Effective use of real-world data and other data gathered outside the clinical trial arena requires a unified, big-picture approach, according to a new report from the first-ever big data stakeholder forum held by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).   The regulator’s report on the 15 December 2020 forum highlighted the importance of collaboration in addressing some of the challenges of bringing real-world data (RWD) into the drug development process. Some of these incl...

Manufacturers have a narrowing window of opportunity during which to find pragmatic ways for gathering post-market data to support continued use of products under the Medical Device Regulation (MDR), according to experts who spoke at the Euro Convergence 2020 virtual meeting.   The outgoing Medical Device Directive (MDD) contains scant information on post-market surveillance (PMS) and post-market clinical follow-up (PMCF). MDD contains two uses of the term PMS, creatin...

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Thursday released a new guideline offering nine questions and answers on issues related to the role of data monitoring committees (DMCs) in the conduct and management of clinical trials.   EMA explains that the recommendations of DMCs are not binding for trial sponsors, but that sponsors should justify and document and instances where such recommendations are not followed.   “The ultimate responsibility for a clinical trial re...

As part of efforts to prepare for the continued rise in data-rich applications and to help fill the gap separating scientific advances and new therapies, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday unveiled its Technology Modernization Action Plan (TMAP). Near-term modernization in computer hardware and software technologies are the focus of FDA’s TMAP, which offers a broad overview of how the agency needs to adapt. For instance, the TMAP report notes that FD...

As the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) grapples with how to use real-world data for regulatory decisions, two FDA officials wrote in a perspective published last Friday in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology that the agency is developing guidance on data quality issues unique to the real-world data setting and related study design considerations. Aliza Thompson and Mary Ross Southworth of the Division of Cardiovascular and Renal Products w...

Looking to slow the fallout from Novartis’ data manipulation fiasco with its billion-dollar gene therapy Zolgensma (onasemnogene abeparvovec-xioi), CEO Vasant Narasimhan told an investor conference on Monday that the company will be more proactive in reporting data integrity issues to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “We are voluntarily and proactively taking a pledge with the FDA to ensure that we will inform them within five business days of any credible all...

Industry group BIO, the National Association for Rare Disorders (NORD) and the National Center for Health Research (NCHR) called for clarification on how regulators will use draft guidances proposed by external stakeholders on patient experience data. The comments on the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) draft guidance from December 2018 on developing and submitting proposed draft guidances related to patient experience data showed some consensus around including ...

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week sent warning letters to Pfizer’s subsidiary Hospira and Jubilant Life Sciences over good manufacturing practice (GMP) violations at the companies’ facilities in India.   Pfizer   In its warning letter to Pfizer, FDA says that products made at its Hospira facility in Tamil Nadu, India are adulterated as a result of data integrity breaches and laboratory testing shortcomings observed during a week-long inspection la...

A European drug regulators’ taskforce on big data published its first report on Friday. The Heads of Medicines Agencies (HMA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) formed the HMA-EMA Joint Big Data Taskforce to harness the potential of data in development and oversight, starting with the new report. They examined clinical trial data, spontaneous adverse drug reports (ADRs), social media data and real-world data (RWD) to inform the work and reach “an important mileston...

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this month warned Spanish over-the-counter (OTC) drugmaker Proandre SL over good manufacturing practice (GMP) and data integrity issues that landed the firm on import alert in November.   FDA inspected Proandre’s Barcelona facility over the course of four days last June, finding that its OTC Proandre antibacterial soap and hand sanitizer liquid are adulterated and misbranded. Two other products are cited in the warning letter a...

Thanks to the 21st Century Cures Act , the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday published new draft guidance to help stakeholders submit a proposed draft guidance on patient experience data. The 12-page draft guidance, which provides information in a Q&A format, addresses questions relating to both guidance development and other potential pathways for contributing patient experience data. “Today’s guidance document is part of our commitment to advance p...

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday finalized its questions and answers guidance on complying with data integrity requirements under current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) for drugs and biologics. The guidance updates a draft version released in 2016 and has been revised to include additional information on the agency’s current thinking on data integrity to help drugmakers identify lapses and implement best practices to shore up any gaps in thei...