小中大As a general rule, the use of overages of active substances in formulations is discouraged unless their use can be justified completely. The routine inclusion of overages by manufacturers of certain products without adequate justification is unlikely to be permitted. Similarly, the use of overages should not be an excuse for poor manufacturing, formulation, or analytical procedures. Where loss takes place during manufacture of the product, then the replacement might well be justified as a “manufacturing overage” because the amount present within the dose form at the time of release is likely to remain within the approved specification. However, large (for example 10%) overages used to compensate for poor product stability, in general, are not considered to be acceptable.
The presence in excess of inactive constituents in a formulation should also be explained and justified.