While RWE can serve as a key complement to clinical studies in the development of a wide range of therapies, there are specific instances for which RWE is particularly beneficial and indeed the only available evidence to support regulatory approval. RWE has the potential to spur the uptake of biosimilars in the U.S. market and to provide information on a drug’s efficacy and safety in special populations that may otherwise be excluded from clinical trial studies.
In a nearly 3,700 word missive by Scott Gottlieb, posted on August 29, 2018, the FDA commissioner attempts to bring some clarity to efforts by the agency to bring more innovation into the drug development process. Gottlieb notes innovative new technology platforms, such as digital health, targeted medicines, and regenerative medicine, including cell and gene therapies products, are helping the industry advance drug development.
There are significant differences between the U.S. and the EU with respect to the process of gaining regulatory approvals for initiating clinical trials of a new (unapproved) medication. Those differences relate to the initial regulatory submission, review, and approval process and the process for obtaining institutional review board / central ethics committee approval to initiate the clinical trial.
This article is the second in a series examining strategies that allow quality groups to collaborate with GCP and GMP groups to improve ICH E6(R2) compliance, increase clinical study robustness, and enhance data integrity.
Small to midsize pharmaceutical or biotech companies (small pharma) are enjoying the best of times. However, from a quality systems perspective, it could be the worst of times. Many have weak quality systems, are not following global regulatory authority regulations and/or guidance, or lack the level of documentation required to reconstruct every aspect of clinical trials.
One of the first lessons I learned taking an economics class was the law of unintended consequences. The law seems to hold true time and time again. Case in point: The Right-To-Try (RTT) legislation recently passed by the House and Senate and signed into law by President Trump.
The passing of the Right to Try Act came after years of debate among politicians, the pharmaceutical industry, and other stakeholders about the potential legal, ethical, regulatory, and business impacts of RTT. That debate is unlikely to end any time soon.
Most of my career has been on the good manufacturing practices (GMP) side of industry, where, despite moments of ambiguity or confusion, everything is presented in black-and-white terms. And over the last five years or so, I have had the pleasure of supporting and/or overseeing the good clinical practice (GCP) side of industry, experiencing the more “human” side of the business.
The concept of extrapolation has been in existence for years at the FDA. Lynn Kramer, MD, Chief Clinical Officer and Chief Medical Officer of the Neurology Business Group at Eisai, is excited about the current use of extrapolation in monotherapies. The FDA approval of FYCOMPA as a monotherapy for epilepsy patients was based on data extrapolation.
With over 7,000 medicines currently being developed, the future of medicine looks exciting, but there are still questions: How do we achieve this future, and do we really need more standards or regulations … or more freedom?
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