Tuesday, January 08, 2019 1:15:27 PM
FDA plans to create a new office to leverage cutting-edge science
Matthew Herper
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottllieb Drew Angerer/Getty Images
The Food and Drug Administration plans to create a new office to improve the review of new medicines — one that will develop a standardized approach to using personalized medicine, digital data, and patients’ own reports, according to Commissioner Scott Gottlieb.
Gottlieb will outline the plan for the new 52-person group, called the Office of Drug Evaluation Science (ODES), as part of a talk at the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on Tuesday. Because of the government shutdown, he will deliver the talk via videoconference. “We’re operating with limited staff and I’m needed here,” he said.
He said the new office is not just an organizational shift, but part of something grander.
“Eventually the drug review process will look a lot different,” Gottlieb wrote in an email. He envisions a world where data will be uploaded from drug company studies into the cloud, and instead of looking at the charts and tables companies create themselves, the FDA will use its own standardized methods on the raw data. “That is what I mean by a structured approach,” he said. “That is where we are heading, starting with the evaluation of safety data.”
Often, industry’s approach can seem anything but structured. For instance, immune-system-unleashing cancer medicines like Merck’s Keytruda, Bristol’s Opdivo, and AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi all depend on tests for the presence of a protein called PD-L1 in tumors; but each company used its own measures.
But these kinds of personalized approaches are becoming ever more important. Last year, the FDA even approved two drugs not for traditional cancer categories, but for cancers caused by particular genetic mutations. (The drugs: Keytruda for patients whose tumors have a condition called MSI-High, and Vitrakvi, from Loxo Oncology and Bayer, for tumors caused by mutations in a protein called TRK.)
Another important mission for the new office will be understanding how to turn what patients tell doctors into structured data. Take the case of Pfizer’s gene-targeted lung cancer drug Xalkori. It’s because of patient reports that the drug’s label contains a warning that it can cause eye problems, but patient reports also showed that it may reduce worsening of shortness of breath. Patient reports have become increasingly important to the agency since 2011, when the FDA demanded that Incyte Pharmaceuticals, which was developing a drug called Jakafi for myelofibrosis, show not only that the medicine shrank patients’ spleens but also made people feel better.
ODES will be part of the Office of New Drugs, which is itself part of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, which oversees the approval of new medicines. It will have its own director, and three divisions: an 18-person Division of Clinical Outcomes Assessments, charged with evaluating measures of how well drugs are working and how safe they are; an 18-person Division of Biomedical Informatics and Safety Analytics, which will evaluate new ways of using information technology; and an 11-person Division of Research and Biomarker Development, whose job it will be to monitor all those blood draws and genetic scans.
The new office is going through the final stages of review and Gottlieb expects to start the office in the first half of this year.
“These are now hard sciences,” Gottlieb said. “We think this is going to allow us to understand safety and efficacy much more efficiently.”
About the Author
Matthew Herper
Senior Writer, Medicine
Matthew Herper covers medical innovation — both its promise and its perils.
Recent AVXL News
- Contact The Gross Law Firm by May 13, 2024 Deadline to Join Class Action Against Anavex Life Sciences Corporation(AVXL) • PR Newswire (US) • 04/19/2024 09:45:00 AM
- The Gross Law Firm Reminds Shareholders of a Lead Plaintiff Deadline of May 13, 2024 in Anavex Life Sciences Lawsuit - AVXL • PR Newswire (US) • 04/16/2024 09:45:00 AM
- Class Action Filed Against Anavex Life Sciences Corporation (AVXL) - May 13, 2024 Deadline to Join - Contact The Gross Law Firm • PR Newswire (US) • 04/12/2024 09:45:00 AM
- Anavex Life Sciences to Present at the Noble Capital Markets Virtual Healthcare Equity Conference • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 04/11/2024 11:30:00 AM
- Class Action Filed Against Anavex Life Sciences Corporation (AVXL) - May 13, 2024 Deadline to Join - Contact The Gross Law Firm • PR Newswire (US) • 04/09/2024 09:45:00 AM
- Anavex Life Sciences Corporation Class Action: The Gross Law Firm Reminds Anavex Life Sciences Investors of the Pending Class Action Lawsuit with a Lead Plaintiff Deadline of May 13, 2024 - AVXL • PR Newswire (US) • 04/05/2024 09:45:00 AM
- Shareholders that lost money on Anavex Life Sciences Corporation(AVXL) should contact The Gross Law Firm about pending Class Action - AVXL • PR Newswire (US) • 04/02/2024 09:45:00 AM
- Lost Money on Anavex Life Sciences Corporation(AVXL)? Join Class Action Suit Seeking Recovery - Contact The Gross Law Firm • PR Newswire (US) • 03/29/2024 09:45:00 AM
- Investors who lost money on Anavex Life Sciences Corporation(AVXL) should contact The Gross Law Firm about pending Class Action - AVXL • PR Newswire (US) • 03/26/2024 09:45:00 AM
- Anavex Life Sciences to Present at the 23rd Annual Needham Virtual Healthcare Conference • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 03/25/2024 11:30:00 AM
- The Gross Law Firm Notifies Anavex Life Sciences Corporation Investors of a Class Action Lawsuit and Upcoming Deadline • PR Newswire (US) • 03/22/2024 09:45:00 AM
- Anavex Life Sciences Initiates Placebo-Controlled U.S. Phase 2 Clinical Trial of ANAVEX®3-71 in Schizophrenia • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 03/18/2024 11:30:00 AM
- Anavex Life Sciences to Present at the 44th Annual TD Cowen Health Care Conference • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 02/26/2024 12:30:00 PM
- Form 4 - Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 02/23/2024 11:05:18 AM
- Form 4 - Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 02/23/2024 11:04:32 AM
- Form 4 - Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 02/23/2024 11:04:31 AM
- Form 4 - Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 02/23/2024 11:03:48 AM
- Form 4 - Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 02/23/2024 11:03:06 AM
- Form 10-Q - Quarterly report [Sections 13 or 15(d)] • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 02/07/2024 09:31:07 PM
- Anavex Life Sciences Reports Fiscal 2024 First Quarter Financial Results and Provides Business Update • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 02/07/2024 12:30:00 PM
- Anavex Life Sciences to Announce Fiscal 2024 First Quarter Financial Results on Wednesday, February 7th, 2024 • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 02/01/2024 12:30:00 PM
- Form SC 13G/A - Statement of acquisition of beneficial ownership by individuals: [Amend] • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 01/25/2024 10:01:34 PM
- Anavex Life Sciences Reports Publication of ANAVEX®3-71 in Clinical Journal Confirming Pharmacokinetic Dose Proportionality of ANAVEX®3-71 in Humans • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 01/24/2024 12:30:00 PM
- Anavex Life Sciences Announces U.S. Phase 2 Clinical Trial of ANAVEX®3-71 in Schizophrenia • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 01/16/2024 12:30:00 PM
- Form 4 - Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 01/13/2024 01:00:34 AM
Axis Technologies Group and Carbonis Forge Ahead with New Digital Carbon Credit Technology • AXTG • Apr 24, 2024 3:00 AM
North Bay Resources Announces Successful Equipment Test at Bishop Gold Mill, Inyo County, California • NBRI • Apr 23, 2024 9:41 AM
Epazz, Inc.: CryObo, Inc. solar Bitcoin operations will issue tokens • EPAZ • Apr 23, 2024 9:20 AM
Avant Technologies Launches Advanced AI Supercomputing Network and Expansive Data Solutions • AVAI • Apr 23, 2024 8:00 AM
BestGrowthStocks.com Issues Comprehensive Analysis of Triller Merger with AGBA Group Holding Limited • AGBA • Apr 22, 2024 1:00 PM
Cannabix Technologies to Present Marijuana Breathalyzer Technology at International Association for Chemical Testing (IACT) Conference in California • BLO • Apr 22, 2024 8:49 AM