102 Drug Safety courses

This course sets out the procedures that sponsors need to follow to gain authorisation to conduct clinical trials under the Regulation, and it summarises and links to the extensive guidance available from the European Commission and the European Medicines Agency. Its companion course CT12 sets out the procedures that sponsors need to follow to conduct authorised clinical trials in compliance with the Regulation. The two courses therefore provide an ideal foundation for understanding and complying with the new law.

Unlike the great majority of other countries, the advertising of prescription drugs directly to consumers is permitted in the USA. Spending by drug companies on direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs has increased more than four-fold over two decades, with a dramatic increase in the number of TV ads. In addition, the Internet and social media platforms have increasingly enabled companies to engage more actively with the public.

In this course we set out the legal framework for the regulation of advertising and promotion of prescription drugs in the USA. We identify the regulatory authorities and sources of guidance. We summarize basic requirements that advertisements and promotional labeling must meet, and we identify consequences that may follow failure to comply.

The medicinal products industry is heavily regulated by governments. Within the industry’s Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) framework, analytical laboratories engaged in quality control (QC) of starting materials, intermediates, bulk products, finished products, and packaging need to comply with relevant GMP standards. We refer to these as Good Quality Control Laboratory Practice, or GQCLP. Regulatory authorities inspect laboratories to confirm that they meet the standards. This course explains how to comply with GQCLP, and it provides advice on laboratory work in general.

The purpose of GLP is to provide assurance of the quality and reliability of nonclinical study data. GLP covers the planning, performance, monitoring, recording and reporting of studies. Regulatory authorities typically require GLP rules to be followed for nonclinical studies intended to support an application for approval of clinical research or marketing of a product containing the test item. This course outlines the history of GLP and explains why it is important, identifies the penalties that may be incurred for noncompliance, and sets out requirements that need to be met. Learners are also referred to the two main sources of GLP rules: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Principles on Good Laboratory Practice and US Regulation 21 CFR 58: Good Laboratory Practice for Nonclinical Laboratory Studies.

This module addresses characteristic issues influencing the registration of medicinal products based on monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), for use in humans. Regulatory requirements for the registration of biological medicinal products such as those based on mAbs differ in certain respects from those for small-molecule products. This is because of the distinct characteristics of biologics, such as complex structure and susceptibility to variation during manufacture.

The CTD is the internationally recognised standard format for submissions to medicines regulatory authorities. In the European Economic Area, the USA and Canada, the CTD, in its electronic format (eCTD), is mandatory for all applications for marketing approval and all subsequent related submissions. The CTD is accepted in many other countries, being mandatory for new prescription medicines in some. This module explains the rationale for the CTD and provides guidance on its structure and format and the ways in which it is used.

The Centralised Procedure (CP) is one of three routes available to applicants to gain multinational marketing authorisation within the European Economic Area (EEA) on the basis of a single application. In the CP, one successful application leads to a marketing authorisation being issued by the European Commission that applies throughout the EEA. The CP is mandatory for certain types of products.

Medicines for the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of rare diseases have become known as ‘orphan drugs’ because of their commercial unattractiveness. Development of such products is successfully encouraged through incentives offered by regulatory authorities. To qualify for important incentives, the sponsor of a drug must gain ‘orphan designation’ for its use in an indication. This module describes the requirements for orphan designation and how to apply for it in the USA and the European Economic Area.

21CFR11 applies to records that are required to be submitted to the FDA, or that are subject to FDA inspection, and that are in electronic form – that is, as computer files. It applies to all computer systems used to create, modify, maintain, archive, retrieve, or transmit such records – from a humble spreadsheet program to a complex information management system.