A New Clinical Trial Design Promises to Accelerate Cancer Drug Approvals
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has drafted a regulatory guidance describing a new way of conducting breast cancer drug trials that promises to reduce substantially the time and cost of getting new treatments to patients. The approach is based on a trial design being tested in the I-SPY 2 TRIAL, an innovative Phase II breast cancer trial being conducted under the auspices of the Biomarkers Consortium, a public-private partnership led by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) that includes representatives from NIH, FDA, and multiple pharmaceutical companies and academic research centers.
Patients with early-stage breast cancer have typically had to wait for years to receive new cancer drugs, which are usually tested first in patients with later stage metastatic disease and approved for use in more curable early stage cancer only after additional randomized clinical trials. The draft guidance, which is described in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, establishes a potential new pathway for accelerated approval of drugs tested prior to surgical removal of tumors in certain types of high-risk patients with localized, early-stage disease. FDA signaled it may now grant approval of new drugs that have shown clinical benefit, based on data from patients receiving this type of ³neoadjuvant² treatment whose invasive cancer has disappeared by the time of surgery (³pathologic complete response²).
Investigational Pain Therapy Cebranopadol Succeeds in Second Phase III Clinical Trial
March 6th 2025Tris Pharma’s first-in-class oral dual-NMR agonist achieved its primary endpoint in the ALLEVIATE-2 study by demonstrating a statistically significant and high level of pain reduction compared to placebo.
Behind the Buzz: Why Clinical Research Leaders Flock to SCOPE Summit
February 7th 2025In this episode, we meet with Micah Lieberman, Executive Conference Director for SCOPE Summit (Summit for Clinical Ops Executives) at Cambridge Innovation Institute. We will dive deep into the critical role of collaboration within the clinical research ecosystem. How do we bring together diverse stakeholders—sponsors, CROs, clinical trial tech innovators, suppliers, patients, sites, advocacy organizations, investors, and non-profits—to share best practices in trial design, program planning, innovation, and clinical operations? We’ll explore why it’s vital for thought leaders to step beyond their own organizations and learn from others, exchanging ideas that drive advancements in clinical research. Additionally, we’ll discuss the pivotal role of scientific conferences like SCOPE Summit in fostering these essential connections and collaborations, helping shape the future of clinical trials. Join us as we uncover how collective wisdom and cross-industry partnerships are transforming the landscape of clinical research.
Reaching Diverse Patient Populations With Personalized Treatment Methods
January 20th 2025Daejin Abidoye, head of solid tumors, oncology development, AbbVie, discusses a number of topics around diversity in clinical research including industry’s greatest challenges in reaching diverse patient populations, personalized treatment methods, recruitment strategies, and more.
Xolair Outperforms Oral Immunotherapy in Landmark Phase III OUtMATCH Food Allergy Trial
March 3rd 2025Xolair (omalizumab) shows superior efficacy and safety compared to multi-allergen oral immunotherapy in treating food allergies in the Phase III OUtMATCH trial, suggesting the potential to facilitate the introduction of allergenic foods into patients' diets after treatment.
