are properly collected and reprocessed, and the product life use is monitored in accordance with the procedures provided in the original 510(k). These changes to the reprocessing procedures (a manufacturing method) and life span monitoring could significantly affect the safety or effectiveness of the device because they can increase the risk of device failure.
We, have reviewed your July 31, 2007, response to this observation and have concluded that it is inadequate. Your response primarily addresses the changes to the lid design and to the product life span. Your written response indicates that you have not sold any plastic lids featuring the designchanges described above and suggests that you have "temporarily abandoned the pull down design." However, in your initial oral response to the FDA inspector, your firm indicated that it had sold some of the altered plastic lids, and photographs on your website (http://www.a-solutionsinc.com/products/reusablesharpsaway.asp) depict the altered plastic lids for sale. In addition, your response indicated that you no longer sold the steel trap door lid. Your web site, http://www.a-solutionsinc.com/products/reusablesharpsaway.asp, likewise shows the stainless steel trap door lid for sale. You also responded by denying that the removal of the needle un-winder compromised the safety and effectiveness of the vertical drop lid. You do not provide any explanation for your conclusion, and we note that FDA has not analyzed the effect of that change in combination with other changes you have made to the lid design. Finally, you assert that the life of the containers will be returned to three years, but do not address how you will assure that this is observed, as you have not adhered to any of the related monitoring and reprocessing procedures outlined in the original 510(k). Your response therefore does not change our conclusion that you have effected changes or modifications that could significantly affect the safety or effectiveness of your device and therefore require submission of a new premarket notification submission.
Additionally, our inspection revealed that the Sharps Away Reusable and Disposable Containers are misbranded under section 502(o) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 352(o), in that the devices were manufactured, prepared, propagated, compounded, or processed in an establishment not duly registered under section 510 of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360, and was not included in a list required by section 510(j) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360(j), as described below.
Specifically, under 21 CFR 807.25(b), the owner or operator of an establishment, in its registration, "shall identify the device activities of the establishment such as manufacturing, repackaging, or distributing devices." A review of FDA Device Registration and Listing records indicates that Solutions, Inc, located at 3600 Chamberlain Lane, Louisville, KY, is registered as an initial distributor or initial importer only. Under 21 CFR 807.3(g), an "initial importer" is any importer who furthers the marketing of a device from a foreign manufacturer to the person who makes the final delivery or sale of the device to the ultimate consumer or user, but does not repackage, or otherwise change the container, wrapper, or labeling of the device or device package. Our inspection indicates that your establishment is also developing specifications for both reusable and disposable sharps containers manufactured by contract manufacturers, and was engaged in labeling the reusable sharps containers received from that contract manufacturer (a manufacturing activity) before distribution. Your registration infoimation does not identify any of these activities, in violation of 21 CFR 807.25(b).
In addition, you did not list the reusable and disposable sharps containers, as required by 21 CFR 807.20(a). As noted above, our inspection indicates that your firm developed the specifications forthe reusable sharps containers that it markets, which are manufactured by a contract manufacturer, and that it applies the label to those reusable sharps containers received from the contract manufacturer. According to the regulations, you are therefore required to list the reusable sharps containers with FDA. Additionally, you are listed as the owner of the premarket submission (510(k)) for the disposable sharps containers, and therefore are the specification developer for this device. You are therefore also required to list the disposable sharps container. NOTE: This observation was not included on the Inspectional Observation form, FDA 483, issued at the close of the inspection.
The inspection also revealed that your reusable sharps container is misbranded under section 502(b) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 252(b), and 21 CFR 801.1, in that the device label fails to contain the name and place of business (city and state) of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor on the package. If the firm name on the labeling is not the manufacturer, then the listed firm's name must be qualified by an appropriate statement such as. "Manufactured for..." or "Distributed by....".
We have reviewed your response dated July 31, 2007. Your response indicated that new Sharps Away containers will carry a revised label that identifies Solution Inc., Louisville, KY 40241, as the manufacturer, before leaving the factory. This action should be adequate for containers sold in thefuture. Your response also indicated that revised labels "will be sent to our customers that use our containers", presumably to mitigate the misbranding of containers previously distributed but still in use. In response to this letter, please provide further information on how you intend to address misbranded containers still in use, including the timeframe for completion of the corrective action, a copy of any letter or instructions to be sent to your customers, including the new labelsidentifying your firm as the manufacturer, a list of the customers to whom these materials have been or will be sent, and any other details regarding your plans for helping to assure that this information is available for end users of your Sharps Away devices.
You should take prompt action to correct the violations addressed in this letter. Failure to promptly correct these violations may result in the initiation of regulatory action without further notice. These actions include, but are not limited to, seizure, injunction, and/or civil money penalties. Also, federal agencies are advised of the issuance of all Warning Letters about devices so that they may take this information into account when considering the award of contracts. Additionally, premarket applications for Class III devices to which the Quality System regulation deviations 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.
Please notify this office within fifteen (15) working days from the date you receive this letter of the specific steps you have taken to correct the noted violations, including an explanation of how you plan to prevent these violations, or similar violations, from occurring again. Include documentation of the corrective actions you have taken. If your planned corrective actions will occur over time, please include a timetable for implementation of those corrections. If corrective action cannot be completed within 15 working days, state the reason for the delay and the time within which the corrections will be completed.
Your response should be sent to Ms. Gina Brackett, Compliance Officer, Food and Drug Administration, 6751 Steger Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45237. If you have any questions concerning the contents of this letter please contact Ms. Brackett at (513) 679-2700, ext. 167, or by facsimile at (513) 679-2773.
Finally, you should know that this letter is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of violations at your facility. It is your responsibility to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations administered by the FDA. The specific violations noted in this letter and in the Inspectional Observation, form FDA 483, issued at the closeout of the inspection may be symptomatic of serious problems in your firm's manufacturing and quality assurance systems. You should investigate and determine the causes of the violations, and take prompt actions to correct the violations and to bring your products into compliance.
Sincerely,
/S/
Carol A. Heppe
District Director
Cincinnati District
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