International – ICH charts new topics, touts progress in updating existing guidelines

The International Council for Harmonisation (ICH) announced plans to work on three new topics this year covering patient preference studies, non-clinical safety studies for oligonucleotide-based therapeutics and bioequivalence studies for modified release products. The group also touted the release of long-awaited updates to older guidelines in a 20 June announcement following its 12 June meeting in Vancouver, Canada.

ICH announced that a new efficacy guidance, General Considerations for Patient Preference Studies, will address the design, analysis and submission of these studies to supplement information about a product or to inform drug development.

Plans are also in the works to develop a new safety guideline, Nonclinical Safety Studies for Oligonucleotide-based Therapeutics, to clarify regulatory expectations on the nonclinical evaluation of oligonucleotide-based treatment options. ICH also plans to develop a new multidisciplinary guide, Bioequivalence for Modified-Release Products, to harmonize bioequivalence standards for more complex dosage forms…