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A Comparative Review of Waivers Granted in Pediatric Drug Development by FDA and EMA From 2007–2013

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Abstract

Background

The European Union and the United States have different legal frameworks in place for pediatric drug development, which can potentially lead to different pediatric research requirements for the pharmaceutical industry. This manuscript compares pediatric clinical trial waivers granted by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Methods

This is a retrospective review comparing EMA’s Paediatric Committee (PDCO) decisions with FDA’s Pediatric Review Committee (PeRC) recommendations for all product-specific pediatric full waiver applications submitted to EMA from January 2007 through December 2013. Using baseline data from EMA, we matched product-specific waivers with their FDA equivalents during the study period.

Results

For single active substance products, PDCO and PeRC adopted similar opinions in 42 of 49 indications (86%). For fixed-dose combinations, PDCO and PeRC adopted similar opinions in 24 of 31 indications (77%).

Conclusion

Despite the different legal frameworks, criteria, and processes of determination, the waiver decisions of the 2 agencies were similar in the majority of cases.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. European Medicines Agency, 30 Churchill Place, London, E14 5EU, United Kingdom

    Gunter F. Egger DVM & Paolo Tomasi MD, PhD

  2. US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA

    Gerold T. Wharton MS, Suzanne Malli BA, BSN, Jean Temeck MD & M. Dianne Murphy MD

Authors
  1. Gunter F. Egger DVM
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  2. Gerold T. Wharton MS
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  3. Suzanne Malli BA, BSN
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  4. Jean Temeck MD
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  5. M. Dianne Murphy MD
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  6. Paolo Tomasi MD, PhD
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Correspondence to Gunter F. Egger DVM.

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Egger, G.F., Wharton, G.T., Malli, S. et al. A Comparative Review of Waivers Granted in Pediatric Drug Development by FDA and EMA From 2007–2013. Ther Innov Regul Sci 50, 639–647 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1177/2168479016646809

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2168479016646809

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