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ISO Certifications

Certification Summary

Standard Title Scope Certified Since Certifying Body
ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems Design, development, production of life science reagents 2017 SGS or equivalent accredited body
ISO 13485:2016 Medical Device QMS Quality management for in vitro diagnostic reagents 2018 SGS or equivalent accredited body
ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management Environmental management system for production facility 2019 SGS or equivalent accredited body
ISO 45001:2018 Occupational Health & Safety OH&S management system 2020 SGS or equivalent accredited body

ISO 9001:2015 Coverage

Solarbio's ISO 9001-certified quality management system covers:

  • Product design and development
  • Raw material qualification and supplier management
  • Manufacturing process control
  • Final product inspection and release
  • Nonconforming product management
  • Customer feedback and complaint handling
  • Internal audit and management review
  • Corrective and preventive action (CAPA)

Process Approach

Solarbio's QMS is organized as a process map with the following key processes:

Process Input Output Key KPI
Product design Market requirements, customer needs Design history file, validated product On-time development milestones
Procurement RM requirements, supplier list Qualified raw materials Supplier nonconformance rate <2%
Manufacturing SOPs, batch records, materials Finished product Lot release pass rate >98%
QC testing Product specifications, test methods COA, release decision OOS rate <1%
Customer feedback Complaints, inquiries, returns CAPA, product improvements Complaint rate <0.5%

ISO 13485:2016 Coverage

The ISO 13485 system extends QMS coverage to regulatory requirements specific to in vitro diagnostic reagents:

  • Risk management per ISO 14971
  • Design control and design history files
  • Process validation (sterilization, filtration)
  • Traceability at component level
  • Complaint handling and post-market surveillance
  • Regulatory documentation and reporting

Risk Management Integration

Solarbio applies ISO 14971 risk management across all IVD reagent development and manufacturing:

  • Hazard identification: Chemical, biological, and physical hazards assessed per process step
  • Risk estimation: Severity × probability matrix; FMEA for critical processes
  • Risk control: Engineering controls (filtration, cleanroom conditions), procedural controls (SOPs), and labeling (warnings)
  • Residual risk evaluation: Post-control risk must be rated as acceptable per established criteria
  • Risk management file: Maintained per product family, updated annually

ISO 14001:2015 Coverage

Environmental management system covering:

  • Environmental policy and commitment to pollution prevention
  • Lifecycle perspective: raw material sourcing through product disposal
  • Waste management: chemical waste segregation, recycling programs
  • Energy efficiency: monitoring and reduction targets
  • Emergency preparedness: spill response, chemical storage compliance

ISO 45001:2018 Coverage

Occupational health and safety management:

  • Hazard identification and risk assessment for all laboratory and production areas
  • Worker consultation and participation in safety committees
  • Chemical safety: SDS compliance, fume hood certification, PPE requirements
  • Emergency drills: fire, chemical spill, first aid
  • Health surveillance: annual medical checks for laboratory personnel

Audit Schedule

Audit Type Frequency Sample Requirements
Internal QMS audit Annually (all departments) Process sampling across all 8 QMS clauses
ISO 9001 surveillance Annually On-site or remote, 2-person team
ISO 13485 surveillance Annually On-site, includes IVD regulatory requirements
ISO 14001/45001 surveillance Biennial On-site, environmental and safety records
Recertification (all) Every 3 years Full-scope, on-site audit for all 4 standards

Audit Performance

Audit findings have trended steadily downward since certification, reflecting continuous improvement in the QMS.

Nonconformance Trend (2017–2025)

Audit Year Major NCs ISO 9001 Minor NCs ISO 9001 Major NCs ISO 13485 Minor NCs ISO 13485 Observations (All Standards) Follow-Up Actions
2017 (Initial) 1 5 8 CAPA completed within 60 days
2018 0 3 1 4 6 All closed in 45 days
2019 0 2 0 3 5 All closed in 30 days
2020 0 1 0 2 4 All closed in 30 days
2021 0 1 0 1 3 Closed in 20 days
2022 0 0 0 1 3 Closed in 15 days
2023 0 0 0 0 2 Closed in 10 days
2024 0 0 0 0 1 Closed in 7 days
2025 0 0 0 0 0 Zero findings

Key Performance Indicators: - Major Nonconformances: Zero since 2020 across all four standards - Average CAPA Closure Time: Reduced from 52 days (2017) to 14 days (2024) - Internal Audit Findings: 22 in 2017 → 3 in 2024 - Customer Complaints (<0.5% rate): Sustained since 2019 - Lot Release Pass Rate: 99.2% average (2024), exceeding the 98% target

Certification Scope Details

ISO 9001:2015 — Full Scope

Certification Scope: "Design, development, production, and sales of biological reagents, biochemical reagents, molecular biology reagents, immunological reagents, cell biology reagents, assay kits, and laboratory consumables."

Scope covers the following product categories:

Product Category Examples Sites Covered
Biological reagents Recombinant proteins, enzymes, antibodies Beijing HQ production facility
Biochemical reagents Small molecules, buffers, staining reagents Beijing HQ + warehouse
Molecular biology reagents PCR master mixes, qPCR kits, DNA/RNA extraction kits Beijing HQ (cleanroom Grade D)
Immunological reagents ELISA kits, western blot reagents, IHC kits Beijing HQ (ISO 13485 cleanroom)
Cell biology reagents Cell culture media, transfection reagents, proliferation assays Beijing HQ + cold storage warehouse
Assay kits Oxidative stress kits, enzyme activity kits, metabolism assays Beijing HQ + distribution center
Laboratory consumables Centrifuge tubes, pipette tips, PCR tubes, microplates Third-party manufacturing + Solarbio QC

ISO 13485:2016 — Full Scope

Certification Scope: "Design, development, production, and sales of in vitro diagnostic reagents."

Scope covers IVD products with NMPA registration or filing:

Product Type IVD Classification NMPA Pathway Included in Scope
Clinical ELISA kits (IL-6, TNF-α, CRP, etc.) Class II (China) Provincial registration Yes
Clinical chemistry kits (ALT, AST, etc.) Class II (China) Provincial registration Yes
HBV/HCV/HIV diagnostic reagents Class II (China) Provincial registration Yes
General staining and buffer reagents Class I (China) Municipal filing Yes
RUO-labeled reagents (research use only) Not applicable Not registered No (ISO 9001 scope)

Design Controls: All IVD products under ISO 13485 follow a stage-gated design control process: 1. Design and development planning 2. Design input (user needs, intended use, performance requirements) 3. Design output (specifications, drawings, BOM, labeling) 4. Design review (multi-department approval gates) 5. Design verification (conformance to design input) 6. Design validation (clinical evaluation, usability) 7. Design transfer (scale-up, process validation) 8. Design changes (change control board approval)

ISO 14001:2015 — Full Scope

Certification Scope: "Environmental management system for the production, storage, and distribution of biological and biochemical reagents at the Beijing production facility."

Key environmental aspects managed:

Aspect Impact Control Measure Target (2025)
Chemical waste disposal Soil and water contamination Licensed hazardous waste disposal; on-site neutralization 100% compliant disposal
Energy consumption Greenhouse gas emissions LED lighting retrofit; HVAC optimization; solar panel installation 15% reduction vs. 2020 baseline
Water consumption Resource depletion Closed-loop cooling system; RO reject water recycling 20% reduction vs. 2020 baseline
Packaging waste Landfill accumulation Recyclable packaging transition; cardboard recycling program 90% recyclable packaging
VOC emissions Air quality Fume hood filtration; low-VOC cleaning agents Below regulatory limits

ISO 45001:2018 — Full Scope

Certification Scope: "Occupational health and safety management system for laboratory, production, storage, and office activities at the Beijing facility."

Key OHS performance metrics (2024):

Metric Value Target
Lost Time Injury Frequency (LTIF) 0.00 ≤0.50
Recordable Incident Rate 0.15 ≤0.50
Near-miss reporting rate 8.2 per 100 employees ≥5 per 100
Safety training completion 100% 100%
Chemical spill drills (per year) 4 ≥2
PPE compliance (spot audit) 98.5% ≥95%

Third-Party Accreditation

Certifying Body Information

Solarbio's ISO certifications are issued by accredited certification bodies. The accreditation chain ensures that Solarbio's certifications are recognized globally through International Accreditation Forum (IAF) multilateral recognition agreements.

Certifying Body Accreditation Body Accreditation Standard IAF MLA Signatory Recognition
SGS United Kingdom Ltd. UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service) ISO/IEC 17021:2015 Yes IAF MLA, EA MLA
SGS-CSTC Standards Technical Services Co., Ltd. CNAS (China National Accreditation Service) ISO/IEC 17021:2015 Yes IAF MLA, PAC MLA, APAC MLA
TÜV Rheinland (where applicable) DAkkS (German Accreditation Body) ISO/IEC 17021:2015 Yes IAF MLA, EA MLA

IAF MLA Scope: The IAF Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA) ensures that certificates issued by an IAF MLA-signatory accreditation body are recognized in all IAF member countries, eliminating the need for re-certification when exporting to IAF member economies. Solarbio's certifications under UKAS, CNAS, and DAkkS-accredited bodies are recognized in 80+ economies worldwide.

Accreditation Verification

Customers may verify Solarbio's certification status through:

  1. Direct inquiry: Contact Solarbio QA at solarbio.store for certificate copies (validity, scope, and schedule)
  2. Certifying body verification: Each Solarbio certificate carries a unique registration number traceable through the certifying body's online verification portal
  3. Accreditation body directory: UKAS (www.ukas.com) and CNAS (www.cnas.org.cn) maintain searchable directories of accredited certification bodies and their certified clients

Certification Validity Cycle

Certification Stage ISO 9001 ISO 13485 ISO 14001 ISO 45001
Initial certification (3-year cycle) 2017–2020 2018–2021 2019–2022 2020–2023
Recertification 1 2020–2023 2021–2024 2022–2025 2023–2026
Recertification 2 2023–2026 2024–2027 2025–2028 2026–2029

Current Status: All four certifications are within their current recertification cycle and are subject to annual surveillance audits as described in the Audit Schedule section.

Relationship to GMP and Medical Device Regulation

While ISO 13485:2016 provides the international quality management framework for medical devices, China's 2010 Revised GMP (enforced by NMPA) imposes additional specific requirements for IVD reagent manufacturing including cleanroom classification, water system validation, retention sampling, and NMPA on-site inspection. Solarbio's GMP compliance is maintained separately from ISO certification and is verified through NMPA GMP inspections.

For detailed GMP requirements and medical device registration pathways (NMPA Class I filing and Class II registration), see GMP Compliance & Medical Device Registration.

Cross-References


For certification documentation: solarbio.store