Drug developers often discontinue translational research as they move into late phase clinical studies – a move that can come back to haunt them, particularly if they want to rely on such data for confirmatory evidence, said Office of New Drugs Director Peter Stein.
Sponsors should consider continuing translational science in parallel with their pivotal clinical trials, particularly if they may want to rely on that science as confirmatory evidence to meet the US Food and Drug Administration’s effectiveness standard, Peter Stein, FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Office of New Drugs director, said.
Stein raised the issue due to concerns that a lack of this research is hurting new drug applications.
The group had been laid off as part of the 1 April reduction-in-force, which led to missed guidance publication deadlines.
Julian Beach, interim executive director of healthcare quality and access at the UK drug regulator, the MHRA, tells the Pink Sheet how the agency is responding to increased efforts to develop bacteriophage therapies.
The US FDA ended efforts to regulate lab-developed tests as medical devices for now when it did not appeal a decision from the Eastern District of Texas that tossed out the agency's final rule.
The UK regulator wants to help companies to develop bacteriophages for the treatment of infections. Its first guidance on this topic offers advice to researchers and sets out the regulatory requirements they will need to meet.
