Analysis of Important Medical Adverse Events and Signals Related with Cyclosporine and Tacrolimus Using the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) Database

Objective@#This study aimed to analyze the important medical adverse events (IMEs) of cyclosporine and tacrolimus using the reports in US FDA adverse event reporting system (FAERS) and to detect related signals. @*Methods@#The FAERS database was used to analyze the IMEs reported for cyclosporine or tacrolimus during 2017-2021. Reporting odds ratio (ROR) and information component were used to analyze signals for adverse events of both drugs. It was investigated whether the detected signals were present on drug labels in Korea and the United States. @*Results@#Among the total 24,688 reports, the reports on tacrolimus accounted 75.8%. Mean age of the patients was 47.9 years old and median number of adverse events was 2.0 per report. The number of patients hospitalized for adverse events was 7,979 (25.3%). Among the adverse reactions reported on the cyclosporine and tacrolimus, 576 and 1,363 events were detected as signals for cyclosporine and tacrolimus, respectively, and of these, IMEs accounted for 44.8 and 59.2%, respectively. The IMEs related with infections/infestations, renal/urinary disorders, and blood and lymphatic system disorders were reported frequently for both drugs. The most frequently detected IMEs were renal impairment for cyclosporine and acute kidney injury for tacrolimus. Among the top 3 IMEs for each reported SOC for cyclosporine and tacrolimus, 9 and 2 unexpected adverse events were identified, respectively. @*Conclusion@#This study identified the IMEs and signals of cyclosporine and tacrolimus, and detected unidentified adverse events in a drug information database.

Development of Agenda for Pharmaceutical Care Service Research and Development using the Analytical Hierarchy Process

BACKGROUND: Although the importance of pharmaceutical care service has been growing to meet the needs of customers with the improvement of clinical and humanistic outcomes, there was not a systematic strategy to promote research in Korea. The aim of this study was to suggest the core agendas for pharmaceutical care services research and development (R&D) considering priorities. METHODS: Based on desk researches, we developed R&D agendas for the needs of improving pharmaceutical care services in the area of institution, community, and public health. To determine the priority of agendas in developing pharmaceutical care service, analytic hierarchy process (AHP) analysis was performed by the 14 experts. Criteria and subcriteria were assessed for significance by pairwise comparisons. Then, agendas were evaluated for importance according to each subcriteria, and rank ordered considering the weight calculated by multiplying the importance scores of the criteria and the subcriteria. RESULTS: We derived 25 agendas including 13 for institutional pharmaceutical care service, 8 for community pharmaceutical care service, and 4 for public-health related pharmaceutical care service. AHP model was constructed based on 4 criteria and 8 subcriteria by a hierarchical structure. From the AHP survey, the ‘Development of pharmaceutical care service for metabolic and chronic disease’ agenda accounted for the highest priority. CONCLUSION: We have developed the R&D agendas of the pharmaceutical care service which should be promoted. The results should be utilized by the government to nationally support the development of the standards and relevant regulations related to pharmaceutical care services in Korea.

Perspectives on Adopting the Guideline for Multi-regional Clinical Trials in Korea: A Multi-stakeholder Survey

BACKGROUND@#With the globalization of drug development, multi-regional clinical trials (MRCTs) have emerged to facilitate rapid availability of medicines to patients worldwide. The present study aimed to has explored attitudes and perceptions towards adopting the Korean MRCT guideline.@*METHODS@#An online survey, consisting of 16 questions, classified into two subjects, was administered to stakeholders in Korea. Most quantitative components were measured using the Likert scales. A content analysis of the qualitative components was carried out to identify the keywords in open-ended responses.@*RESULTS@#A total of 94 survey responses were analyzed: 51 participants from pharmaceutical companies, 11 from clinical research organizations, and 21 from clinical trial centers. The content of the guideline was rated as appropriate for clarity, acceptability, and applicability (96.8, 96.8, and 93.6%, respectively). The local environmental impact of the systemic/political, academic/technical, and industrial/economical aspects of the guideline was rated as appropriate at 95.7, 97.9, and 91.5%, respectively. The suggested adoption period was 1~2 years (40, 42.6%). The concept and individuals' domestic circumstances were the key problems affecting the clarity, applicability, and local environmental impact of the guideline.@*CONCLUSION@#The Korean MRCT guideline was well-developed. Their overall impact on the local environmental impact of MRCTs in Korea was expected to be beneficial, but methods are needed to minimize the negative impacts. The findings of this study can inform the priorities for the future adoption of the guideline in Korea.

Regulations and Guidelines for Planning and Design of Multi-regional Clinical Trials

OBJECTIVE: Multi-regional clinical trials have been widely used for accelerating global drug development by multinational pharmaceutical companies. In this study, we aimed to review and analyze the international trends in regulations and guidelines on multi-regional clinical trials by regulatory authorities and international organizations, such as International Conference on Harmonisation, for referring to policies, including development of domestic guidelines for multi-regional clinical trials. METHODS: The policies, regulations, and guidelines published by the US Food and Drug Administration, European Medicines Agency, Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (Japan), and China Food and Drug Administration were searched, and the International Conference on Harmonisation E17 draft guideline was reviewed. RESULTS: The regulatory authorities in developed countries have developed and implemented regulations and guidelines on multi-regional clinical trials to promote simultaneous global drug development and evaluate the regional differences in drug safety and efficacy. International Conference on Harmonisation developed the draft guideline for planning/designing of multi-regional clinical trials in 2016, which recommends the general principles for strategy-related issues and design of multi-regional clinical trials, and for protocol-related issues, such as consideration of regional variability, subject selection, dose selection, endpoints, comparators, overall sample size, allocation to regions, collecting information on efficacy and safety, and statistical analysis. CONCLUSION: It is important to understand the international regulatory requirements for designing and planning of multi-regional clinical trials for global drug development. Moreover, it is necessary to prepare multi-regional clinical trial guidelines in accordance with the Korean regulation for clinical trials and drug administration.

Regulation of Pharmacogene Expression by microRNA in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Research Network

Individual differences in drug responses are associated with genetic and epigenetic variability of pharmacogene expression. We aimed to identify the relevant miRNAs which regulate pharmacogenes associated with drug responses. The miRNA and mRNA expression profiles derived from data for normal and solid tumor tissues in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Research Network. Predicted miRNAs targeted to pharmacogenes were identified using publicly available databases. A total of 95 pharmacogenes were selected from cholangiocarcinoma and colon adenocarcinoma, as well as kidney renal clear cell, liver hepatocellular, and lung squamous cell carcinomas. Through the integration analyses of miRNA and mRNA, 35 miRNAs were found to negatively correlate with mRNA expression levels of 16 pharmacogenes in normal bile duct, liver, colon, and lung tissues (p<0.05). Additionally, 36 miRNAs were related to differential expression of 32 pharmacogene mRNAs in those normal and tumorigenic tissues (p<0.05). These results indicate that changes in expression levels of miRNAs targeted to pharmacogenes in normal and tumor tissues may play a role in determining individual variations in drug response.

Clinical Outcomes of Multidisciplinary Team Care on the Regulation of Chronic Kidney Disease - Mineral and Bone Disorder (CKD-MBD) in Patients Undergoing Dialysis

BACKGROUND: Multidisciplinary team care (MTC) is a collaborative approach to treatment plan and ongoing care. We aimed to evaluate the clinical effect of MTC on the regulation of chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorder (CKD-MBD) complications in dialysis patients. METHODS: This retrospective observational study was approved by the institutional review board. Among patients who have undergone dialysis at admission, the patients admitted to the nephrology ward were allocated to MTC group, and the others to usual care (UC) group. The MTC group had collaborative care by nephrologists, nurses, pharmacists, and nutritionists. The endpoints were the regulation of corrected calcium (cCa) and phosphate (P), the percent of patients in target level of cCa-P product (cCa×P), and the prescription rate of non-calcium based P-binders. RESULTS: A total of 163 patients were included from January to December 2009. A significant difference was shown in the percentage of patients in target cCa×P level at admission (MTC vs. UC, 81.40% vs. 91.67%; P = 0.038), but there was no significant difference at discharge. During admission, the cCa and P levels of patients in only UC group were significantly changed. In addition, compared with UC group, patients in MTC group were more likely prescribed appropriate P-binders, when they had higher cCa×P levels than 55 mg²/dL² (P <0.001). CONCLUSION: It was found that MTC had beneficial effect on improving the regulation of CKD-MBD and the appropriate phosphate binder uses. Therefore, application of the MTC is anticipated to enhance quality of clinical care in chronic diseases.