QLIMS for Cannabis Companies - Part 3 of 3: Medicinal Cannabis Manufacturing

The final part of this series will focus on how QLIMS supports the manufacturing of medicinal cannabis products.

The focus will be data management, final product formulations, compliance with GMP guidelines and workflow tracking.

Medicinal Cannabis Manufacturing

A large number of medicinal cannabis facilities set up across Australia are focused on manufacturing for local and exporting. As such the sampling numbers are going to be very high so a system to effectively manage all that data, maintain traceability and help keep compliant with GMP will be important.

As seen from our previous posts, no matter what data you are looking to record and track a LIMS can help.

How can QLIMS help you?

1.Manage the metadata associated with each stage of the manufacturing process including:

1. Extraction
2. Filtration
3. Purification
4. Final product formulation

2. Track chain of custody from suppliers to third party testing of raw ingredients and final products

4. Automatically flag samples that are out of specification

3. Ability to capture subsidiary data including COA's against individual samples and batches

4. Create and Manage final and intermediate product formulations against batches, recording accurate quantities of raw ingredients

5. Track consumables used during the extraction, filtration and purification process and integrate with existing inventory management systems for full scale tracking and ordering of consumables.

7. Print barcodes and labels for end-to-end  traceability of samples

8. Track complaints and presentative actions in accordance with ISO17025

9. Business Intelligence Reporting - Including cost per batches, cost of consumables used during the the manufacturing process

These are some of the major areas where QLIMS can assist with GMP compliance and improve automation at your manufacturing facility. 

Stay tuned for further posts on how QLIMS can assist lab groups to work remotely under the current difficult circumstances.

QLIMS for Cannabis Companies - Part 2 of 3: Research and Analytical Labs

The next part in our series will focus on how QLIMS can help with the extraction, research and testing of medical cannabis, with a focus on data management, quality, inventory, stability testing and regulatory standards.

Medical Cannabis Testing & Quality Assurance

With the large number of cultivation facilities currently set up or in the process of being implemented across the country, Medical Cannabis testing labs will see a massive magnitude of samples that will require testing and processing will be difficult to manage with just spreadsheets or paper-based systems. Furthermore, using spreadsheets is simply not enough to comply with the regulatory guidelines as there no audit trail tracking your samples, across reception, testing and disposal.

LIMS plays a significant role in overcoming such data management and trace ability challenges.

How can QLIMS help you?

End to end Batch & Sample Workflow Management 

Data and Quality Management

• Record, manage and track tests for
• Potency of cannabinoids
• Presence of terpenoids
• VOCs
• Moisture Content
• Microbiological contaminants etc.
• Record SOP's and automate QA/QC Protocols
• Track chain of custody
• Create standard protocols to manage shelf-life stability testing

Inventory Tracking and Automation

• Manage inventory, including reagents and all other lab consumables
• Integrate with LC's, GC's, ICP's for complete automation of result entry and reduction in human error
• Generate COA's and any other customised test/compliance reports
• Integrate to seed-to-sale systems, ERP'S, finance and billing systems etc. for end-to-end automation
• Print and scan barcodes

Improved Regulatory Compliance

• 21CFR Part 11 compliance
• Validate tests and results
• A secure, searchable and reportable audit trail for Increased transparency throughout all lab operations
• Track “cradle to grave” for all samples

These are just a few areas where a robust LIMS can improve your laboratory and business practices. By being modular, tracking the subsidiary and allowing for integration to any other systems involved in your medicinal cannabis laboratory, a professional LIMS such as QLIMS acts as an extension to your staff's scientific skills and forms a critical part of the supply chain.

Stay tuned for our next post in the series discussing how a LIMS assists with manufacturing of your final Medical Cannabis products!