Representative analysis of elderly subjects in clinical trials of prostate cancer drugs / 中华老年医学杂志

Objective:To analyze whether the sample of elderly subjects in clinical trials of prostate cancer drugs is representative.Methods:From the level of trial design, the age distribution of subjects in clinical trials of prostate cancer drugs for elderly patients from January 2019 to December 2021 was inquired on the platform of drug clinical trial registration and information disclosure.From the actual enrollment level, the prostate cancer drug clinical trials initiated and completed by a hospital from January 2010 to June 2022 were collected.The age information of subjects in all centers was collected for multicenter trials with a summary report, and the age data of subjects in the center was collected for trials without a summary report or single-center trials.The average age of prostate cancer onset and the incidence of prostate cancer in different age groups were compared with the Chinese Cancer Registry System, so as to compare whether the two were consistent.Results:Most of the trials(72.1%、44/61)did not set upper age limit at the protocol design level.Phase Ⅲ and phase Ⅳ trials did not set an upper age limit for enrolled subjects in the protocol.From the actual enrollment level, a total of 19 studies were included in this study, with 1 402 subjects, and the average age of subjects was 67.1±8.6 years old, which was significantly different from the average age of prostate cancer in China and Beijing(all P<0.001). The age group with the largest number of participants was 60-64 years old(34.2%、479/1 402). The population aged ≥75 years was the least(21.5%, 301/1 402), which was different from the high incidence age group of prostate cancer in China in 2017(421.77/100 000). Conclusions:Clinical trials of prostate cancer drugs are designed to cover all age groups of elderly patients, but the actual sample representation of the enrolled elderly subjects is insufficient.Under the premise of protecting the safety of subjects, the trial population who are matched for the average age of prostate cancer onset and the incidence of prostate cancer in age groups, should be gradually increased.

Clinical trials tracking nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: Drug classification / 临床肝胆病杂志

At present, there are still no effective drugs launched for the treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and many drugs are being evaluated in clinical trials. These drugs have different mechanisms of action in treatment, such as improvement of glycolipid metabolism, anti-inflammation, anti-fibrosis, and improvement of intestinal microbiota. This article elaborates on the research and development of drugs from the following aspects: inflammatory response and immune activation, lipid metabolism and insulin resistance, lipotoxicity, oxidative stress, cell apoptosis and necrosis, collagen formation and degradation, and proliferation of intestinal microbiota.

Declaración de la Academia Chilena de Medicina sobre el Título V de la Ley 20. 850 (Ley Ricarte Soto) y su proyecto de reglamento "De los ensayos clínicos de productos farmacéuticos y elementos de uso médico" / Declaration of the Chilean Academy of Medicine of Law 20. 850 "On clinical trials of pharmaceutical products and medical devices" and of the bylaw that will regulate its application

In Chile, high cost treatments required by selected medical conditions are financed by the State, according to Law 20.850. A bylaw under discussion by the Senate regulates clinical trials, posing complex issues that will endanger local interest in front-line research: 1) The exclusive and mandatory control bestowed to the Institute of Public Health during all stages of the trials and also the surveillance of institutions performing clinical trials, overriding their Clinical Research Review Boards; 2) The 10 year period during which any adverse event is assumed to have been caused by the medication or devise evaluated by the trial, unless the contrary is proven in a judicial process; 3) Individuals submitted to the trials are entitled to free post trial access to the treatment received during the study, financed by the trial supporting entities and as long as the drug or devise is considered to be useful. While agreeing with the need to have a National Registry of Clinical Trials, we predict that the mentioned critical issues in the bylaw will lead to difficulties and unnecessary judicial processes, thus limiting clinicians’ interest in performing research. We propose to modify the bylaw, excluding responsibilities on events associated with the natural evolution of the medical condition, with patients’ ageing or with comorbidities and clinical events considered unpredictable when the protocol was accepted. We recommend that the free post trial access should be a joint decision involving the patient and the attending physician, taking in consideration that the volunteer has been exposed to risks and burdens, or when discontinuation of treatment entails a vital risk until the treatment under study has been approved and becomes available in the national market.

En Chile los tratamientos de alto costo requeridos por seleccionadas condiciones médicas son financiados por el Estado, de acuerdo a la Ley 20.85, que se hizo efectiva en noviembre de 2015. Un reglamento de esta ley -actualmente en discusión por el Senado- incluye la regulación de los ensayos clínicos y plantea importantes aspectos que van a poner en riesgo la realización de investigaciones clínicas avanzadas: 1) El control exclusivo y mandatorio otorgado al Instituto de Salud Pública durante todas las etapas de los ensayos y la vigilancia de las instituciones que los realizan, que sobrepasa las atribuciones de los Comités de Ética Científica Institucionales; 2) El período de hasta 10 años después de la aparición de cualquier efecto adverso, durante el cual se asume causado por el medicamento o dispositivo evaluado en el ensayo, mientras no se demuestre lo contrario en un proceso judicial; 3) Los participantes de los estudios tienen derecho a continuar con el tratamiento recibido durante el estudio una vez terminado este, financiado por las entidades que patrocinan los estudios y mientras el fármaco o dispositivo se consideren útil. Estamos de acuerdo con la necesidad de contar con un Registro Nacional de Ensayos Clínicos. Sin embargo, predecimos que los aspectos críticos del reglamento causarán dificultades y procesos judiciales innecesarios, lo que limitará el interés de los clínicos en realizar investigación. Proponemos que el reglamento debe modificarse a fin de excluir responsabilidades sobre eventos asociados con la evolución natural de la condición clínica, el envejecimiento del paciente, comorbilidades y eventos clínicos no predecibles cuando se aceptó el estudio. Recomendamos que el acceso gratuito posterior al estudio debe constituir una decisión conjunta del paciente y su médico tratante, considerando los riesgos y la carga a que se expuso el paciente, o al riesgo vital secundario a la suspensión del tratamiento del estudio mientras no esté disponible en el mercado nacional.

Declaración de la Academia Chilena de Medicina sobre el Título V de la Ley 20. 850 (Ley Ricarte Soto) y su proyecto de reglamento “De los ensayos clínicos de productos farmacéuticos y elementos de uso médico” / Declaration of the Chilean Academy of Medicine of Law 20. 850 On clinical trials of pharmaceutical products and medical devices” and of the bylaw that will regulate its application

In Chile, high cost treatments required by selected medical conditions are financed by the State, according to Law 20.850. A bylaw under discussion by the Senate regulates clinical trials, posing complex issues that will endanger local interest in front-line research: 1. The exclusive and mandatory control bestowed to the Institute of Public Health during all stages of the trials and also the surveillance of institutions performing clinical trials, overriding their Clinical Research Review Boards; 2.The 10 year period during which any adverse event is assumed to have been caused by the medication or devise evaluated by the trial, unless the contrary is proven in a judicial process; 3. Individuals submitted to the trials are entitled to free post trial access to the treatment received during the study, financed by the trial supporting entities and as long as the drug or devise is considered to be useful. While agreeing with the need to have a National Registry of Clinical Trials, we predict that the mentioned critical issues in the bylaw will lead to difficulties and unnecessary judicial processes, thus limiting clinicians’ interest in performing research. We propose to modify the bylaw, excluding responsibilities on events associated with the natural evolution of the medical condition, with patients’ ageing or with comorbidities and clinical events considered unpredictable when the protocol was accepted. We recommend that the free post trial access should be a joint decision involving the patient and the attending physician, taking in consideration that the volunteer has been exposed to risks and burdens, or when discontinuation of treatment entails a vital risk until the treatment under study has been approved and becomes available in the national market.

Desarrollo de nuevos medicamentos: oportunidades y beneficios para el Perú / Development of new drugs: opportunities and benefits for Peru

El desarrollo de drogas innovadoras permite la obtención de nuevos medicamentos para así prevenir y tratar mejor las enfermedades, ello mejora la calidad de vida y la hace más productiva; por tanto, la misión de la investigación farmacéutica es desarrollar drogas seguras y eficaces. Los ensayos clínicos permiten evaluar los perfiles de seguridad y eficacia de nuevos medicamentos, dispositivos médicos y pruebas diagnósticas. La investigación y el desarrollo de nuevas drogas es un proceso largo y costoso en donde por cada 5000 a 10 000 nuevos compuestos que ingresan a las pruebas preclínicas, solo uno es aprobado. En la actualidad, el desarrollo de drogas muestra un crecimiento de 7,6% con respecto al 2011. Según ClinicalTrials.gov, el 5% de los ensayos se implementan en Latinoamérica, en donde, Perú ocupa el quinto lugar, con un descenso de estudios aprobados desde el año 2009. De otro lado, según el Reporte Global de Competitividad del Foro Económico Mundial, Perú ocupa el puesto 61 con retos principalmente en el funcionamiento de sus instituciones públicas, inversión en I&D y capacidad tecnológica. La complejidad de la I&D de medicamentos explica la búsqueda de locaciones competitivas para el desarrollo de estudios clínicos. La Investigación Clínica es una industria humanizada por su plataforma ética enunciada en las guías de buenas prácticas clínicas, y que exige de nuestro país desarrollar un valor diferenciador que contribuya con el desarrollo de conocimiento y su competitividad.

The development of innovative drugs allows coming up with new medicines to prevent and better treat illnesses. This improves people´s quality of life and makes it more productive. Therefore, the mission of pharmaceutical research is to develop safe and effective drugs. Clinical trials allow the evaluation of the safety and efficacy profiles of new medicines, medical devices and diagnostic tests. Research and development (R&D) of new drugs is a long and costly process, where out of every 5000 to 10000 new components that enter preclinical testing, only one is approved. Compared to 2011, drug development has increased by 7.6%. According to ClinicalTrials.gov, 5% of the trials take place in Latin America, and Peru is in the fifth position. On the other hand, according to the Global Competitiveness Report issued by the World Economic Forum, Peru ranks 61st, its biggest challenges being the functioning of its public institutions, investment in R&D and technological capacity. The complexity of drug R&D results in a search for competitive places to develop clinical trials. Clinical Research is a humanized industry due to its ethical platform, stated in the guidelines of good clinical practices. This industry demands our country to develop a differentiating value that contributes to the development of knowledge and its competitiveness.

Fornecimento de medicamento investigacional após o fim da pesquisa clínica: revisão da literatura e das diretrizes nacionais e internacionais / Provision of investigational drug after clinical research: review of literature, national and international guidelines

A continuidade do tratamento com os medicamentos investigacionais após a conclusão de uma pesquisa clínica vem sendo discutida desde o final dos anos 1980, inicialmente em associação a estudos na área da Síndrome de Imunodeficiência Adquirida e, particularmente, em países em desenvolvimento, onde a vulnerabilidade dos participantes de pesquisa é maior. Diretrizes nacionais e internacionais fazem referência ao tema do acesso pós-pesquisa; entretanto, a complexidade do assunto não é facilmente endereçada e usualmente demanda discussões adicionais e específicas. A decisão sobre o fornecimento do medicamento após a pesquisa deve passar, no mínimo, por avaliações de eficácia e segurança, considerando tratar-se de um medicamento ainda experimental. Cada pesquisa deve ter avaliação própria, levando-se em consideração a doença em questão, assim como a população do estudo e suas necessidades. Desta forma, a natureza da obrigação pós-pesquisa não pode ser considerada a mesma em todas as situações e contextos, mas deve-se assegurar que a relação criada entre pesquisadores e pacientes durante uma pesquisa clínica seja sempre terminada com responsabilidade e respeito.

The post-trial access to investigational drugs has been the object of discussion since the late 1980s at least, initially linked to trials carried out in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and, particularly, in developing countries, where the concern with patient vulnerability is more important. National and international guidelines do mention the subject; however, the complexity of the issue is not easily addressed and usually requires additional and specific discussions. The decision on providing the investigational drug after the trial shall rest on at least two dimensions: efficacy and safety assessments, as the new drug is still on the experimental phase. Each clinical trial shall have its own assessment, taking into account the disease being studied, as well as the study population and their specific needs. Therefore, the nature of post-trial obligations cannot be considered the same in all situations and contexts; nevertheless, it should be assured that the relationship developed between investigators and patients during the study must be always terminated with respect and responsibility.

Levosimendan na insuficiência cardíaca descompensada: revisão sistemática e metanálise / Levosimendan in acute decompensated heart failure: systematic review and meta-analysis

FUNDAMENTO: A insuficiência cardíaca descompensada (ICD) é uma condição bastante prevalente e com alta mortalidade. O levosimendan está entre as novas drogas que têm sido testadas para o seu manejo. OBJETIVO: Realizar uma revisão sistemática da literatura e uma metanálise da redução de morbimortalidade associada ao levosimendan no tratamento da ICD. MÉTODOS: Foi feita uma pesquisa bibliográfica no Medline buscando todos os ensaios clínicos randomizados (ECRs) que avaliassem o uso do levosimendan na ICD. Os desfechos de interesse foram: morte por todas as causas, tempo de internação hospitalar e reinternação hospitalar por ICD. Todos os ECRs com desfechos de interesse foram incluídos. Critérios de qualidade metodológica, como cegamento e sigilo da lista de alocação, foram avaliados em análise de sensibilidade. O cálculo principal foi feito com efeitos randômicos. RESULTADOS: Dos 179 artigos identificados, 48 eram ECRs, sendo 19 com desfechos clínicos de interesse. Na comparação com placebo (7 ensaios clínicos, 1.652 pacientes), o risco relativo (RR) para morte total foi de 0,87 (intervalo de confiança [IC] 95 por cento: 0,65 - 1,18). Na comparação com dobutamina (10 ensaios clínicos, 2.067 pacientes), o RR foi de 0,87 (IC 95 por cento: 0,75 - 1,02). Três estudos tinham dados sobre tempo de internação, onde o levosimendan mostrou diminuição de 2,27 e 2,30 dias em relação ao placebo e a dobutamina, respectivamente (p < 0,05 para ambos). Nenhum artigo apresentou isoladamente dados sobre reinternação. CONCLUSÃO: As evidências disponíveis até o momento não mostram benefício em termos de mortalidade associada ao levosimendan, que apresentou benefício de pequena magnitude apenas no tempo de internação.

BACKGROUND: Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a rather prevalent condition with a high mortality rate. Levosimendan is one among the new drugs that have been tested for its management. OBJECTIVE: To undertake a systematic review and meta-analysis of the morbidity and mortality reduction associated with levosimendan in the treatment of CHF. METHODS: A bibliographic search was conducted in the Medline database for all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that assessed the use of levosimendan in CHF. The outcomes were death from all causes, length of hospital stay, and hospital readmission for CHF. All RCTs with outcomes of interest were included. Methodological quality criteria, such as blinding and confidentiality of the list of allocation, were evaluated in sensitivity analysis. The main calculation was done with random effects. RESULTS: Of the 179 articles identified, 48 were RCTs, 19 of them with outcomes of interest. In the comparison with placebo (7 trials, 1,652 patients), the relative risk (RR) for overall death was 0.87 (95 percent confidence interval [CI]: 0.65 to 1.18). In comparison with dobutamine (10 trials, 2,067 patients), the RR was 0.87 (95 percent CI: 0.75-1.02). Three studies had data on length of stay, in which levosimendan showed a decrease of 2.27 and 2.30 days compared to placebo and dobutamine, respectively (p < 0.05 for both). No article presented data on readmission alone. CONCLUSION: The evidence available so far has shown no benefit in terms of mortality in association with the use of levosimendan, which only showed a small benefit in the time of hospitalization.

O uso de drogas ainda experimentais em assistência: extensão de pesquisa, uso compassivo e acesso expandido / Therapeutic uses of investigational drugs: research extension, compassionate use, and expanded access

O presente artigo descreve os aspectos metodológicos, regulatórios e éticos das diferentes formas de acesso a drogas ainda experimentais em situações assistenciais - extensão de pesquisa, uso compassivo e acesso expandido. Em todo o mundo, essa modalidade de assistência tem como principais desafios o estabelecimento de critérios mínimos de qualificação tanto dos pesquisadores quanto das instituições para que possam realizar projetos envolvendo novas drogas em suas diferentes fases, a capacitação dos membros dos comitês de avaliação de projetos quanto aos aspectos metodológicos, regulatórios e éticos envolvidos na pesquisa de novas drogas, a explicitação das relações entre pesquisadores e patrocinadores e entre pesquisadores e participantes da pesquisa e a oposição quanto à recente proposta de possibilitar aos fabricantes de medicamentos a cobrança pelas drogas utilizadas em projetos de pesquisa.

This article describes the methodological, regulatory, and ethical aspects of the different therapeutic uses of investigational drugs-research extension, compassionate use, and expanded access. Worldwide, the principle challenges of this kind of treatment are: setting minimum quality standards for researchers, as well as institutions, so that projects can include drugs at various stages of development; training of evaluation and assessment committees on the methodological, regulatory, and ethical aspects of new drug research; clearly outlining the relationship between researchers and funding organizations and between researchers and study participants; and understanding the opposition to the recent proposal to enable drug manufacturers to charge for drugs used in research studies.

Investigation on utilization situation of antipyretic pharmaceutical products containing PPA by visiting some pharmacies in the area of Hanoi

A survey on PPA-containing products consumption was conducted in 10 pharmacies located in Hanoi from February to May 2002. It revealed that there were 20 such products available in the market(of them, 16 were domestic). The PPA content as base form in a single dose of all these preparations was not exceeded 25mg. During the studied period, out of 250 people buying medication for cough and cold, 74 people (29.6% bought PPA-containing products with the most purchased ones were Decolgen forte and Rhumenol. Many patients with cough and cold consumed relatively high amount of PPA, not being aware of its adverse effects and contraindications