Investigational New Drug Review Process

Americans have access to and benefit from one of the most technologically advanced pharmaceutical systems in the world. However, this system is also very strict and tedious. The system this paper will evaluate is the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), more specifically, the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). Although, having access to this system can be frustrating to those that are in the pharmaceutical development industry or those that have illnesses and need the best drugs available in order to cope with their symptoms.

When a pharmaceutical company creates a new drug, it has to go through the FDA and is required to submit a New Drug Application (NDA) to the FDA. The FDA reviews the application to assure that there is an objective proof that the proposed drug is safe and effective. If the

The FDA requires pharmaceutical companies to conduct years of research on their drugs before they begin the actual process approval. Drug companies submit test results to the FDA to be reviewed by their scientists; the FDA actually does no preliminary research on the drugs. In order to be approved, the companies must prove to the FDA that each drug is safe and effective and that the benefits of the drug must outweigh its side effects. The FDA has 800 to 900 employees involved in reviewing drugs before they get to the market. After a drug is approved, the FDA researches by collecting and analyzing thousands of reports each

To better understand the issues associated with the prescription drug industry, it would first be best to understand their development and approval process. For a new drug to enter the market, it must first undergo a lengthy and often expensive research and development. Once a company submits an application for a new drug, it is their responsibility to provide the evidence showing its safety and effectiveness. Until they have undergone these criteria of guidelines and standards set in place, they will not receive FDA approval.

Typically, there is a small number of people used in these Phase I trials, between 20 and 80. Phase II trials have more participants(100-300) who have the condition or disease that the product may be able to treat. Researchers want to gather further safety data and preliminary evidence of the drug’s beneficial effects, and they develop and refine research methods for future trials with this drug. If the drug is indicated to possibly be effective during Phase II, given the observed severity of the disease, the drug will progress to Phase III. In Phase III, the drug is studied in a larger number of people with the disease, between 1,000-3,000 usually. The phase further tests the product’s effectiveness, monitors side effects and, in can compare the product’s effects to a standard treatment, if one is available already. Having more participants reveals the less common side effects. Phase II and Phase III clinical trials typically involve a “control” standard. One group is given the drug and the control group is given either a standard treatment for the illness or a placebo. Phase IV is the part of the trial that is sometimes conducted after a product is already approved and on the market. The purpose is to find out more about the treatment’s long-term risks, optimal use, and benefits, or to test the product in different demographics, such as children. Informed consent is the process by which potential participants for a study are given complete information about the study. The informed consent process provides an opportunity for the researcher and patient to exchange information and ask questions. Patients are invited to enter a trial but are not forced to do so. They can consent to participate if they find the potential risks and benefits acceptable. A participant must sign a consent form prior to enrolling in a study before

A drug can get priority Review designation if offer major advances in treatment, or provide a treatment where no adequate therapy exists. A priority Review means that the time it takes FDA to review a New Drug application (NDA) is reduced. The goal for completing priority review is six months whereas Standard review process takes ten months. The priority review status can apply both to drugs that are used to treat serious disease and drugs for less serious illness. The FDA is giving additional attention and resources towards the drug approval process which have potential significant advances in a treatment. In the period 1999–2011, 100 FDA-priority review pharmaceuticals were approved by both the FDA and the EMA. The majority of the products were first submitted to and approved by the FDA. The FDA has a significantly shorter drug application review time than the EMA.

Before an investigational study on a new drug may take place, research subjects must submit informed consent and informed of all possible risks and benefits of the therapy. There are four types of phases associated with investigational studies that may occur. Beginning with the first phase, a Phase I study consist of few healthy participants who do not have the disease that the certain drug is said to treat. The purpose of this phase is to determine the optimal dosage range and the pharmacokinetics of the drug and if further testing of the drug is necessary. Vital signs, blood tests, urinary analysis, and other specific monitoring exams are performed. The next phase, Phase II, also involves a relatively small number of participants who this time have the disease that the drug is designed to treat. Participants are closely monitored to determine the effects and adverse

The first step in developing a drug is pre-clinical testing. The experimental drug is tested in a laboratory and in animal studies. The drug has to meet safety standards and show potential for being a new drug. If this criterion is met, the drug moves on to the next phase. Phase 1 is concentrated on making sure the drug is safe to use on humans. This is the first time the experimental drug is used on people. Different measures of dosages of the drug are given to a small number of the volunteers. This allows the researchers to be able to measure the body’s response to the drug. The things they measure include how the drug is absorbed, its duration in the bloodstream, and what dosage levels are safe and well accepted by the body. If the experimental drug is deemed safe, it passes on to Phase 2 (Phases of Development, par. 6-7).

They design the drug therapy protocol and indicate the appropriate dosage to use so that patients get the optimal outcome of the medication. Clinical assessments are vital to test the efficiency and the safety of an existing medication specifically through therapeutic drug monitoring. This practice is known to provide effective pharmacologic therapy though producing the maximum benefit of a drug which can remain longer period of time within the patients and have almost no toxicity that could cause harm to patients. This is why therapeutic drug monitoring in the field of pharmacy is essential enough to figure out an effective medication against a disease without any dangerous toxic actions involved to improve patients’ quality of life and hopefully find exceptional cures which is one of the pharmacists’

After all research has been conducted including the testing of all animal and human studies associated, the New Drug application is completed by the drug developer. The results provided are used by the FDA to determine whether the drug is approved or the recommendation of further testing. Finally phase four is based on the monitoring of the drug’s risks and benefits monitored by various sponsors hired by the FDA.

Due to the fact that because drug trials were poorly regulated in the early 1970’s Phase I research was conducted on prisoners. The FDA was granted authority to monitor research that involved humans in the 1978; at which time, the FDA ordered each institution to devise an Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB was to generate and monitor the rules of the trials on all studies done within the universality. The IRB was comprised of faculty members who volunteered to evaluate their colleagues’ studies. Unfortunately, before 2005, FDA inspectors’ primary focus was on verifying the clinical trial data, not the human subjects involved in them.

It is now accepted worldwide that before a drug is brought into routine use its efficacy, safety, and the balance between two need to be formally demonstrated. The efficacy of new drugs nowadays is almost invariably established with a technique known as ‘randomized controlled trial’.

Phase III is the first large-scale trial of human testing. This phase can only begin if the new drug shows to be effective in the phase II. Phase III seeks to further determine the effectiveness of the drug. This is done by testing the drug on different populations, meaning that testing will be done on more people, testing will be done on different drug doses, and the drug will be tested on patients who are also taking other drugs. If Phases I through III show the investigational new drug to be safe and effective, then the pharmaceutical company will file a New Drug Application (NDA). The NDA includes both the results of the first three trial phases and data on how the drug is manufactured (Frank & Hargreaves, 2003; Lipsky & Sharp, 2001;

Generally, an ANDA sponsor of the topical dermatological product has to undergo multiple review cycles with the FDA before the product gets approved and the sponsor has to wait for a longer time mostly. Even though the ICH CTD, ICH Q8 describes the generation of product development report, it is not still clear to ANDA sponsors how this actually applies. As a result, more internal meetings and discussions between the sponsors and the FDA delays the product approval. One of the ways to overcome these challenges is to have a product development report with verified and justified specifications based on the QbD efforts which can help the Office of Generic Drugs (OGD) to be efficient in understanding the developed generic product and approval

The present review describes the importance of validation in pharmaceutical industry, its requirement for approval of new drug application by the various regulatory agencies. Furthermore it highlights the current guidance on process validation by USFDA, EMA.