Improving The Regulatory Review Process

Regulatory review is the last major development hurdle that must be passed by a new medicine before it reaches the market. At a time when pharmaceutical companies are reviewing their R&D strategies, and attempting to reduce drug development times, it is extremely important that the review process is made as efficient as possible. The 11th CMR Workshop, held in September 1995, provided the opportunity for regulatory authority and industry personnel from Europe, North America, Australia and Japan to openly discuss views and exchange experiences on the subject of improving the review process. The proceedings of this meeting provide a comprehensive overview of the current review process around the world. The contributors describe the present situation and highlight company strategies and regulatory initiatives to improve the review process. This volume also summarises the suggestions that were developed by the participants, covering many facets of this process, including the quality and size of the dossier, dialogue, submission strategies, feedback and the response to questions.

At a time when it is becoming usual for medicines to be developed for a global market and pharmaceutical companies are endeavouring to expedite the drug development process, Regulatory Authorities are concentrating on improving their efficiency and effectiveness. Therefore, it is not surprising that questions are being asked as to how performance might be measured and compared between different authorities who are now often in receipt of dossiers that have been submitted to several agencies at the same time. Issues such as 'what target should be set for the review of new medicines?' and `how can quality be assured?' are now considered to be of critical importance. The twelfth CMR International Workshop, held in January 1997, provided the opportunity for Regulatory Authority and industry personnel from Europe, North America, Australia and Japan to openly discuss experiences and exchange views on how to improve the review process. The proceedings of this meeting provide a comprehensive overview of the current review process in different countries and the need for performance measures and targets. This volume summarises the many suggestions that were debated at the Workshop, and includes chapters on measuring performance, and on the integration of quality into the review process.

Federal regulations affect nearly every area of our lives and interest in them is increasing. However, many people have no idea how regulations are developed or how they have an impact on our lives. Regulation: A Primer by Susan Dudley and Jerry Brito provides an accessible overview of regulatory theory, analysis, and practice. The Primer examines the constitutional underpinnings of federal regulation and discusses who writes and enforces regulation and how they do it. Published by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, it also provides insights into the different varieties of regulation and how to analyze whether a regulatory proposal makes citizens better or worse off. Each chapter discusses key aspects of regulation and provides further readings for those interested in exploring these topics in more detail.

Improving and Accelerating Therapeutic Development for Nervous System Disorders is the summary of a workshop convened by the IOM Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders to examine opportunities to accelerate early phases of drug development for nervous system drug discovery. Workshop participants discussed challenges in neuroscience research for enabling faster entry of potential treatments into first-in-human trials, explored how new and emerging tools and technologies may improve the efficiency of research, and considered mechanisms to facilitate a more effective and efficient development pipeline. There are several challenges to the current drug development pipeline for nervous system disorders. The fundamental etiology and pathophysiology of many nervous system disorders are unknown and the brain is inaccessible to study, making it difficult to develop accurate models. Patient heterogeneity is high, disease pathology can occur years to decades before becoming clinically apparent, and diagnostic and treatment biomarkers are lacking. In addition, the lack of validated targets, limitations related to the predictive validity of animal models - the extent to which the model predicts clinical efficacy - and regulatory barriers can also impede translation and drug development for nervous system disorders. Improving and Accelerating Therapeutic Development for Nervous System Disorders identifies avenues for moving directly from cellular models to human trials, minimizing the need for animal models to test efficacy, and discusses the potential benefits and risks of such an approach. This report is a timely discussion of opportunities to improve early drug development with a focus toward preclinical trials.

In an effort to increase knowledge and understanding of the process of assuring data quality and validity in clinical trials, the IOM hosted a workshop to open a dialogue on the process to identify and discuss issues of mutual concern among industry, regulators, payers, and consumers. The presenters and panelists together developed strategies that could be used to address the issues that were identified. This IOM report of the workshop summarizes the present status and highlights possible strategies for making improvements to the education of interested and affected parties as well as facilitating future planning.

The development and application of regulatory science - which FDA has defined as the science of developing new tools, standards, and approaches to assess the safety, efficacy, quality, and performance of FDA-regulated products - calls for a well-trained, scientifically engaged, and motivated workforce. FDA faces challenges in retaining regulatory scientists and providing them with opportunities for professional development. In the private sector, advancement of innovative regulatory science in drug development has not always been clearly defined, well coordinated, or connected to the needs of the agency. As a follow-up to a 2010 workshop, the IOM held a workshop on September 20-21, 2011, to provide a format for establishing a specific agenda to implement the vision and principles relating to a regulatory science workforce and disciplinary infrastructure as discussed in the 2010 workshop.

In the realm of health care, privacy protections are needed to preserve patients' dignity and prevent possible harms. Ten years ago, to address these concerns as well as set guidelines for ethical health research, Congress called for a set of federal standards now known as the HIPAA Privacy Rule. In its 2009 report, Beyond the HIPAA Privacy Rule: Enhancing Privacy, Improving Health Through Research, the Institute of Medicine's Committee on Health Research and the Privacy of Health Information concludes that the HIPAA Privacy Rule does not protect privacy as well as it should, and that it impedes important health research.

This book compares national and centralised procedure practices and key performance metrics, including current approval times, review practices and pharmacovigilance standards, in the seven Gulf States. Opportunities for an improved regulatory system are identified, which, if fully implemented, could have a significant impact on patients’ access to new medicines. The Persian Gulf represents the next growth market for the global biopharmaceutical industry but to date there has been limited information about the regulatory review processes employed in these countries. A thorough examination of the strategies currently being implemented by the Gulf States is considered critical to the future regulatory environment in this region. Pharmaceutical Regulatory Environment: Challenges & Opportunities in the Gulf Region is a must read for those interested in pharmaceutical regulation in the Gulf region.