11746 Professional Development courses delivered Online

Informed consent in clinical research is an ethical and regulatory requirement. A research subject must enter a study voluntarily, be informed about risks and benefits, and understand the difference between investigation and treatment. Subjects must not be coerced into enrolment, nor must they be enticed by exaggerated claims of benefit. Before they can enrol, all potential subjects must agree, in writing, to participate. In addition to ethical and regulatory imperatives, the potential for litigation by subjects further highlights the importance of rigorous adherence to informed consent principles. In this short course we set out the principles and requirements and provide examples of practical issues confronting healthcare professionals and subjects.

A clinical investigator is responsible for conducting the clinical trial in compliance with the study protocol, GCP, medical ethics, and applicable legal requirements. The clinical research community expects that investigators and clinical staff are fully trained in GCP. Duties and functions discussed in this short course include: provision of adequate resources; liaison with IRB/IEC; compliance with protocol; management of investigational product(s), informed consent and data records; and safety reporting.

Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) is a set of rules for medicines manufacturers to follow so that their products are safe, effective, and of good quality. Everyone who works in a processing, quality control, packaging, or warehouse environment for a pharmaceutical or biotechnology company, or one of their contractors, must understand why GMP is important, how it applies to them, and how to comply with it. This short course explains what GMP is and why it is important, and it gives some lessons from history. It introduces the regulations and guidance documents that are the source of GMP rules. Finally, it touches on regulatory inspections and the consequences that can arise from failure to comply with GMP requirements.

The demands on quality from clinical trials are increasing. Quantitative aspects of clinical trials, such as the mass of study data to be collected, the multiple investigational sites, and the need to meet predetermined timelines, often supersede qualitative features. Therefore, addressing basic requirements for quality management is essential when preparing a clinical trial. This short course describes the core elements required for the establishment of a clinical trial and provides an overview of the role of the sponsor in supporting and improving trial quality.

Prevention of contamination is one of the most important goals of GMP. Contamination of product is often difficult to detect, so GMP rules emphasise preventive measures, including: attention to personal health and hygiene, and the wearing of special clothing, by staff; and cleaning and sanitation of premises and equipment. In this short course we set out the basics of GMP requirements in these vital areas.

Analytical statistical elements are essential concepts in the design of clinical trials. This analysis helps us to understand whether a conclusion from a study of a sample of the target population applies generally to that population as a whole. In particular, it helps us to answer the question: Did the treatment effect in the given study occur just by chance? The statistical elements of a well-controlled study minimise the chances of drawing the wrong conclusions, by providing clear thresholds for such errors. The basic statistical elements of a clinical trial include eligibility criteria, randomisation, sample size, power, and blinding, and these are discussed in this short course.

The sponsor of a clinical trial takes responsibility for its initiation, management, and/or financing. A sponsor may transfer any or all of the sponsor’s trial-related duties and functions to a contract research organisation, but the ultimate responsibility for the quality and integrity of the trial data always resides with the sponsor. Duties and functions discussed in this short course include trial design, selection of investigators, QA and QC, data handling and record keeping, finance and compensation, regulatory submissions, management of investigational product(s), safety reporting, monitoring, audit, dealing with noncompliance, and clinical trial reports. ICH guideline E6 (revision 2) encourages sponsors to adopt a risk-based approach to managing the quality of trials. We discuss this approach in general, and aspects such as risk-based monitoring in particular.

In clinical trials, endpoints are measurements to evaluate the results of a new treatment, at an individual patient level. The study data can be extrapolated to patient populations on the basis of clinical similarities to patients participating in the trial. When clinical trial data have been obtained, focus is on the trial endpoints; more specifically, the focus is on whether the trial met or failed the primary endpoint specified before the trial started. The purpose and various types of endpoints are discussed in this short course.

Regulatory authorities tend to abide by the maxim that ‘If it isn’t documented, it didn’t happen’. Rigorous documentation of all aspects of a clinical trial is necessary to provide evidence of GCP and compliance with regulatory requirements, as well as enabling effective management of the trial. In this short course we describe important examples of the documents designated by ICH GCP as essential to the conduct of a clinical trial.

Capture and management of clinical trial data is a challenge. The industry is under pressure to obtain and analyse such data more quickly, while maintaining data integrity, so that products can be brought to market sooner. Effective planning and adequate resources can ensure clinical trials yield high quality data within strict timelines and budget requirements, at the same time satisfying regulatory standards. This short course describes the purpose of data capture and explores efficiencies in data management as part of the evolving regulatory landscape.