India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) implemented the New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules in 2019 to expedite the drug development and approval processes. This article provides an overview of those processes; explains the rule-specific terminology, such as the definitions of “drug” and “new drug” under Indian law; and outlines strategies for speeding up the approval processes and optimizing registration of prescription medicines in India.   Keywo...

Joint draft guidance from two centers at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) outlines ways sponsors can measure pediatric growth consistently in clinical trials for drugs used to treat both rare and common diseases.   “If an investigational drug or biological product may affect growth or pubertal development, then accurate, serial measurement and recording of growth parameters are essential for data interpretation in pediatric clinical trials,” the agency announc...

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued new draft guidance with advice for sponsors on developing drugs for treating Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI).   The draft provides recommendations for designing these trials and covers trial populations, efficacy and safety endpoints, nonclinical studies, and pharmacokinetic studies. The guidance does not address fecal microbiota transplant products.   CDI is an anaerobic, gram-positive, spore-forming ...

PHOENIX, AZ – Country-specific requirements that diverge from the Clinical Trials Regulation (CTR) and the lack of a forum for resolving issues with the Clinical Trial Information System (CTIS) portal were among the key issues industry representatives brought to a session at RAPS Convergence 2022.   Another problem is that the portal does not flag or send information to sponsors when new information is received, so sponsors must check frequently for updates.   In t...

The European Commission (EC), the Heads of Medicines Agencies (HMA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) have adopted ten priorities as part of a larger workplan to  accelerate the adoption of clinical trials in the EU. The priorities are meant to steer the agencies’ work from 2022-2026.   The workplan was adopted under the auspices of the EC-HMA-EMA initiative Accelerating Clinical Trials in the EU (ACT EU), which launched earlier this year. (RELATED: EU launch...

The EU’s eagerly anticipated revision of its good manufacturing practice (GMP) Annex 1 for sterile drug products was released on Thursday after 14 years of development. The revised requirements, which are set to take effect 25 August 2023, govern the manufacturing of sterile drugs made in the EU, as well as imported products.   The revised Annex comes after hints earlier this year that it be out in mid-2022. (RELATED: EU GMP Annex 1 revision to be released mid-year ...

Nearly 195 clinical trial applications (CTAs) have been submitted to the European Medicine Agency’s (EMA) Clinical Trial Information System (CTIS) portal through July, marking a substantial increase from a month earlier, according to a 23 August report from the agency.   However, during the same period, most applications (224) were still being registered in the older EudraCT database. (RELATED: EMA reports slow uptick in clinical trial applications submitted via CT...

The number of applications filed through the Clinical Trial Information System (CTIS) portal continues to grow, even while most applications are still being filed in the current EudraCT system, according to a 28 July report from the European Medicines Agency (EMA).  Stakeholders offered a mixed assessment of their user experience at recent forum.   Starting in January 2023, CTIS will replace the EudraCT portal and clinical trial sponsors must use the CTIS portal to a...

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued final guidance this week to assist sponsors in developing clinical pharmacology studies for neonatal populations. The guidance is meant to address gaps in neonatal labeling and encourage the development of therapies that are “unique to neonates.”   The guidance is tailored to sponsors developing these studies for investigational new drug applications (INDs), new drug applications (NDAs), biologics license applications ...

Welcome to the June issue of RF Quarterly in which global regulatory experts write about Japan’s Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA), medical device regulations in China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), and a personal reflection on 3 decades at the International Council for Harmonisation (ICH). Also included are articles on the development of clinical trial disclosure requirements, expedited pathways, and the De Novo pathway and the Final Ru...

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is looking for industry participants for a pilot assessing whether reviewing raw clinical trial data improves its evaluation of marketing authorization applications (MAAs) for new medicines and post-authorization applications.   The pilot , announced on 12 July, stems from a joint workplan announced by EMA and the EU’s Heads of Medicines Agencies (HMA) to address issues related to big data in healthcare and medicines development. On...

Racial, ethnic and sociodemographic disparities that are present in clinical trials and compassionate use agreements for cancer immunotherapy during the pre-approval period are reduced, but not eliminated after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves these cancer treatments, according to recent research published in JAMA Network Open .   “The time frame leading up to FDA approval is an important period in which to observe disparities,” Theresa Ermer, MD, of...