Analysis of FDA's Accelerated Approval Program Performance December 1992-December 2021.

The accelerated approval pathway has been criticized recently for employing lower regulatory standards than traditional drug approval, undue delays in withdrawing approvals of drugs for which studies have not confirmed clinical benefit, and confirmatory trials not being pursued with due diligence. This article examines the status of confirmatory studies of drugs approved under the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) accelerated approval program between December 1992 and December 2021. It includes background on the program and provides broader context about the program's performance to date over its 30-year history. Our analysis demonstrates that the accelerated approval program has been largely successful, with half of accelerated approvals converted to traditional approval in a median time of 3.2 years. Furthermore, recent FDA actions show that the agency is appropriately managing the program when a drug approved under accelerated approval fails to confirm a clinical benefit. Any proposed changes to the program should be based on cumulative experience with the program, rather than outliers.

Innovative medicine development.

BACKGROUND: In recent years the global landscape of pharmaceutical development has evolved drastically in order to adapt to innovative products such as immunotherapy, regenerative medicines and cell and gene therapy, all offering the hope to cure numerous untreated diseases. The global COVID-19 pandemic also led competent authorities in charge of approval of new medicines to implement adapted regulatory pathways allowing early access to innovative treatments and vaccines. New challenges are to be overcome, it is the short development time, or the small patient populations, or again drug product features requiring complete new production, testing and distribution strategies. OBJECTIVE: This paper provides a short overview of the different adaptations required to allow the development of such innovative medicines. METHOD: Several drug development strategies for products under clinical development or recently approved were assessed. RESULTS: Fully integrated strategies encompassing research, non-clinical, clinical and product manufacturing development along with adapted regulatory pathways, anticipation of market access and supported by risk based are important. In such fast pace, the development of relevant manufacturing processes and test methods assessing quality, safety and efficacy of new drugs falls on the critical path and requires particular attention, anticipation and detailed planning as early as possible in order to ensure successful filing and approval. CONCLUSION: Insights within innovative products approved recently reveal the importance of defining a solid chemistry manufacturing and control strategy early on as part of clinical development. Interactions with agencies at key milestones of development are also essential to reduce risks, prioritize development to support safety and allow early access to patients.

New Drugs Approved in 2021.

In 2021, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved 50 novel drugs. Thirty-seven of the 50 (74%) novel drug approvals were reviewed and approved through an expedited review pathway, and 26 of the 50 (52%) were approved for treatment of a rare disease. This review includes a summary of the novel drugs approved by the FDA in 2021.

"Warp Speed" Operations in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Moving Too Quickly?

The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease-2019) pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges to regulatory organizations, the biotech and pharmaceutical industry, and the publishing industry. This Translational Perspectives paper attempts to highlight some of the challenges and perils of moving extraordinarily fast in an effort to save human lives in the midst of a global pandemic. As with the development of all new therapeutic approaches, it will take time to assess the risks and benefits of developing new therapies at "warp speed".

Update to Drugs, Devices, and the FDA: How Recent Legislative Changes Have Impacted Approval of New Therapies.

Two major legislative actions since 2015, the 21st Century Cures Act of 2016 and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Reauthorization Act of 2017, contain significant provisions that potentially streamline drug development times, and by extension, may reduce costs. Evidence suggests, however, that development times have already been significantly affected by previous legislation and FDA programs, through accelerated approval pathways and adoption of more flexible definitions of clinical evidence of efficacy. The COVID-19 pandemic is pushing researchers and commercial entities to further test the limits of drug and vaccine development times and approvals, at an as yet unknown level of risk to patients. COVID-19 drug and vaccine trials are even now making use of accelerated drug approval programs, blended trials, and adaptive trial design to accelerate approval of therapeutics in the pandemic.