US FDA best practices for initiating early feasibility studies for neurological devices in the United States

This article describes the efforts of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Neurological and Physical Medicine Devices to facilitate early clinical testing of potentially beneficial neurological devices in the US. Over the past 5 years, the FDA has made significant advances to this aim by developing early feasibility study best practices and encouraging developers and innovators to initiate their clinical studies in the US. The FDA uses several regulatory approaches to help start neurological device clinical studies, such as early engagement with sponsors and developers, in-depth interaction during the FDA review phase of a regulatory submission, and provision of an FDA toolkit that reviewers can apply to the most challenging submissions.

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD): A practical framework to leverage in the electronic patient-reported outcomes(ePRO) data collection in clinical trials

Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are used in pharmaceuticaltrials to obtain trends in health status. Companies commonly provision tabletand smartphone devices to collect PRO information. Alternatively, the BringYour Own Device (BYOD) model allows patients to leverage personal devices andis actively being explored as a solution.  This article investigates thepotential benefits of BYOD and outlines a framework of considerations. Theframework addresses current challenges and proposes potential solutions toMeasurement Equivalence, Technical, and Operational concerns. BYOD has not yet beenimplemented on any studies for regulatory submission. Nonetheless, there isreason to believe the model will gain traction in the coming years. With theprovided framework, sponsors can assess whether the BYOD model is right for theconsidered study.

TTB Labeling and Formula Processes: Evaluating Burden among Craft Brewers

Previous research indicates that craft breweries experience difficulties with the Certificate of Labeling Approval (COLA) and formula approval processes established by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). This study evaluated the relationship between brewery characteristics and regulatory outcomes. Brewery characteristics of interest were number of full-time personnel, permit age, production volume, regulatory submission volume, and resource utilization. The outcomes evaluated were resubmission frequency of COLA and formula submissions, expense burden, and information burden. The results indicate that correspondence with TTB officials decreases resubmission frequency of formula submissions, while volume of resources used during submission preparation is positively correlated with the resubmission frequency of COLA submissions. Regarding expense burden, advice from fellow brewers and coworkers decreases burden associated with formula submissions and COLA submissions, respectively. The results indicate that the COLA and formula processes are associated with substantial information burden and are significantly associated with certain brewery characteristics.

Digital Innovation in Medicinal Product Regulatory Submission, Review, and Approvals to Create a Dynamic Regulatory Ecosystem—Are We Ready for a Revolution?

The pace of scientific progress over the past several decades within the biological, drug development, and the digital realm has been remarkable. The’omics revolution has enabled a better understanding of the biological basis of disease, unlocking the possibility of new products such as gene and cell therapies which offer novel patient centric solutions. Innovative approaches to clinical trial designs promise greater efficiency, and in recent years, scientific collaborations, and consortia have been developing novel approaches to leverage new sources of evidence such as real-world data, patient experience data, and biomarker data. Alongside this there have been great strides in digital innovation. Cloud computing has become mainstream and the internet of things and blockchain technology have become a reality. These examples of transformation stand in sharp contrast to the current inefficient approach for regulatory submission, review, and approval of medicinal products. This process has not fundamentally changed since the beginning of medicine regulation in the late 1960s. Fortunately, progressive initiatives are emerging that will enrich and streamline regulatory decision making and deliver patient centric therapies, if they are successful in transforming the current transactional construct and harnessing scientific and technological advances. Such a radical transformation will not be simple for both regulatory authorities and company sponsors, nor will progress be linear. We examine the shortcomings of the current system with its entrenched and variable business processes, offer examples of progress as catalysts for change, and make the case for a new cloud based model. To optimize navigation toward this reality we identify implications and regulatory design questions which must be addressed. We conclude that a new model is possible and is slowly emerging through cumulative change initiatives that question, challenge, and redesign best practices, roles, and responsibilities, and that this must be combined with adaptation of behaviors and acquisition of new skills.

Formulation Development Studies for Sterile Dosages: A Comprehensive Review

Sterile generic dosage development requires that specific critical quality attributes be considered and evaluated, regardless of the route of delivery or the type of registration application. The review briefed with an overview of Pharmaceutical Development study requirements. Each of the various stages of studies like Compatibility with the packaging materials, manufacturing vessels, processing aids, MOCs, Filters, Tubing’s and Gaskets also with special studies to be conducted as part of Regulatory Submission, process considerations. Thus, the chapter offers the formulator an overview of the foundational principles associated with formulation development /Pre-formulation studies of sterile products. Keywords: Pharmaceutical Development, Compatibility, Studies, Hold time.

Communicating Regulatory High Throughput Sequencing Data Using BioCompute Objects

For regulatory submissions of next generation sequencing (NGS) data it is vital for the analysis workflow to be robust, reproducible, and understandable. This project demonstrates that the use of the IEEE 2791-2020 Standard, (BioCompute objects [BCO]) enables complete and concise communication of NGS data analysis results. One arm of a clinical trial was replicated using synthetically generated data made to resemble real biological data. Two separate, independent analyses were then carried out using BCOs as the tool for communication of analysis: one to simulate a pharmaceutical regulatory submission to the FDA, and another to simulate the FDA review. The two results were compared and tabulated for concordance analysis: of the 118 simulated patient samples generated, the final results of 117 (99.15%) were in agreement. This high concordance rate demonstrates the ability of a BCO, when a verification kit is included, to effectively capture and clearly communicate NGS analyses within regulatory submissions. BCO promotes transparency and induces reproducibility, thereby reinforcing trust in the regulatory submission process.

Voicing regulatory perspectives of the combination products

Combination products (CPs) are nothing but medical products that do not adequately apt solely into a regulatory category, but reasonably comprise of any combination of drug, device and biological product. The use of combination products and delivery systems are to deal with a chronic condition or to relieve an acute condition or to treat the various lives threaten & complex diseases. This article assesses the regulation of combination products in USA, India, China, Japan and Europe and likens the regulatory regime in pharmaceutical environments. Though many of these types of products have been available for years, recent FDA guidelines have spelled out viewpoint on both a development and commercialization perspective. These elucidations have led to augment regulatory expectations resulting in new and increased challenges. To make sure compliance with these regulations and beat challenges, it is essential to remain familiar with the dynamic changing regulations. This piece of writing spotlights on key aspects to understand the concept of combination products, its classification, review period and most importantly facts to consider when any organization is gearing up for a regulatory submission to regulatory agency and its prospective for PLCM of the combination product.