ASCO, FDA Team Up to Help Patients Access Investigational Therapies

CHICAGO — A new online resource will help seriously ill patients and their physicians request expanded access to investigational therapies when they have exhausted all other treatment options and the patients are not eligible for a clinical trial, it was announced June 4 at a joint news conference of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Food and Drug Administration.

"Most clinical trials have quite stringent eligibility criteria, and many patients are not eligible to enroll," said ASCO President-Elect George W. Sledge Jr., of Indiana University Simon Cancer Center, Indianapolis.

"In those instances when preliminary scientific evidence suggests that treatment with an unapproved therapy might be beneficial, the FDA's expanded access regulations allow physicians to request access to an investigational agent, outside of the clinical trial setting, for seriously ill patients," he said.

Expanded access has been allowed since the 1970s, but many physicians have been uncertain about how to request it, what regulations apply, and the legal ramifications. All of these issues are clarified in the new Web site.

"It's been clear to the agency that there was room for progress," said FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, addressing the press conference on the opening day of ASCO's annual meeting.

"This is about the opportunity for the FDA to work with a medical specialty society, in this case ASCO, in what really should be a model for the agency - and work together to develop a program to reach out to clinicians and help them understand something that can be a little confusing at first," he said.

The new resources are available immediately to all patients and physicians, free of charge, through ASCO's physician education Web site, ASCO University.  

The material is presented in three online modules, which introduce the expanded access regulations, outline the process for requesting expanded access, and explain the physicians' legal responsibilities for treating patients with an investigational agent outside of a clinical trial.

The modules also contain resources such as a glossary, an expanded access request checklist, and various templates (letter to manufacturer, consent form, etc.) to help physicians with the paperwork.

In August 2009, the FDA issued updated regulations and attempted to clarify the rules in two publications, "Expanded Access to Investigational Drugs for Treatment Use," and "Charging for Investigational Drugs." The new Web site goes a step further.

To clarify the new rules for patients and the medical community, ASCO consulted the main stakeholders, including representatives from patient advocacy groups, manufacturers, institutional review boards, and the FDA, as well as physicians.

Although these tools were made with the oncology community in mind, these resources should be helpful to doctors from other medical specialties as well.

CHICAGO — A new online resource will help seriously ill patients and their physicians request expanded access to investigational therapies when they have exhausted all other treatment options and the patients are not eligible for a clinical trial, it was announced June 4 at a joint news conference of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Food and Drug Administration.

"Most clinical trials have quite stringent eligibility criteria, and many patients are not eligible to enroll," said ASCO President-Elect George W. Sledge Jr., of Indiana University Simon Cancer Center, Indianapolis.

"In those instances when preliminary scientific evidence suggests that treatment with an unapproved therapy might be beneficial, the FDA's expanded access regulations allow physicians to request access to an investigational agent, outside of the clinical trial setting, for seriously ill patients," he said.

Expanded access has been allowed since the 1970s, but many physicians have been uncertain about how to request it, what regulations apply, and the legal ramifications. All of these issues are clarified in the new Web site.

"It's been clear to the agency that there was room for progress," said FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, addressing the press conference on the opening day of ASCO's annual meeting.

"This is about the opportunity for the FDA to work with a medical specialty society, in this case ASCO, in what really should be a model for the agency - and work together to develop a program to reach out to clinicians and help them understand something that can be a little confusing at first," he said.

The new resources are available immediately to all patients and physicians, free of charge, through ASCO's physician education Web site, ASCO University.  

The material is presented in three online modules, which introduce the expanded access regulations, outline the process for requesting expanded access, and explain the physicians' legal responsibilities for treating patients with an investigational agent outside of a clinical trial.

The modules also contain resources such as a glossary, an expanded access request checklist, and various templates (letter to manufacturer, consent form, etc.) to help physicians with the paperwork.

In August 2009, the FDA issued updated regulations and attempted to clarify the rules in two publications, "Expanded Access to Investigational Drugs for Treatment Use," and "Charging for Investigational Drugs." The new Web site goes a step further.

To clarify the new rules for patients and the medical community, ASCO consulted the main stakeholders, including representatives from patient advocacy groups, manufacturers, institutional review boards, and the FDA, as well as physicians.

Although these tools were made with the oncology community in mind, these resources should be helpful to doctors from other medical specialties as well.

CHICAGO — A new online resource will help seriously ill patients and their physicians request expanded access to investigational therapies when they have exhausted all other treatment options and the patients are not eligible for a clinical trial, it was announced June 4 at a joint news conference of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Food and Drug Administration.

"Most clinical trials have quite stringent eligibility criteria, and many patients are not eligible to enroll," said ASCO President-Elect George W. Sledge Jr., of Indiana University Simon Cancer Center, Indianapolis.

"In those instances when preliminary scientific evidence suggests that treatment with an unapproved therapy might be beneficial, the FDA's expanded access regulations allow physicians to request access to an investigational agent, outside of the clinical trial setting, for seriously ill patients," he said.

Expanded access has been allowed since the 1970s, but many physicians have been uncertain about how to request it, what regulations apply, and the legal ramifications. All of these issues are clarified in the new Web site.

"It's been clear to the agency that there was room for progress," said FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, addressing the press conference on the opening day of ASCO's annual meeting.

"This is about the opportunity for the FDA to work with a medical specialty society, in this case ASCO, in what really should be a model for the agency - and work together to develop a program to reach out to clinicians and help them understand something that can be a little confusing at first," he said.

The new resources are available immediately to all patients and physicians, free of charge, through ASCO's physician education Web site, ASCO University.  

The material is presented in three online modules, which introduce the expanded access regulations, outline the process for requesting expanded access, and explain the physicians' legal responsibilities for treating patients with an investigational agent outside of a clinical trial.

The modules also contain resources such as a glossary, an expanded access request checklist, and various templates (letter to manufacturer, consent form, etc.) to help physicians with the paperwork.

In August 2009, the FDA issued updated regulations and attempted to clarify the rules in two publications, "Expanded Access to Investigational Drugs for Treatment Use," and "Charging for Investigational Drugs." The new Web site goes a step further.

To clarify the new rules for patients and the medical community, ASCO consulted the main stakeholders, including representatives from patient advocacy groups, manufacturers, institutional review boards, and the FDA, as well as physicians.

Although these tools were made with the oncology community in mind, these resources should be helpful to doctors from other medical specialties as well.