Regulatory Affairs Editorial

1. How Storyboarding Can Bring Clarity To Regulatory Inspection Readiness & Facilitation 8/25/2020

   Developing storyboards for regulatory inspection readiness and facilitation is a growing trend, yet the tool is shrouded in mystery for many pharma industry professionals. (Downloadable storyboard template included.)

2. Unpacking FDA’s New Guidance On Collecting Patient Experience Data 7/28/2020

   The FDA recently released one of what is to be four new guidances providing a general overview of patient-focused drug development. This article summarizes each component of "Guidance 1: Collecting Comprehensive and Representative Input" and details how the guidance may impact sponsors of clinical trials.

3. Regulatory Science & Clinical Research: Where Do We Stand (And Where Are We Going)? 7/14/2020

   This article will share some thoughts on the current state of regulatory science, by reflecting back on two prominent meetings — the inaugural UCSF-Stanford Center of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation (CERSI) Summit and the Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative (CTTI) Virtual Meetings for Stakeholder Engagement on ICH E6.

4. How A Small Biotech Survived A Virtual Regulatory Inspection During COVID-19 7/7/2020

   For a small U.S. biotech company, a Japanese Health Authority (MHLW/PMDA) on-site inspection scheduled in March 2020 would be the first of multiple global regulatory pre-approval inspections of its novel product for treatment of a rare disease. Then COVID-19 happened.

5. How To Prepare For A GCP Inspection During COVID-19 (And Beyond) 3/27/2020

   Facing an upcoming inspection, in many people’s opinion, is perhaps one of the most stressful experiences when working in clinical trials. But how much of this stress is self-inflicted, and what strategies could be deployed to dissipate and better channel the nervous energy released when the inspector comes a-knocking?

6. Clinical Trials And COVID-19: Don’t Attempt To Do It Alone 3/25/2020

   As the COVID-19 virus continues to wreak havoc across the U.S. and the world, almost no segment of the economy has been spared its impact. That is certainly true of clinical trials conducted by the pharmaceutical industry.

7. Lilly Slams The Brakes On New Clinical Trial Activity 3/24/2020

   Conducting clinical trials during the COVID-19 pandemic is no easy task. Recognizing this unfortunate change in events caused by COVID-19, Eli Lilly and Company has made the difficult decision to delay most new clinical study starts and pause enrollment in most ongoing studies.

8. How One Small Biotech Is Changing The Fight Against Cancer 3/17/2020

   Intensity Therapeutics is preparing to kill tumors in a way that has not been attempted before. That effort is also causing challenges with patient recruitment and trial end points.

9. Teva Develops First FDA-Approved Digitally-Integrated Inhaler 1/8/2020

   Two challenges have plagued asthma sufferers and researchers for year. The first is patients not adhering to their maintenance medication. The other is patients not using proper inhaler technique. A new digitally-integrated inhaler from Teva hopes to eliminate both problems.

10. Practical Considerations For Adaptive Designs In Clinical Trials 1/7/2020

    The life sciences industry and academic world seem to produce incredible scientific breakthroughs on a daily, if not hourly, basis these days. The pace of scientific breakthrough is mesmerizing, as a dazzling variety of technologies and studies have helped humans understand the underlying causes of disease. Whether those causes are genetic, environmental, or behavioral, it seems that we have an arsenal of tools to understand much more than ever how we can meet unmet human health needs. From the ambitious (at the time) Human Genome Project to the current application of machine learning and artificial intelligence to vast integrated data sets, it would seem that humans could be on the cusp of fundamentally altering the quality and longevity of human life.