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Vassal G, de Rojas T, Pearson ADJ. Impact of the EU Paediatric Medicine Regulation on new anti-cancer medicines for the treatment of children and adolescents. THE LANCET. CHILD & ADOLESCENT HEALTH 2023; 7:214-222. [PMID: 36682367 DOI: 10.1016/s2352-4642(22)00344-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Revised: 11/13/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
The European Paediatric Medicine Regulation was launched in 2007, aiming to provide better medicines for children. However, its benefit for paediatric patients with cancer has been questioned and the European Paediatric and Orphan Regulations have been under review since November, 2020. To ascertain the effect of the European Paediatric Medicine Regulation, all paediatric anti-cancer medicines assessed by the European Medicines Agency from 1995 to 2022 were identified and reviewed using the agency's public assessment reports, and all Paediatric Investigation Plans granted since 2007 were analysed. 16 new molecular entities (NMEs; ie, a drug that contains an active moiety that had never been approved before) have been approved since the regulation was launched in 2007. The number of paediatric marketing authorisations increased from 2007 but represented the same 17% of all anti-cancer drug marketing authorisations before and after 2007. After 2007, nine (56%) of 16 NMEs were first authorised both in adults and children. For seven NMEs, a first paediatric indication was approved with a median lag time of 6·4 years (range 1·2-21·5 years) after the first authorisation in adults. Half of NMEs were authorised for the treatment of malignancies responsible for only 5·4% of all European childhood cancer deaths, including three medicines for melanoma and thyroid cancer-adult cancers occurring very rarely in children. The increased number of paediatric anti-cancer NMEs after 2007 is a result of the major increase in new medicines authorised for adult cancers since 2005 rather than a direct effect of the Paediatric Regulation. Paediatric development of these NMEs was driven by their adult market and did not address major unmet medical needs of children and adolescents with cancer. An improved, fit-for-purpose regulatory environment that incentivises paediatric drug development based on mechanism of action, better incentives, and a systematic multi-stakeholder engagement, with greater investment from industry, public funding, and non-governmental organisations, will increase the number of new medicines approved in the future to cure more children and adolescents with cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gilles Vassal
- ACCELERATE, Brussels, Belgium; Department of Paediatric and Adolescent Oncology, Institut Gustave Roussy and Paris-Saclay University, Villejuif, France.
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Rose K, Ettienne EB, Grant-Kels JM, Striano P, Neubauer D, Tanjinatus O. Neurology's vital role in preventing unnecessary and potentially harmful pediatric studies. Expert Rev Neurother 2022; 22:209-219. [PMID: 35213279 DOI: 10.1080/14737175.2022.2045953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Regulatory authorities recognize two human populations: adults and children defined as <18 years. For drug approval, they demand separate studies. But humans mature slowly during puberty. The 18th birthday is an administrative limit that does not correspond to a physiological change. Separate drug approval before/after the 18th birthday reflects the children-are-therapeutic-orphans concept that emerged after 1962. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has backed away from this concept for antiepileptic drugs, but sticks to it in other areas. In contrast, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) is continuously expanding its demand for "pediatric" studies. Parents hesitate increasingly to let their children participate in questionable studies. AREAS COVERED Neurologists challenge the children-are-therapeutic-orphans mantra. Young patients do not need separate proof of efficacy & safety, but appropriate dosing recommendations. Minors should be treated as human beings, instead of being abused in questionable studies. EXPERT OPINION Young patients with multiple sclerosis and other neurological diseases deserve studies with therapeutic intentions. "Pediatric" careers have emerged in academia, regulatory authorities, and pharmaceutical companies. Institutional Review Boards/ Ethics Committees should suspend questionable "pediatric" studies and reject newly submitted ones. The medical professions should distance themselves from questionable "pediatric" research that reflects massive conflicts of interest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klaus Rose
- Klausrose Consulting, Riehen, Switzerland
| | | | - Jane M Grant-Kels
- Dermatology Department, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT, USA
| | - Pasquale Striano
- Pediatric Neurology and Muscular Diseases Unit, Department of Neurosciences, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health, University of Genova, "G. Gaslini" Institute, Genova, Italy
| | - David Neubauer
- Department of Child, Adolescent & Developmental Neurology, University Children's Hospital, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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Micallef B, Nisticò R, Sarac SB, Bjerrum OW, Butler D, Sammut Bartolo N, Serracino-Inglott A, Borg JJ. The changing landscape of treatment options in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Drug Discov Today 2022; 27:1483-1494. [PMID: 35007767 DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2022.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Revised: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
New paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) treatments have been developed and innovative products are in the pipeline. However, despite many active clinical trials, bridging bench science to clinical development to authorised medicines remains challenging. Research in first-line treatment continues to focus on multidrug chemotherapy with the potential addition of new targeted molecules being studied. Research in second- and third-line treatment represents a shift from cytotoxic intensification to an area of precision medicine through emergent innovative and immuno-oncology products. The collaborative research model in ALL involving different stakeholders should intensify to facilitate bench-to-bedside clinical translation for the benefit of patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Micallef
- Malta Medicines Authority, Sir Temi Żammit Buildings, Malta Life Sciences Park, San Ġwann SĠN 3000, Malta
| | - Robert Nisticò
- School of Pharmacy, Department of Biology, University of Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Ole W Bjerrum
- Danish Medicines Agency, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Hematology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark
| | - Dianne Butler
- Malta Medicines Authority, Sir Temi Żammit Buildings, Malta Life Sciences Park, San Ġwann SĠN 3000, Malta
| | | | - Anthony Serracino-Inglott
- Malta Medicines Authority, Sir Temi Żammit Buildings, Malta Life Sciences Park, San Ġwann SĠN 3000, Malta; Department of Pharmacy, University of Malta, Msida, Malta
| | - John Joseph Borg
- Malta Medicines Authority, Sir Temi Żammit Buildings, Malta Life Sciences Park, San Ġwann SĠN 3000, Malta; School of Pharmacy, Department of Biology, University of Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
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Zhang Y, Katharina Wagner A, Du H, Han T, Gupta S, Denburg AE, Frazier AL, Guan X, Shi L. Childhood cancer drugs in China: An overview and comparison of regulatory approvals in China and the United States. Int J Cancer 2021; 150:482-490. [PMID: 34536294 DOI: 10.1002/ijc.33818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2021] [Revised: 09/05/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Different from less developed countries, 80% of children with cancers in the United States are cured. Traditional chemotherapy drugs are the mainstay of therapies; new targeted medications have become available recently. Using publicly available data, we created a database of cancer drugs with paediatric malignancy indications approved by 31 October 2020 in China and the United States. We compared numbers, type, indications and listing on the World Health Organization Model List of Essential Medicines for Children (WHO EMLc) between the two countries, assessed the correlation between paediatric indications and cancer incidences, and described evidence supporting approvals of targeted medications in the two settings. Our study showed that by 31 October 2020, 31 and 39 cancer drugs available in China and the United States were approved for use in children, corresponding to 137 and 102 paediatric cancer indications, respectively. About half of these drugs (17 in China and 18 in the United States) were listed on the WHO EMLc. The correlation between indications and burden of disease was higher in the United States (r = 0.68) than China (r = 0.59). More traditional chemotherapy drugs were approved in China (n = 27) than the United States (n = 19). Of 20 targeted childhood anticancer medicines approved in the United States, mainly on the basis of single arm trials (27/32 indications, 84.4%), only four were approved for paediatric indications in China, at a median of 2.8 years after US Food and Drug Administration approval. A harmonised, evidence-based regulatory framework is needed to ensure approvals of needed, safe and efficacious childhood cancer drugs across the world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yichen Zhang
- Department of Pharmacy Administration and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Anita Katharina Wagner
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Haoxin Du
- Department of Pharmacy Administration and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Taisen Han
- Department of Pharmacy Administration and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Sumit Gupta
- Division of Haematology/Oncology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Avram E Denburg
- Division of Haematology/Oncology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - A Lindsay Frazier
- Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Centre, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Xiaodong Guan
- Department of Pharmacy Administration and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China.,International Research Centre for Medicinal Administration, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Luwen Shi
- Department of Pharmacy Administration and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China.,International Research Centre for Medicinal Administration, Peking University, Beijing, China
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Langenberg KPS, Looze EJ, Molenaar JJ. The Landscape of Pediatric Precision Oncology: Program Design, Actionable Alterations, and Clinical Trial Development. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:4324. [PMID: 34503139 PMCID: PMC8431194 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13174324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Revised: 08/18/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Over the last years, various precision medicine programs have been developed for pediatric patients with high-risk, relapsed, or refractory malignancies, selecting patients for targeted treatment through comprehensive molecular profiling. In this review, we describe characteristics of these initiatives, demonstrating the feasibility and potential of molecular-driven precision medicine. Actionable events are identified in a significant subset of patients, although comparing results is complicated due to the lack of a standardized definition of actionable alterations and the different molecular profiling strategies used. The first biomarker-driven trials for childhood cancer have been initiated, but until now the effect of precision medicine on clinical outcome has only been reported for a small number of patients, demonstrating clinical benefit in some. Future perspectives include the incorporation of novel approaches such as liquid biopsies and immune monitoring as well as innovative collaborative trial design including combination strategies, and the development of agents specifically targeting aberrations in childhood malignancies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karin P. S. Langenberg
- Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Heidelberglaan 25, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands; (E.J.L.); (J.J.M.)
| | - Eleonora J. Looze
- Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Heidelberglaan 25, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands; (E.J.L.); (J.J.M.)
| | - Jan J. Molenaar
- Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Heidelberglaan 25, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands; (E.J.L.); (J.J.M.)
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80082, 3508 TB Utrecht, The Netherlands
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