The Saga of PI3K Inhibitors: Part 2 – The shifting role of overall survival

In Part 1 of our blog series on the saga of PI3K inhibitors, we reviewed the FDA’s recent Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) meeting on April 21, 2022, to discuss the agency’s concerns about PI3K inhibitors (PI3Kis). The panel voted resoundingly (16 yes votes; 1 abstention) that future approvals of PI3Kis should be supported by…

The Saga of PI3K Inhibitors: Part 1 — The ODAC Decision

The FDA’s Oncology Division has recently taken a hard stance on PI3K inhibitors, a novel class of drugs that inhibit various isoforms of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and are approved for treating blood cancers. Recent actions by the FDA, including withdrawing some approved indications, indicate that they will likely be seeking a higher bar for new…

Regulatory Policy Watch: Proposed Reforms to the Accelerated Approval Pathway

By Jackie Orabone, PhD and Angela Corona, PhD The accelerated approval (AA) pathway was introduced in 1992 (in response to the AIDS epidemic) to shorten the FDA approval process for drugs to treat serious or life-threatening diseases or rare diseases where there is a high unmet medical need. AA allows for drugs to be approved…

Pitfalls of Accelerated Approval: What Happens When Confirmatory Trials Fail?

The accelerated approval (AA) pathway was introduced in 1992 (in response to the AIDS epidemic) to shorten the FDA approval process for drugs to treat serious or life-threatening diseases or rare diseases where there is a high unmet medical need. AA allows for drugs to be approved on the basis of surrogate endpoints that are…

Surrogate Endpoints for Accelerated Approval

Surrogate endpoints have been used for accelerated approval (AA) since the early 1990s, playing a vital role in getting therapies for serious conditions to patients sooner. The AA pathway was first created in 1992 to accelerate the approval of drugs intended to treat “serious conditions that fill an unmet medical need.” In the intervening 30+…

Introduction to the Accelerated Approval Pathway

The FDA has developed several mechanisms to speed drugs to market when a compelling medical need exists including Accelerated Approval (AA), Priority Review, Fast Track, and Breakthrough Therapy Designation. Accelerated Approval is an important regulatory pathway that provides patients with earlier access to treatments for serious medical conditions when there is an unmet medical need….

Responding to FDA Information Requests: It Comes Down to Clarity of Messaging and Understanding the Therapeutic Landscape

No matter how well you have prepared your New Drug Application (NDA) or Biologic License Agreement (BLA) submission for the FDA, questions posed regarding the development of your product will arise. These are presented in the form of Information Requests (IRs) and Discipline Review Letters (DRLs). The FDA Guidance to Industry from the Center for…

Do Decentralized Clinical Trials Hold the Keys to Future Patient Focused Drug Development?

There’s a lot of buzz around the concept of decentralized clinical trials, and rightly so, given the lessons learned from our experience with clinical trials during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Decentralized trials are executed through telemedicine and mobile or local healthcare providers.  They rely on technology (or medical devices) and information sharing to execute a study…

Extending Asset Reach and Protecting Your IP Through the 505(b)(2) Pathway

Developing a novel pharmaceutical product from discovery to market launch can take up to 10 years and cost as much as $1 billion dollars1. The traditional 505(b)(1) approach to drug development involves a linear progression starting with nonclinical pharmacology, toxicology, and other PK studies, and typically culminates with large randomized phase 3 trials. This stepwise…

COVID-19 Vaccines: When Will the Pandemic End?

As Pfizer, Moderna, and other pharma companies prepare to seek emergency authorization for their SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, the FDA has laid out a roadmap designed to ensure appropriate scientific rigor and help engender public trust. That plan was the subject of a special meeting of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) on October…