Are You Attending the FDLI’s Important REMS Conference in Washington?

by ParagonRx
February 5th, 2010

- Guest blog by  Roger Morris, The LondonBritain Company -

Having worked in communications in the pharmaceutical industry for more than 25 years, I continue to be amazed at how even strong competitors remain so open to sharing information and experiences.  Perhaps it’s the academic nature of pharmaceutical research that filters out to everyone else in the business, but the industry is constantly talking within itself - from scientific publications about new compounds to physician disease-state annual meetings to specialty conferences.

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We’ve Grown to Better Support Our Clients

by Jeff Fetterman
January 8th, 2010

Since 2003, ParagonRx has helped design, document, or negotiate dozens of risk management programs and REMS for pharmaceutical products.  Clients who choose to work with us have done so because of three operating principles:

  1. We believe in a balanced approach to REMS design in which safety objectives are achieved while preserving commercial viability.
  2. We employ science-based methods to reliably design and measure rational, defendable programs.
  3. We strive to inspire confidence in clients facing uncertain situations by providing specialized thinking, expert analysis and remarkable responsiveness by our experienced staff.

Those potential clients who did not choose to work with us often cited the need for a firm with broader capabilities to implement communication plans and elements to assure safe use.

At the start of this year, ParagonRx fulfilled its vision of being able to provide end-to-end REMS and risk management services by joining inVentiv Health. Read the rest of this entry »

REMS Assessments

by Kevin Fetterman
December 22nd, 2009

As we advise clients about REMS design and implementation, the most frequent concern we encounter is related to REMS assessment.  A look at the math reveals why this is so.  Over 63 REMS have been approved since FDAAA statutes for REMS became effective in March 2008.  Of those, more than 90% are comprised of Medication Guides and/or Communication Plans, plus an assessment.  Read the rest of this entry »

FDA’s Draft Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) Guidance – A Preliminary Review (Part V)

by Gary Slatko
October 15th, 2009

On September 30th, FDA issued draft guidance, “Format and Content of Proposed Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS), REMS Assessments and Proposed REMS Modifications”. While much of this draft guidance is a codification of what’s already been happening in practice over the past 2 years, there are some interesting aspects in the guidance for those working in the REMS space to contemplate. This is the fifth in an ongoing series of blog articles about this important document.

Our first four articles covered the background of FDAAA and REMS, an overview of a REMS submission and greater detail about the “Proposed REMS” and “REMS Supporting Document”, and REMS submissions and communications with FDA.

In this fifth and final article, we address our preliminary interpretation of the draft guidance, as well as opportunities for industry to respond and propose further improvements. Read the rest of this entry »

FDA’s Draft Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) Guidance – A Preliminary Review (Part IV)

by Gary Slatko
October 13th, 2009

On September 30th, FDA issued draft guidance, “Format and Content of Proposed Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS), REMS Assessments and Proposed REMS Modifications”. While much of this draft guidance is a codification of what’s already been happening in practice over the past 2 years, there are a few interesting surprises (depicted in bold below) for those working in the REMS space to contemplate. This is the fourth in an ongoing series of blog articles about this important document.

Our first three articles covered the background of FDAAA and REMS, an overview of a REMS submission and greater detail about the “Proposed REMS”, and “REMS Supporting Document” components of the REMS document submission. This article covers the section of the guidance about “REMS assessment and modification submissions” and “communicating with FDA”. Read the rest of this entry »

FDA’s Draft Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) Guidance – A Preliminary Review (Part III)

by Gary Slatko
October 7th, 2009

On September 30th, FDA issued its long awaited draft guidance, “Format and Content of Proposed Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS), REMS Assessments and Proposed REMS Modifications”. While much of this draft guidance is a codification of what’s already been happening in practice over the past 2 years, there are a few interesting surprises (depicted in bold below) for those working in the REMS space to contemplate. This is the third in an ongoing series of blog articles about this important document.

Our first two articles covered the background of FDAAA and REMS relative to RiskMAPs and those RiskMAPs deemed to be REMS, an overview of a REMS submission, and greater detail about the more concise “proposed REMS” component of the REMS document submission. This article details the content of the more comprehensive “REMS Supporting Document”, which explains the rationale for, and supporting information about, the proposed REMS. A template for the REMS Supporting Document can be found on the www.fda.gov website. Read the rest of this entry »

FDA’s Draft Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) Guidance – A Preliminary Review (Part II)

by Gary Slatko
October 5th, 2009

On September 30th, FDA issued its long awaited draft guidance, “Format and Content of Proposed Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS), REMS Assessments and Proposed REMS Modifications”. While much of this draft guidance is a codification of what’s already been happening in practice over the past two years, there are a few interesting surprises (depicted in bold below) for those working in the REMS space to contemplate. This is the second in an ongoing series of blog articles about this important document.

Our first article covered the background of FDAAA and REMS relative to RiskMAPs and those RiskMAPs deemed to be REMS, as well as an overview of a REMS submission. This second article addresses, in greater detail, the more concise “proposed REMS” component of the REMS document submission. The more expanded “REMS supporting document”, explaining the rationale for, and supporting information about, the proposed REMS being addressed in the next article. Read the rest of this entry »

FDA’s Draft Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) Guidance - A Preliminary Review (Part I)

by Gary Slatko
September 30th, 2009

FDA issued its long awaited draft guidance, “Format and Content of Proposed Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS), REMS Assessments and Proposed REMS Modifications”, on September 30. While much of the guidance is codification of what’s already been happening in practice over the past two years, there are a few surprises (indicated here in bold) for all of us working in the REMS space to contemplate. This is the first in a series of blog posts about this important document. Read the rest of this entry »

An excerpt from Expert Evaluation of RxFMEA™, a white paper by Benjamin A. Berman

by Jeff Fetterman
September 24th, 2009

Description of RxFMEA™

RxFMEA™ is a proprietary modification and extension of the basic FMEA methodology and that of Healthcare FMEA (HFMEA™), an adaptation of FMEA that was developed by the U.S. Veteran’s Administration. My review of the process suggests that the objective of RxFMEA™ is the comprehensive management of risks in the pharmaceutical industry. Because of the active involvement of trained personnel and untrained consumers in the distribution and use of pharmaceuticals, RxFMEA™ extends the basic FMEA and HFMEA™ processes in the following ways Read the rest of this entry »

Airplanes and Medications

by Jeff Fetterman
September 3rd, 2009

Airplanes and medications seem like items that don’t mix well. In fact, the discussion of a recent webinar suggests otherwise, at least as it relates to risk management. Captain Ben Berman shared experiences from his role as former Chief of Major Investigations of the U.S. National Transportation Board in which he served as a member of the major accident go-team responsible for safety studies about flight crew human factors. Read the rest of this entry »