About: MedDRA is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 171 publications have been published within this topic receiving 5112 citations. The topic is also known as: Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities.
TL;DR: It is anticipated that using MedDRA will improve the quality of data captured on databases, support effective analysis by providing clinically relevant groupings of terms and facilitate electronic communication of data, although as a new tool, users will need to invest time in gaining expertise in its use.
Abstract: The International Conference on Harmonisation has agreed upon the structure and content of the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities (MedDRA) version 2.0 which should become available in the early part of 1999. This medical terminology is intended for use in the pre- and postmarketing phases of the medicines regulatory process, covering diagnoses, symptoms and signs, adverse drug reactions and therapeutic indications, the names and qualitative results of investigations, surgical and medical procedures, and medical/social history. It can be used for recording adverse events and medical history in clinical trials, in the analysis and tabulations of data from these trials and in the expedited submission of safety data to government regulatory authorities, as well as in constructing standard product information and documentation for applications for marketing authorisation. After licensing of a medicine, it may be used in pharmacovigilance and is expected to be the preferred terminology for international electronic regulatory communication. MedDRA is a hierarchical terminology with 5 levels and is multiaxial: terms may exist in more than 1 vertical axis, providing specificity of terms for data entry and flexibility in data retrieval. Terms in MedDRA were derived from several sources including the WHO’s adverse reaction terminology (WHO-ART), Coding Symbols for a Thesaurus of Adverse Reaction Terms (COSTART), International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 9 and ICD9-CM. It will be maintained, further developed and distributed by a Maintenance Support Services Organisation (MSSO). It is anticipated that using MedDRA will improve the quality of data captured on databases, support effective analysis by providing clinically relevant groupings of terms and facilitate electronic communication of data, although as a new tool, users will need to invest time in gaining expertise in its use.
TL;DR: The goal of the ICH is to achieve greater harmonization in the interpretation and application of technical guidelines and requirements for product registration, thereby reducing duplication of testing and reporting carried out during the research and development of new medicines.
Abstract: The International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) brings together pharmaceutical regulators from the United States, Europe, and Japan, along with pharmaceutical trade associations from these regions. The goal of the ICH is to achieve greater harmonization in the interpretation and application of technical guidelines and requirements for product registration, thereby reducing duplication of testing and reporting carried out during the research and development of new medicines. Steps have been defined to accomplish this goal in four areas of pharmaceutical regulations (efficacy, safety, quality, and multidisciplinary).
TL;DR: Care must be used when developing health outcomes and safety data collection plans and integration of PROs into AE reporting may ultimately improve the comprehensiveness and quality of collected data, but it may also increase the administrative burden and cost of conducting trials.
Abstract: Adverse event (AE) reporting in oncology has evolved from informal descriptions to a highly systematized process. The Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) is the predominant system for describing the severity of AEs commonly encountered in oncology clinical trials. CTCAE clinical descriptors have been developed empirically during more than 30 years of use. The method of data collection is clinician based. Limitations of the CTC system include potential for incomplete reporting and limited guidance on data analysis and presentation methods. The Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities (MedDRA) is a comprehensive medical terminology system used for regulatory reporting and drug labeling. MedDRA does not provide for severity ranking of AEs. CTC-based data presentations are the primary method of AE data reporting used in scientific journals and oncology meetings. Patient-reported outcome instruments (PROs) cover the subjective domain of AEs. Exploratory work suggests PROs can be used wit...
TL;DR: This extensive observational trial, including all patients with RA in Japan taking ETN, found ETN to be both effective and well tolerated by Japanese patients withRA.
Abstract: Objective. Postmarketing surveillance (PMS) was conducted evaluating safety and effectiveness of etanercept (ETN; Enbrel®) in Japan, following all patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) during the conditional approval period of ETN. Methods. Registration of patients from 1,334 medical sites was conducted between March 2005 and April 2007. Patients were followed for 24 weeks; data regarding patients’ background, safety, and effectiveness was recorded centrally. Adverse events (AE) and adverse drug reactions (ADR) were coded using the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities. Effectiveness was measured using the Disease Activity Score 28 (DAS28). Results. Of 14,369 patients registered, data collection and evaluation for 7,091 patients by March 2006 is reported. At least 1 AE was observed for 2,173 patients (30.6%); 60% of AE occurred within 8 weeks of starting ETN. Most frequent AE were injection site reaction (n = 377, 5.3%) and rash (n = 228, 3.2%). Serious AE occurred in 403 patients (5.7%); most frequent were pneumonia (n = 59, 0.8%) and interstitial lung disease (n = 42, 0.6%). Pneumonia was the most common specifically important ADR (n = 102, 1.4%). Mean baseline DAS28 was 6.0, which reduced to 4.4 within 4 weeks, and to 3.9 within 24 weeks. The proportion of patients having good or moderate EULAR response measured by DAS28 was 84.1% at Week 24. Effectiveness rates were more favorable in patients concomitantly using methotrexate. Good or moderate EULAR response rate among patients switched from infliximab was 84.9%. Conclusion. This extensive observational trial, including all patients with RA in Japan taking ETN, found ETN to be both effective and well tolerated by Japanese patients with RA. Trial registration: clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT00503503.