The pharmaceutical industry has become a favorite “bad guy” among the public, media, and legislators. There is a perception that the many risks of medications is proof that the industry does not care about the safety of patients. Nonsense. (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘appropriate use’
No Free Lunch: An Intuitive Approach to Benefit-Risk Management
Tuesday, November 16th, 2010Computed Tomography (CT) Imaging Ethnography
Wednesday, September 29th, 2010Computed Tomography (CT) diagnostic scans are performed on thousands of patients daily throughout the world. CT scanning suites are under multiple pressures to optimize their process and improve their financial situations. The diagnostic value of certain scans can be enhanced by the use of intravenous iodinated contrast agents (IVCA) as they allow for increased anatomical visualization. A supplier of IVCAs contacted ParagonRx to map the administration of these agents to help identify ways to help optimize suite operation. (more…)
Ethnographic Research and REMS
Monday, July 12th, 2010-Guest Blog by Andrea J. Simon, PhD.-
In the past year, pressures to integrate observational or ethnographic research (which really are one and the same) in pharmaceutical and biotech industries are increasing as the value of this research is becoming better understood. In particular, Phase IV research involving the management and use of a drug protocol is becoming more and more important; i.e., when a drug is in widespread use, risks need to be better understood. At the same time, there is a growing sense of uncertainty around ethnography’s legitimate role, how to integrate it into quantitative research, and when to use its information and insights to support or alter a previously defined direction. Along with this greater scrutiny, there is rising debate about ‘best practices’ in observational research processes, especially regarding the need to define protocols to ensure that research is conducted with proper rigor and is producing suitable, credible results. (more…)
Grounding Your REMS in a Science-Based Approach – The ParagonRx RxFMEA® Approach to Assessing Medication-Use Risk
Wednesday, April 7th, 2010In 2001, ParagonRx first employed the science-based risk assessment methodology Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) to proactively assess patient safety in the emerging field of Pharmaceutical Risk Management. While a novel approach for assessing drug safety issues, FMEA has a long history in other risk intensive industries used to mitigate process and design failures, including the aerospace, military, nuclear, and even pharmaceutical manufacturing. Research into how FMEA was used to mitigate risks across other industries and references made in FDA Draft RiskMAP Guidance, provided the rational for applying FMEA to pharmaceutical product and patient safety. RxFMEA®, ParagonRx’s proprietary adaption of the FMEA process, applies the principles of process mapping complex systems and systematically evaluating a process for potential failures. RxFMEA® is a proactive, bottom-up assessment that identifies the behavioral causes of medication use failures and prioritizes interventional opportunities to mitigate adverse events. RxFMEA® was specifically designed as a Pharmaceutical Risk Management tool and is now utilized in REMS development for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. (more…)
Organizing for REMS Effectiveness: A View from the Field
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010- Guest blog by Andrea J. Simon, PhD -
This blog by Andrea Simon, PhD, a corporate anthropologist, is one in a series that ParagonRx has initiated to help our readers better understand some of the trends taking place in the field of Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) and risk management under the FDA draft guidance. We know you will find them of value and encourage you to comment on them.
In April, ParagonRx is hosting its Wednesday FoREMS webinar on the topic of organizing to effectively manage Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS). And, in May, the Wednesday FoREMS will host a panel of industry leaders discussing how their organizations are building REMS capabilities and resourcing them in their product development and commercialization functions. In preparation for these upcoming webinars, I thought I would share with you some of my observations from the field and encourage you to share your own company’s perspectives on how you are reorganizing to create and effectively manage REMS. (more…)
REMS Programs for Opioid Drugs?
Thursday, February 19th, 2009REMS programs for opioid drugs? A worthy approach but many questions remain to be answered.
Developing an effective REMS program – one designed to preserve access for every person who would benefit from a medication while avoiding exposure in situations and individuals with excessive risk factors – is a challenge. The difficulty increases when the risks expand beyond inadvertent misuse to also include intentional abuse.
Recently the FDA signaled its intent to tackle risks involving opioids that have both significant benefits for certain segments of patients and also the potential for misuse and abuse. On March 3, the FDA will sit down with 15 manufacturers of 24 opioid medications to begin the process of outfitting them with REMS.
(more…)
REMS Planning – Not Just For Safety
Friday, February 6th, 2009REMS planning is not only good for safety, it can also help increase product adoption.
If you’re interested in REMS because you’re in the Regulatory, Legal, Medical or R&D departments of a pharmaceutical, device or biotech manufacturing company, you might want to forward this post to your colleagues in Marketing, especially if they are working on product launches. Many Marketing people intuitively suspect any attempt to guide appropriate use of their fledgling product – such as a REMS or other risk management program – is going to negatively affect sales and reputation.
And that does make sense, doesn’t it? But the facts don’t support the belief.
(more…)
Thoughts Shared at FDLI Risk Management Conference
Wednesday, January 28th, 2009FDA and the industry share thoughts at FDLI risk management conference
Earlier this month, while Washington was bustling with Inaugural preparations, there was an excellent meeting in the capital on pharmaceutical risk management, hosted by the Food and Drug Law Institute (FDLI) at the offices of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP. The impetus of the meeting was to provide a forum for some of the authors of the recently published text, Pharmaceutical Risk Management: Practical Applications (FDLI, 2008) as well as other experts within the industry and within the FDA. Industry veteran Wayne Pines, who edited the book along with me and my colleague at ParagonRx, Gary Slatko, chaired the conference.
I would like to share with you some of the more-intriguing thoughts to come out of the conference, as well as a few news tidbits – but first let me say that if you would like to obtain a complete transcript of the conference or to buy a copy of PRM: Practical Applications, please contact the FDLI website at www.fdli.org.
(more…)
