Two independent investigations by two unrelated non-profit groups show a significant number of errors on the information available on clinicaltrials.gov website regarding the status and results of the listed clinical trials. One investigation shows that about 40% of the trials that are reported to be completed and per the law should have reported their results … Read more
It seems that after about 5 years of attempts by supporters where Right-To-Try (RTT) laws were passed in about 40 states, the US Congress is getting ready to pass a Federal law that would, on paper, make experimental unproven drugs available to patients more easily. Even FDA, that has been a strong opponent of the … Read more
In an interesting development, a compounding pharmacy in Arkansas this week filed for a “Temporary Restraining Order” to prevent the FDA from shutting it down after an almost 5 years of back and forth with the FDA auditors and the company being on the verge of permanent closure by FDA. Before we run to judgment … Read more
Today FDA released an addendum to ICH E6 (R2), the GCP Guidelines, to include several provisions for quality management responsibilities of the sponsors of clinical trials. These additional requirements apply to any trials conducted under an IND or IDE and used to support a US market approval application. Some important additions include a whole section … Read more
Last week FDA announced that it is modernizing multiple aspects of its review processes in an effort to make quick decisions, work collaboratively with sponsors and take patient perspectives into consideration for clinical trial design and market approval decisions. To provide examples of its new approach FDA released five new Guidance Documents for neurological disorders … Read more
Sponsors looking to get semi-formal advice from FDA regarding which laws apply to their product; drug, device or biologic, got some help from FDA last week with the release of a new guidance about the pre-request for designation (pre-RFD) process. The RFD process that has been in existence for 15 years is run by the … Read more
This week FDA finalized a rule originally proposed exactly five years ago to the date that makes it mandatory for all clinical trials conducted with new medical devices to be compliant with GCP rules similar to those for drugs and biologics. Although the notification refers to non-US clinical trials, but the details of the rule … Read more
FDA commissioner released a list of priorities for this year that could be categorized into two broad areas: encourage domestic manufacturing, and increase the role of real world evidence (RWE) for product approval. To boost domestic manufacturing, FDA plans to focus its attention of new technologies, particularly for biotechnology products and medical devices. FDA will … Read more
A doctor with competing interests complained that a NIH-funded study similar to his earlier trial was unethical because it involved giving placebo to children. This prompted NIH to call an urgent meeting of the DSMB for the placebo-controlled trial and some changes to the trial to address the concerns. However, this case points to some … Read more
Drug companies openly sell unapproved antibiotic combinations in India creating a terrifying scenario of prevalence of multidrug resistant bacteria creating incurable infections. There have been several reported cases of the multidrug resistant bacteria infecting travelers bringing the infections to other countries worldwide. According to research study published this week in the British Journal of Clinical … Read more
