Yesterday, at the annual RAPS (Regulatory Affairs Professional Society) meeting, I was pleased to speak on the timely topic of real world evidence and to share the podium with Jonathan Jarow (FDA’s point man on RWE) and Enrica Alteri (Head of EMA’s Human Medicines Research and Development Support Division).
The good news is that there was near total agreement that RWE presents important possibilities and opportunities – but the path forward is still nascent, with many crucial questions still to be addressed.
One of the most difficult items on the RWE list is causal inference (the process of drawing a conclusion about a causal connection based on the conditions of the occurrence of an effect). As both FDA and EMA continue to evolve beyond reviewing new medical products exclusively on the traditional substantial evidence standard, it’s a whole new ballgame.
Or is it?
The panel agreed that we're moving forward into a world where there will be many different kinds of reviews for both drugs and devices. Some will be of the “gold standard” large-scale RCT variety, others will be substantially truncated reviews based on dozens (or fewer) patients, and many will be hybrid models (such as using RWE for confirmatory purposes for a surrogate endpoint).
And then there’s the exciting potential in advancing Causal Inference (CI) models through the tools of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Who said regulatory science was dull?
The panel also stressed that Real World Evidence and “Big Data” are not the same thing, and that developing interoperability (the idea that different systems used by different groups of people can be used for a common purpose because those systems share standards and approaches) must be a priority.
And not just interoperability, but interaction. When it comes to advancing the regulatory science of real world evidence, industry must become comfortable being not just a regulated entity but also a partner in development. In fact, per Dr. Jarow, the FDA is encouraging all comers to submit questions, data sets, and suggestions via a new email link, cderomp@fda.hhs.gov.
Gentlemen and Ladies – start your engines.
The tools for appropriate validation are urgently needed – but cannot be rushed. That being said, the 21st Century Cures Act requires FDA to establish a framework for use of real-world evidence to approve supplemental indications and satisfy post-approval requirements within 2 years.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
The good news is that there was near total agreement that RWE presents important possibilities and opportunities – but the path forward is still nascent, with many crucial questions still to be addressed.
One of the most difficult items on the RWE list is causal inference (the process of drawing a conclusion about a causal connection based on the conditions of the occurrence of an effect). As both FDA and EMA continue to evolve beyond reviewing new medical products exclusively on the traditional substantial evidence standard, it’s a whole new ballgame.
Or is it?
The panel agreed that we're moving forward into a world where there will be many different kinds of reviews for both drugs and devices. Some will be of the “gold standard” large-scale RCT variety, others will be substantially truncated reviews based on dozens (or fewer) patients, and many will be hybrid models (such as using RWE for confirmatory purposes for a surrogate endpoint).
And then there’s the exciting potential in advancing Causal Inference (CI) models through the tools of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Who said regulatory science was dull?
The panel also stressed that Real World Evidence and “Big Data” are not the same thing, and that developing interoperability (the idea that different systems used by different groups of people can be used for a common purpose because those systems share standards and approaches) must be a priority.
And not just interoperability, but interaction. When it comes to advancing the regulatory science of real world evidence, industry must become comfortable being not just a regulated entity but also a partner in development. In fact, per Dr. Jarow, the FDA is encouraging all comers to submit questions, data sets, and suggestions via a new email link, cderomp@fda.hhs.gov.
Gentlemen and Ladies – start your engines.
The tools for appropriate validation are urgently needed – but cannot be rushed. That being said, the 21st Century Cures Act requires FDA to establish a framework for use of real-world evidence to approve supplemental indications and satisfy post-approval requirements within 2 years.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
