FDA Publishes Guidance on Financial Conflicts of Interest; FDA Calls for Better Security; Concerns About Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing; Monoclonal Antibody for Osteoporosis Approved; New Treatment from Genzyme for Late-Onset Genetic Disease; Washington Legal Foundation Seeks Reversal of West Virginia Decision

2010 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 497-500
Blood ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 120 (21) ◽  
pp. 4644-4644
Author(s):  
Mehmet F. Hepgur ◽  
Preeti Chaudhary ◽  
Sarmen Sarkissian ◽  
Richard J. H. Smith ◽  
Howard Liebman ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract 4644 Background: Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) is an ultra-rare disease characterized by microangiopathic hemolytic anemia (MAHA), thrombocytopenia and renal failure in the absence of Shiga toxin exposure. Dysregulation of the alternative pathway by mutations in complement regulatory proteins or antibodies to these proteins have been implicated in the pathogenesis of the disorder. Aims: We report the late onset of aHUS in association with heterozygous deletion of two genes, CFHR1 and CFHR3, and a mutation in CFH, c.497G>T, p.Arg166Leu. The latter mutation has not previously been reported with aHUS. Methods: A 20-year-old female whose past history was unremarkable with the exception of a spontaneous abortion 3 months earlier, presented to an emergency room with abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea three days after eating raw fish. Within 4 days of hospitalization she developed MAHA, thrombocytopenia and renal failure. Studies were negative for Shiga toxin and showed an ADAMTS13 level of 40%. A diagnosis of aHUS was made. Treatment was initiated with daily plasma exchange (PE) which was increased to twice daily for 6 weeks. Response was poor. After discontinuing PE, the patient was treated on an IRB-approved compassionate-use protocol with eculizumab 900 mg weekly for four weeks followed by 1200 mg every two weeks. Results: The patient responded slowly to eculizumab. PK values of eculizumab were sub-therapeutic at week 4. On week 5, she was switched to the maintenance dose of 1200 mg every two weeks, which resulted in a rapid normalization of her platelet count and LDH, with further improvement of her renal function and normalization of her mental status. The patient is doing well on continued eculizumab treatment. Genetic testing revealed a known copy-number variation (CNV), hemizygosity for CFHR1 and CFHR3, and a mutation in short consensus repeat (SCR) 3 of CFH, p.Arg166Leu. Summary/Conclusions: This patient presented with aHUS unresponsive to PE, but responsive to eculizumab treatment. Genetic testing of complement regulatory genes identified a known CNV and a mutation in CFH, p.Arg166Leu. This mutation lies in SCR3 of CFH, a region of the protein important for fluid-phase regulation of the C3 convertase. Although it has been seen in a rare case of dense deposit disease, it has not has not been reported with aHUS. This patient's poor response to PE suggests that additional genetic factors may be present in this patient that affected the course of disorder. Her slow response to eculizumab may have been due to third spacing of the drug secondary to hypoalbuminemia with anasarca as documented sub-therapeutic levels were present on week 4. When the dose was increased to 1200 mg every two weeks, the patient rapidly improved with resolution of the aHUS. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (04) ◽  
pp. 34-46

Conflicts of Interest in Biomedical Research. Clinical Trials in Low and Middle Income Countries: A Reflection on the Issues. The Closure of the National Bio-bank in Singapore. Draining the Goodwill of Science: The Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing Industry in East Asia.


2021 ◽  
Vol 132 ◽  
pp. S289
Author(s):  
Julia Becker ◽  
Janey Youngblom ◽  
Brianne Kirkpatrick ◽  
Liane Abrams

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 168-170
Author(s):  
K Elsolh ◽  
D Tham ◽  
M A Scaffidi ◽  
R Bansal ◽  
J Li ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) studies have commonly relied on real-world evidence to evaluate different therapies. An emerging idea has been the use of propensity score matching as a statistical method to account for baseline characteristics in IBD patients. In retrospective studies, propensity score matching of patients helps reduce treatment assignment bias and mimic the effects of randomization. Recently, propensity-score matching has become an important tool in IBD studies comparing biologic therapeutics. Biologic medications are among the highest-grossing drugs worldwide, and their pharmaceutical producers make considerable payments to physicians to market them. In spite of this, there is a lack of evidence examining the role of undue industry influence among propensity-score matched comparative studies evaluating biologic therapeutics for IBD. Aims Given the documented association between IBD biologics and FCOI, we hypothesize a high burden of FCOI in propensity-score matched studies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of disclosed & undisclosed financial conflicts of Interest (FCOI) in propensity-score matched comparison studies evaluating biologics for IBD. Methods We developed & ran a librarian-reviewed systematic search on EMBASE, MEDLINE, and Cochrane Library databases for all propensity-score matched retrospective studies comparing biologics for the treatment of IBD. Full-text retrieval & screening was performed on all studies in duplicate. 16 articles were identified. Industry payments to authors were only considered FCOI if they were made by a company producing a biologic that was included in the comparison study. Disclosed FCOI were identified by authors’ interests disclosures in full-texts. Any undisclosed FCOI among US authors were identified using the Centre for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Open Payments Database, which collects industry payments to physicians. Results Based on a preliminary analysis of 16 studies, there was at least one author with a relevant FCOI in 14 (88%) of the 16 studies. 14 studies (88%) had at least one disclosed FCOI, while 6 studies (37.5%) had at least one undisclosed FCOI. Among studies with disclosed FCOI, a mean of 40.2% (SD = 23.4%) of authors/study reported FCOI. Among studies with undisclosed FCOI, a mean of 18.8% (SD = 7.0%) of authors/study reported FCOI. The total dollar value of FCOIs was $1,974,328.3. The median conflict dollar value was $5,576.6 (IQR: $321.6 to $36,394.9). Conclusions We found a high burden of undisclosed FCOI (37.5%) among authors of propensity-score matched studies evaluating IBD biologics. Given the potential for undue industry influence stemming from such payments, authors should ensure better transparency with industry relationships. Funding Agencies None


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Masahiro Inoue ◽  
Shota Arichi ◽  
Tsuyoshi Hachiya ◽  
Anna Ohtera ◽  
Seok-Won Kim ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective In order to assess the applicability of a direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing to translational research for obtaining new knowledge on relationships between drug target genes and diseases, we examined possibility of these data by associating SNPs and disease related phenotype information collected from healthy individuals. Results A total of 12,598 saliva samples were collected from the customers of commercial service for SNPs analysis and web survey were conducted to collect phenotype information. The collected dataset revealed similarity to the Japanese data but distinguished differences to other populations of all dataset of the 1000 Genomes Project. After confirmation of a well-known relationship between ALDH2 and alcohol-sensitivity, Phenome-Wide Association Study (PheWAS) was performed to find association between pre-selected drug target genes and all the phenotypes. Association was found between GRIN2B and multiple phenotypes related to depression, which is considered reliable based on previous reports on the biological function of GRIN2B protein and its relationship with depression. These results suggest possibility of using SNPs and phenotype information collected from healthy individuals as a translational research tool for drug discovery to find relationship between a gene and a disease if it is possible to extract individuals in pre-disease states by properly designed questionnaire.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Janessa Mladucky ◽  
Bonnie Baty ◽  
Jeffrey Botkin ◽  
Rebecca Anderson

Introduction: Customer data from direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTC GT) are often used for secondary purposes beyond providing the customer with test results. Objective: The goals of this study were to determine customer knowledge of secondary uses of data, to understand their perception of risks associated with these uses, and to determine the extent of customer concerns about privacy. Methods: Twenty DTC GT customers were interviewed about their experiences. The semi-structured interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed for common themes. Results: Most participants were aware of some secondary uses of data. All participants felt that data usage for research was acceptable, but acceptability for non-research purposes varied across participants. The majority of participants were aware of the existence of a privacy policy, but few read the majority of the privacy statement. When previously unconsidered uses of data were discussed, some participants expressed concern over privacy protections for their data. Conclusion: When exposed to new information on secondary uses of data, customers express concerns and a desire to improve consent with transparency, more opt-out options, improved readability, and more information on future uses and potential risks from direct-to-consumer companies. Effective ways to improve readership about the secondary use, risk of use, and protection of customer data should be investigated and the findings implemented by DTC companies to protect public trust in these practices.


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