PART I
At the first meeting, representatives from the Regulatory Affairs should advise the Getafix Pharmaceuticals Leadership Team that the proposed compound to treat Alzheimer’s disease should adhere to the FDI regulations in the development of a new drug. Therefore, the representative should advise the leadership team to perform adequate research to guarantee efficacy and safety of the drug.
The Regulatory Affairs team will play a significant role at the first meeting with the Getafix Pharmaceuticals Leadership Team. The team will help the leadership to understand, interpret, apply, and communicate regulations within the company and other stakeholders in the industry. It is critical for the company to comply with all regulations relating to the development and marketing of the new drug (Van Norman 278). Therefore, the team will ensure that the firm follows all the guidelines for the development and marketing of the new compound.
The meeting should be attended by departmental representatives involved in and affected by the development of the new compound. The company’s CEO and other top managers (in all departments) should attend the meeting to give the direction to other employees to follow in the development and marketing process (DiMasi et al. 273). Besides the Regulatory Affairs professionals, the meeting should be attended by the research and development team, operations team, and sales and marketing team.
PART II
The advice to the Getafix Pharmaceuticals R&D Leadership is to ensure that the nonclinical studies comply with the Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) regulations, or any other relevant guidelines to confirm that they pass the Investigational New Drug (IND) application. During the Go/No-Go decision (early pre-clinical development process) the new product should undergo various steps, including “determination of drug availability (studies on pharmacokinetics), absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination (ADME)” (Andrade et al. 1). The team should guarantee the safety of the drug, including safety pharmacology, mutagenicity, genotoxicity, and general toxicology. The non-clinical trials should achieve safe transposition from animals to humans, without significant adverse effects. The team should complete the non-clinical studies before the Investigational New Drug (IND) application.
PART III
The Getafix leadership team must ensure that the drug has passed all investigations, including clinical and non-clinical, before the initial IND to the FDA. Besides, the team should ensure that they have relevant requirements such as Form FDA 1571, which they should submit in triplicate (FDA). Product examinations are critical to enhancing the likelihood of approval.
A Pre-IND meeting with the FDA is necessary to obtain valuable FDA feedback. The essential material for the meeting is a briefing document with summarized information related to the compound and issues for discussion (Van Norman 278). The potential goal of the meeting is to obtain vital feedback to increase the chances of IND approval and to create a constructive relationship with the FDA.
Various documents will be required for initial IND submission, including a cover letter, regulatory forms, table of contents, introductory statement and general investigational plan, investigator brochure, clinical components, non-clinical components, and any other information as necessary. IND maintenance throughout drug development is critical to ensure drug approval and success in the market.
The Getafix leadership team should ensure that the new drug has achieved all the requirements for authorization to be administered to humans. CFR-Code of Federal Regulations Title 21, FDA Guidances, and ICH Guidelines offer the minimum standards and guidelines, including the need for safety of the new drug. The regulatory requirements deal with the issues of safety and efficacy of the proposed compound.
PART IV
The New Drug Application (NDA) is an integral part of the regulation and control of new drugs. The Getafix leadership team should understand that a well-designed and well-executed NDA is the tool through which it will receive authorization to release the drug into the market (Van Norman 278). It should include information contained in IND and obtained through clinical and non-clinical studies.
The purpose of the NDA is to give adequate information to allow the FDA reviewer to make critical decisions regarding the proposed drug for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The FDA assessor should have sufficient information to determine the safety and efficacy of the drug, appropriate of labeling, and adequacy of the methods and controls used in its manufacturing process.
Pre-NDA meeting with FDA is essential throughout the drug development process. The consultations will enable the Getafix leadership team to have a better direction as it prepares the drug for introduction into the market. The team should have a briefing document containing the drug’s history, such as the results of clinical tests, its main components (ingredients), the reaction of the blood once taken, and the processing and packaging procedure.
The documentation required for the initial NDA submission includes an application form, index, and summary. The post-approval activities that Getafix would perform to keep the drug on the market in the U.S. include drug advertising, manufacturer inspections, reporting problems, and active surveillance.
An Advisory Committee Meeting is essential to increase the chances of approval. The leadership team should understand the requirements for the FDA Advisory Committee and identify the most relevant aspect of the development of the new compound. The team should be prepared to take the committee through the product’s history and the identified critical problems with the application (DiMasi et al. 273). The FDA Advisory Committee raises significant concerns that the company should incorporate pending approval.
Part V
Firstly, pharmaceutical companies should take FDA warning letters seriously. The company is supposed to discuss the warning with the investigator to ensure an understanding of the problem and find a way of solving the issue. Secondly, the management should draft a CAPA plan, which will enable the collection and analysis of data to reveal the genesis of the problem (The Emergency Guide to FDA Warning Letter 1). For example, the company should indicate the cause of death of patients taking the proposed drug. The company should commit to solving the problem to avoid the adverse effects of the drug on patients. It is critical to prevent negative outcomes from recurring. The leadership should write an effective response to the FDI explaining the situation, possible causes, and the expected course of action.
Warning letters from the FDA means that a drug has failed in some areas during inspections. Therefore, a warning letter has a significant impact because a pharmaceutical company will be forced to use additional resources to rectify the problem (The Emergency Guide to FDA Warning Letter 1). GetaFix’s warning letter shows that the company has failed, an issue that might damage the firm’s reputation, especially if revealed to external parties. The company’s effort, such as advertisement might be halted until such a time when the issues of contention are resolved effectively.