The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region now ranks first in the world for total number of active oncology clinical trials, with China alone accounting for more than half of those studies.1 To take advantage of the potential benefits of conducting clinical research in APAC countries, sponsors need to understand the nuances of designing and operationalizing studies in…
Accelerated by increasing acceptance of decentralized medicine ushered in by the pandemic, the digital therapeutics (DTx) market is rising exponentially. In January 2022, a Research And Markets analysis valued the 2021 global market for DTx at $3.35 billion and estimated it would reach $12.1 Billion by 2026.1 In March 2022, Insider Intelligence revised its previous…
Each year, nearly 85 million Americans see a physician for at least one skin disease, with $75 billion in direct costs to the U.S. healthcare system.1 While the FDA has approved more than 110 dermatology drugs, these treatments address only about 30 indications, leaving the vast majority of known skin conditions unaddressed. In recent years,…
Natural history studies play a crucial role in rare disease drug development, providing insights that advance discovery and shape clinical trial design. The benefits of these studies also extend to understanding patient journeys, clarifying the standard of care, identifying disease-specific centers of excellence, and surfacing opportunities to improve patient care. In this blog post, we…
Successful drug development requires a deep understanding of the disease of interest—its etiology, epidemiology, presentation, manifestations, and progression. In rare diseases, however, much of this information may be unknown. Patient populations are small and historical data are collected inconsistently and dispersed across treating physicians practicing in diverse geographies. Patient registries and natural history studies are…
The EU has been working to strengthen its regulations for better patient protection and more effective implementation of the rules for in vitro diagnostic medical devices. As a result, in May 2017, a five-year in vitro diagnostic regulation (IVDR) transition plan went into effect. While some of the dates have been extended1 to allow for…
The In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation (IVDR) has fundamentally changed how in vitro diagnostics (IVD) are regulated in the EU. As a result, scrutiny for review and documentation has increased substantially, including a dramatic increase in required reviews by notified bodies (NB). For IVD companies, the challenge of adapting to a significant set of regulatory updates…
Advanced ovarian and endometrial carcinomas present the greatest challenge in treating gynecologic cancer and, among the five types of female cancers, are responsible for the most U.S. deaths annually.1 With a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation; patients can go into remission, but the majority will have a recurrence after several months or years. There…
Gynecologic cancers are comprised of five major types: ovarian, uterine, cervical, vaginal, and vulvar. All women are at risk for these, and risk increases with age. Specific risk factors include a family history, human papillomavirus (HPV) infections (cervical cancer), genetic mutations such as BRCA1 and BRCA2 (ovarian cancer or OC), and hormone replacement therapy. Early…
On May 26, 2017, the EU Regulation 2017/746 of the European Parliament and the Council on in vitro diagnostic medical devices (IVDR) became active under the EU Regulation on Medical Devices (MDR). Recertification by May 26, 2022, became required for all previously approved products. The IVDR will replace the EU’s current Directive on in vitro…
