2024年 2月 の投稿一覧

According to the news “オーファン指定制度の要件明確化　　厚労省、優先審査は従前基準のみ | 日刊薬業 – 医薬品産業の総合情報サイト (jiho.jp)” released by NIKKAN YAKUGYO on 16/01/2024, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in Japan issued a notice on 16/01/2024, informing about the revision of the orphan disease designation system. This revision clarifies that applications that calculate a patient population of less than 50,000 by adding prefixes such as “serious” or qualifiers without clear medical or pharmaceutical reasons, known as “sliced applications,” are not accepted. However, this revision specifies that certain exceptions, particularly for areas with high unmet needs but lacking therapeutic development, do not fall under the “sliced application” category. The exceptions are based on appropriate medical and pharmaceutical grounds, such as age groups (including children), treatment regimens, and the necessity for medication. The notice also refined the criteria for medical needs. It states that a condition satisfies the requirements if multiple treatment or prevention options are clinically necessary and the use of currently approved drugs alone are insufficient. Examples include cases where a new mechanism of action is expected to be effective based on non-clinical trial results or when administration becomes possible for patients who have difficulty using existing drugs.

According to the news “国際共同治験前の日本人P1は原則不要　　医薬局、通知・事務連絡で明確化 | 日刊薬業 – 医薬品産業の総合情報サイト (jiho.jp)” released by NIKKAN YAKUGYO on 26/12/2023, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in Japan announced on 25/12/2023 that, in principle, there is no need to conduct additional Japanese Phase 1 clinical trials before multi-regional clinical trials (MRCTs) except when deemed necessary. In addition to issuing new administrative communications, the announcement also involves revising and removing previous notices and communications that stipulated the need for Japanese Phase 1 trials before MRCTs. The separate attachment of the new notice dated 25/12/2023, titled “Basic Principles for Conducting Phase 1 Studies in Japanese before Initiating MRCTs Including Japan for Drugs in Which Early Clinical Development is Preceding Outside Japan,” states that Phase 1 trials do not need to be conducted separately for each race, ethnicity, country, or region. It further clarifies that except when deemed necessary, in principle, there is no requirement to conduct additional Japanese Phase 1 trials.