Decades of painstaking research have recently begun to yield gene therapy products that are delivering meaningful benefits to human health. The approvals of voretigene neparvovec-rzyl (Luxturna) for inherited vision loss, tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah) for lymphoblastic leukemia, and axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta) for lymphoma have ushered in a new era of therapeutics. With the rapid evolution of the...
Careful planning is important for all early drug development programs, but it is particularly critical in rare diseases where study populations are limited and precedents for drug development are lacking. Pre-IND meetings with the FDA give sponsors the opportunity to discuss their unique development challenges and determine where regulatory flexibility can be justified. While the...
There are many pitfalls that come with preparing an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for FDA submission, but with the right plan – and the right partner – there are also plenty of ways to avoid them. The most important strategy? It all comes down to one thing: Always remember to keep your audience –...
Before starting Phase 1 trials, an Investigational New Drug (IND) application must be approved by the FDA. This critical early step in clinical trial development grants an exemption to laws prohibiting the transportation of drugs across state lines prior to market approval. The three major required areas of information in an IND include: Animal pharmacology...
Since 2002, doctors and researchers have used a standard rosacea classification system to provide consistent terminology as well as to facilitate studies, clinical diagnosis, and treatment. However, in 2018, the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology published a new standard classification system that replaces the previous one[1]. Below is some of the most important...
Of all the truisms that apply to clinical drug research, probably none is more universally accepted than this one: “There’s no substitute for experience.” But if you’re working in an indication that is not widely studied, selecting sites on the basis of experience can be difficult. That’s one of many subjects we addressed in a...
Researchers have made many attempts at disease modification as they pursue breakthroughs in treating Parkinson’s disease, but so far without success. Why have these efforts failed, and what’s next in treating this degenerative disorder that affects an estimated 10 million people worldwide? We tackled these questions in a Premier Research webcast, The Potential for Disease...
Rosacea is a common condition occurring on the convexities of the face and affecting middle-aged persons. It may be caused or worsened by a variety of different factors, including genetics; problems with the blood vessels in the face, the nervous system, and/or the immune system; the presence of Demodex mites; and environmental factors. It is...
We were conducting a trial for a painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN) drug and were investigating why one site had an especially high placebo response rate. Then one of our representatives, waiting in the site’s lobby to meet with the principal investigator, pinpointed the likely reason when a patient walked in the door. “Mrs. Jones,” the...
Among common degenerative disorders, Parkinson’s disease strikes more frequently than all but one: Alzheimer’s. Parkinson’s affects about 1 percent of the population over age 60 and claims 60,000 new diagnoses in the United States each year.[1] The cause of Parkinson’s remains a mystery, and the dopamine promoter levodopa — notwithstanding its limitations — has been...