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On December 22, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a draft guidance for sponsors, investigators, and other interested parties on using digital health technologies (DHT) to acquire data remotely from participants in clinical investigations. DHTs (such as wearables and sensors) are playing a growing role in clinical research, accelerated by the need for decentralized clinical trials and remote patient monitoring during the COVID-19 pandemic. Though largely directed to study sponsors using DHTs, the guidance raises issues that developers and manufacturers of these technologies will want to be mindful of given the ways in which their products might be used in a broader clinical use case than originally anticipated. Comments on the draft guidance are due March 23, 2022. The full text of the guidance can be accessed here.
Continue Reading FDA Releases Guidance for Digital Health Tech Used in Clinical Investigations

On May 5, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a much-anticipated report, “Resiliency Roadmap for FDA Inspectional Oversight,” which provides a roadmap for the agency’s post-pandemic plans to return to a consistent state of inspection operations.  For the near term, FDA reports that it will continue to prioritize critical inspections of both domestic and foreign facilities, including preapproval inspections for priority products and inspections in reaction to recalls or other safety issues.  For the long term, the agency likely will employ the remote monitoring strategies it has implemented during the pandemic and expand its remote data collection capabilities to preserve resources and curb in-person inspections.
Continue Reading FDA Proposes Risk-Based and Remote Inspection Strategies in New Report

On Wednesday, April 14, 2021, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a long-awaited final guidance document explaining its policy for conducting remote “evaluations” during COVID-19.  According to the guidance, FDA will request and conduct voluntary remote evaluations at (1) facilities where drugs and biologics are manufactured, processed, packed, or held; (2) facilities covered under the bioresearch monitoring (BIMO) program; and (3) outsourcing facilities registered under section 503B of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA).  The evaluations do not replace in-person inspections, and FDA Form 483s will not be issued as a result of the inspection, but the results could be used to support regulatory actions, such as approving a pending product application. 
Continue Reading Breaking Down FDA’s New Remote Monitoring Strategy

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturing of America (“PhRMA”) has revised its Principles on Clinical Trials to further reflect its commitment to transparency in clinical trials and build upon FDAAA requirements. PhRMA’s updated principles trial address four key issues: protecting research participants; conduct of clinical trials; ensuring research objectivity; and providing clinical trial information. The PhRMA Principles on Conduct of Clinical Trials and Communication of Clinical Trial Results take effect on October 1, 2009.
 Continue Reading PhRMA Revised Clinical Trial Principles