Advice from the FDA – Come early, be loud and stay late

For the past two days, I was fortunate enough to attend a training seminar hosted by the FDA in Washington, DC. This was a “free” seminar (i.e. – travel expenses only). The session was split into two rooms. One room focused on the drug-side regulations and the other side focused on the device-side regulations. My strength is device-side. Therefore, I spent most of my time listening to the speakers on the drug-side. Throughout the training there was one common theme that was repeated by the speakers: Come Early, Be Loud, and Stay Late.

It’s much too late for me to still be awake, but I’m still recovering from motion sickness on my train ride back from DC. I feel compelled to write a blog posting, but I just don’t have the motivation for something technical tonight. Therefore, I beg you to forgive my attempt to impart philosophy rather than knowledge. Hopefully, you will find it useful. If not, at least you can enjoy the beautiful singing of Madeleine Peyroux.

“Come Early”

The speakers recommend that companies plan their submissions well in advance and talk to the appropriate FDA project manager about their plans before they start clinical studies.

“Be Loud”

The speakers recommend that companies communicate with as many people as they can at the FDA to make sure they have identified all the critical issues to address in the study design.

“Stay Late”

The speakers recommend that companies think ahead so that if (or when) things don’t go as planned, the clinical study results can be salvaged.

In simple, and more practical terms, every speaker emphasized the importance and value of consulting with the FDA instead of guessing what type of data will be needed for a submission. One of the other participants brought this up at lunch on the first day. He mentioned an example where the FDA agreed with a company on specific data that would be required for acceptance of an NDA. Then, the company did exactly what the FDA said and the FDA required more data. He then described another case where the FDA specified data and the company refused to comply—but the FDA granted approval.

This other participant and I both agreed that most companies are afraid to ask the FDA for agreement on what data is required, because the company may not like the FDA’s answer. My personal belief is that the FDA is better at identifying what data will be required than most companies, because the FDA has a broader perspective than companies do. There will always be exceptions, but my recommendation is to ask the FDA’s opinion whenever you have a question—just make sure you do your homework before you ask an inane question that is already in their guidance documents.

I believe this advice also applies to every regulatory agency in the world.

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