Patient Engagement Collaborative
Now Available: Summary of the March Patient Engagement Collaborative Meeting
The FDA, in collaboration with CTTI, convened the second in-person meeting of the Patient Engagement Collaborative (PEC) in March at the FDA’s White Oak Campus in Silver Spring, Md. A summary of the meeting is now available.
The primary objective of the PEC’s most recent meeting was to discuss a “how-to guide” to help patients and patient groups navigate engaging with the FDA. Ideas for new resources included a patient ambassador training program and informational marketing campaigns to meet patients where they live and work.
The PEC, a joint initiative of the FDA and CTTI, has 16 members who were chosen from nearly 200 patients and patient advocates. The members’ discussions help to inform the FDA’s efforts to engage patients meaningfully in medical product development and other regulatory discussions.
This effort is facilitated by provisions in the 21st Century Cures Act of 2016 and the Food and Drug Administration Reauthorization Act of 2017.
Now Available: Summary of the Patient Engagement Collaborative Inaugural Meeting
The FDA, in collaboration with CTTI, convened the inaugural meeting of the newly formed Patient Engagement Collaborative (PEC) in August at the FDA’s White Oak Campus in Silver Spring, Md. A summary of the meeting is now available.
The PEC is a joint initiative of the FDA and CTTI. Its 16 members, selected from nearly 200 patients and advocates, are helping expand the FDA’s efforts to achieve meaningful patient engagement in medical product development and other regulatory discussions. This effort is facilitated by provisions in the 21st Century Cures Act of 2016 and the Food and Drug Administration Reauthorization Act of 2017.
The objectives of the PEC’s first meeting were to agree on the group’s vision and goals and to discuss opportunities to enhance communications and resources for interactions between the FDA and the patient community. Among the meeting’s key takeaways, the PEC agreed that patient engagement can inform the research and development continuum from beginning to end, and that a systematic approach by the FDA to including the patient voice in the regulatory decision-making process will be important.
The PEC will meet several times a year, both in-person and by teleconference, to continue to discuss how to enhance patient engagement in regulatory decision-making.
Sixteen Representatives Selected for the Patient Engagement Collaborative at FDA
CTTI and the FDA recently announced newly selected representatives for the Patient Engagement Collaborative (PEC), a joint endeavor announced in December 2017 to gather members of the patient community to discuss new ways for patients and the FDA to work together. These 16 representatives will meet with the FDA several times a year to discuss topics such as communication, transparency, and how patients can participate in the FDA’s regulatory discussions about medical products.
The representatives are:
- Dawn Aldrich
- Ronald Bartek
- Karen Erickson
- Jeffrey Goldstein
- Anne Hall
- Melissa Hogan
- Elizabeth Joniak-Grant
- Nancy Lenfestey
- Isabelle Lousada
- Stephanie Monroe
- Lawrence “Rick” Phillips
- Philip Posner
- Lynne Quittell
- Adrienne Shapiro
- Theresa Strong
- Dave White
The representatives were selected from nearly 200 nominations received in response to a Federal Register notice published in December 2017. The selection committee, which included patient advocates and staff from CTTI and the FDA, worked to identify representatives with diverse perspectives and experiences who could meaningfully contribute and express the patient voice.
“We are excited to welcome these experts to the PEC and are confident that they will make a significant contribution to advancing patient engagement in research and development,” said Pamela Tenaerts, MD, MBA, CTTI Executive Director. “This group will play a critical role in ensuring that every step of medical product development accounts for patients’ needs.”
The PEC was created as a response to public feedback the FDA requested on Section 1137, Patient Participation in Medical Product Discussions, of the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (FDASIA). One suggestion was to create an outside group to give input on patient engagement across the FDA.
Four Key Areas Where CTTI Has Transformed Clinical Trials
This year, CTTI marks its 10th year of working with a variety of stakeholders to positively change clinical trials, making them more streamlined, efficient, and patient-focused. To commemorate this milestone, we will #CelebrateCTTI throughout the month of January. Join us for the celebration—visit this blog, follow us on Twitter, and register to attend our 10 Year Anniversary Symposium on Tues., Feb. 6.
Since its inception in 2007, CTTI has made transformational shifts in the design and conduct of clinical research. Let’s take a look at the evolution of clinical trials in four key areas, among many, in which CTTI has played a critical role in moving the industry toward more efficient, high-quality, and patient-centric trials:
Trial Quality
Regulators have long acknowledged a need to change how the industry approaches clinical trial quality in order to focus on reducing errors that undermine data integrity and patient safety. Drawing on the expertise of key stakeholders, CTTI issued recommendations on effective and efficient trial monitoring in 2012. The following year, FDA issued final guidance on a risk-based approach to monitoring, reflecting principles from CTTI’s work. CTTI also developed the concept of Quality by Design, taking the focus from a reactive approach using audits to a proactive approach that builds quality into clinical trials at the outset. CTTI released its Quality by Design recommendations and toolkit in 2015, and its work in this area has been cited in FDA guidance and incorporated into GCP guidelines.
Patient Engagement
CTTI has been a pioneer in patient engagement, involving patient representatives in its organizational leadership and throughout its project teams. Spurred by the FDA’s Safety and Innovation Act of 2012, CTTI initiated the Patient Groups & Clinical Trials Project to establish best practices for engaging patients in clinical research. In 2014, CTTI released landmark recommendations that are currently used by multiple stakeholders to facilitate productive relationships with patient groups around clinical trials. In 2017, CTTI and FDA announced a partnership on a new initiative, the Patient Engagement Collaborative, to improve patient engagement across the FDA.
Central IRB
Although U.S. regulators are enthusiastic about the use of a central IRB to promote more efficient multi-site clinical trials, enterprise-wide implementation has lagged. CTTI initiated the Central IRB Project in 2010, creating recommendations and resources to help organizations identify and address barriers to the adoption of a central IRB. The NIH issued a draft policy in 2014 referencing CTTI’s recommendations and a final policy in 2016 requiring all NIH-funded multi-site clinical trials to use a central IRB effective in 2018.
Real-World Evidence
Since its inception, CTTI has recognized that “real-world evidence” from electronic health records, mobile devices, and other sources can provide unique insights into important clinical questions and could improve the efficiency of clinical trials. The FDA Amendments Act of 2007, which mandated FDA to develop a system to link safety data from multiple sources, paved the way for the use of connected datasets in clinical trials. After partnering with the FDA and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute to assess the feasibility of using the Sentinel database for clinical research, CTTI supported the first trial using Sentinel. CTTI also launched a program in 2016 to support the use of mobile technology in clinical trials, issued recommendations in 2017 on how to use registries as reusable platforms for trials, and announced a Real-World Evidence Project in 2017.
CTTI Selected to Support FDA Efforts to Increase Patient Engagement Through New Collaborative
CTTI has been engaged by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to support its Patient Engagement Collaborative (PEC), an effort created in partnership with CTTI to bring together members of the patient community to discuss the best ways for patients to participate in the FDA’s regulatory discussions about medical products.
“Engaging patients as partners in the development of medical products is critical to the success of the clinical research enterprise, and CTTI is pleased to be hosting this new forum for patients and regulators to discuss and exchange ideas,” said Pamela Tenaerts, MD, MBA, CTTI Executive Director. “This is an important initiative that will benefit not only patients and regulators, but all stakeholders in the research enterprise.”
The Patient Engagement Collaborative is being created because of public feedback the FDA requested on Section 1137, Patient Participation in Medical Product Discussions, of the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (FDASIA). One suggestion was to create an outside group to give input on patient engagement across the FDA.
“The FDA is committed to expanding its efforts to engage patients in its regulatory decision-making processes and the new PEC will include a diverse group of representatives from outside the FDA who will help enhance the agency’s understanding of how to best engage across patient communities,” said Rachel E. Sherman, MD, MPH, FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner. “CTTI has a well-established network of patients and patient advocates, and we look forward to working with them in this important effort.”
The Patient Engagement Collaborative will bring 16 patients, caregivers, and patient group representatives together with the FDA several times a year to discuss topics such as communication, transparency, and new ways for patients and the FDA to work together. The new group will be hosted by CTTI, which has strong ties to the patient community.
Nominations to join the Patient Engagement Collaborative will be accepted until Jan. 29. Learn more about what is expected of members and how to apply in the Federal Register Notice. You are also welcome to join a call hosted by CTTI and the FDA on Fri., Jan. 12, at 2pm ET if you have questions about applying. Join by calling 800-988-9752 and use participant code 4753141.
FDA and CTTI to Collaborate on New Patient Engagement Initiative
The FDA and the Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative (CTTI) will be collaborating to establish a new external work group related to patient engagement at the FDA. The FDA has long involved patients and considered patient perspectives in its work. This new initiative is part of the FDA’s continued commitment to fostering greater patient participation and input in regulatory medical product matters. Stakeholders suggested an external work group as a way for FDA to enhance patient engagement (View Report).
The FDA will leverage CTTI’s strengths in multi-stakeholder engagement to coordinate the new work group. CTTI, a public-private partnership, has a strong community of patient advocates and caregivers within its membership. The new work group will create a forum to exchange information, ideas, and experiences on matters of interest to patients and patient advocates related to patient engagement at the FDA. The work group will be similar to the European Medicines Agency’s Patients’ and Consumers’ Working Party, which marks its 10th anniversary in June 2016.
Additional details will be released as the work group develops.