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In March, 2025, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) released a “Reflection paper on use of real-world data (RWD) in non-interventional studies (NIS) to generate real-world evidence (RWE) for regulatory purposes” as a guidance for stakeholders on quality planning, conduct and analysis of NISs that intend to use RWD to generate RWE.
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In November 2024, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning letter to the sponsor as a result of a BioResearch Monitoring Program (BIMO) inspection which observed objectionable conditions. The warning letter cited two violations of the Title 21 CFR.
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In December 2024, following the release of the 2024 revision of the Declaration of Helsinki (DoH), US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) staff shared the FDA’s perspective on what their role was in the development of the 2024 DoH and how it may impact FDA procedures. The DoH is intended to guide clinical research involving human participants that is often used as the foundation for other guidelines such as the International Council for Harmonisation (ICH) Good Clinical Practice (GCP).
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In October 2024, the World Medical Association (WMA) announced the adoption of the 2024 revision of the Declaration of Helsinki (DoH) during the 75th WMA General Assembly in Helsinki, Finland, the same location where the Declaration was initially adopted 60 years prior.
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On September 27, 2024, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning letter to an Institutional Review Board (IRB) as a result of a (BIMO) inspection from July of 2023. BIMO inspections evaluate compliance with of FDA regulatory requirements, in this case, title 21 CFR Parts 50, protection of human subject, and 56, Intuitional Review Boards.
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A new draft guidance for industry was released on August 22, 2024 by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Predetermined Change Control Plans (PCCP) for Medical Devices. The draft guidance provides an in-depth history of the origins of PCCPs and how the concept of device changes not requiring new 510(k) submissions has already made in an appearance in other FDA guidances.
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In August 2024, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a final guidance for industry on drug-drug interactions (DDI) with The International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) titled: M12 Drug Interaction Studies. The guidance is intended to set the global standard and framework for conducting and reporting DDI studies in order to improve the efficacy of drugs as well as the safety and predictability of potential interactions between different drugs.
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In an increasingly digital world, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is adapting its oversight mechanisms to include more technologically advanced approaches. One such adaptation is the use of Remote Regulatory Assessments (RRAs), a practice that has gained momentum, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. In January 2024, the FDA released a revised draft guidance titled Conducting Remote Regulatory Assessments–Question and Answers, outlining the role and purpose of RRAs and how they compare to traditional in-person inspections.
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On June 21, 2024, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent a warning letter to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) outlining several violations observed during a remote regulatory assessment (RRA) of MIT’s Institutional Review Board (IRB). The remote regulatory assessment was conducted as part of the FDA Bioresearch Monitoring Program (BIMO), which includes RRAs and inspections.
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On July 25, 2024 the US Food and Drug Agency (FDA) published a final guidance for industry “Real-World Data: Assessing Electronic Health Records and Medical Claims Data to Support Regulatory Decision-Making for Drug and Biological Products.” This guidance is intended to help sponsors and other interested parties determine whether or not to use electronic health records (EHR) or medical claims data (information submitted to insurers to receive payments for treatments and other interventions) when making regulatory decisions on the effectiveness or safety of a drug.
