The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued a final rule that clarifies what safety information must be reported during clinical trials of investigational drugs and biologics.
“This final rule will expedite FDA’s review of critical safety information and help the agency monitor the safety of investigational drugs and biologics,” said Rachel Behrman, M.D, associate director for medical policy in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “These changes will better protect people who are enrolled in clinical trials.”
The new rule requires that certain safety information that previously had not been required to be reported to FDA be reported within 15 days of becoming aware of an occurrence. These reports include:
The rule also provides examples of evidence that would suggest that an investigational product may be the cause of a safety problem. Under current regulations, drug sponsors often report all serious adverse events, even if there is little reason to believe the product caused the event. Such reporting complicates and delays the FDA’s ability to detect a safety signal. The examples address when a single event should be reported or when there is need to wait for more than one occurrence.
In addition, the rule revises definitions and reporting standards so that they are more consistent with two international organizations, the International Conference on Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use and the World Health Organization’s Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences. The changes are designed to help ensure harmonized reporting of globally conducted clinical trials.
Along with this final rule, the FDA also issued a draft guidance for industry and investigators that provides information and advice about the new requirements and other information.
Regulatory Compliance With eCOAs
April 26th 2024In the fourth and final part of this video interview with ACT editor Andy Studna, Melissa Mooney, director, eCOA sales engineering, IQVIA discusses how the regulatory stance on electronic clinical outcome assessments has changed over the years and what it could look like in the future.
Including Women of Childbearing Age in Clinical Research
March 26th 2024In recognition of International Women's Month, we're featuring this recent talk between Associate Editor Miranda Schmalfuhs and Marie Teil, Global Head of UCB’s Women of Childbearing Age Program. They speak about the specific challenges women with chronic illnesses face when accessing appropriate treatment and participating in clinical trials, UCB's Women of Childbearing Age Program and it’s most successful strategies, and much more.
Improving Engagement While Maintaining Data Integrity & Validity
March 19th 2024In recognition of Women's Health Month, we're featuring this recent talk between Associate Editor Miranda Schmalfuhs and uMotif's Chief Product Officer, Julia Lakeland, discuss new technologies improving patient engagement and reducing the emotional and logistical burdens of participation, ethical considerations that should be addressed when implementing those technologies, while ensuring patient privacy, and much more.