Challenges in drug development for muscle disease: a stakeholders' meeting.
Current treatment benefits for patients with muscle disease are limited, but progress in legislative and scientific initiatives have set the stage for the development of new therapies. The MD-CARE Act (Public Law 107-84), which allocates federal resources to muscular dystrophy, was approved by Congress and signed into law by the President of the United States in 2001. This has shifted the emphasis toward translational research. To facilitate a push toward therapy for muscle disorders, the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) sponsored a meeting with representatives from industry, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other government agencies and academia. Each contributed in different ways. The FDA helped define the necessary data to support investigational new drug (IND) applications including the design of proof-of-principle studies, outcome measures for clinical trials, and the pathway for developing surrogate measures for fast-tracking promising new drugs. The NIH, other government agencies, and the MDA described potential funding sources for translational research. Industry delineated a complementary role with academia, and academic investigators elucidated the current strengths and weaknesses of available clinical endpoints. The meeting provided a format for communication for diverse disciplines that usually have no common meeting ground, helping to lay the foundation for bringing products to market in a timely fashion.
Mendell
Jerry R
JR
Columbus Children's Research Institute, and Ohio State University, 700 Children's Drive, Columbus, OH 43235, USA. mendellj@ccri.net
Csimma
Cristina
C
McDonald
Craig M
CM
Escolar
Diana M
DM
Janis
Scott
S
Porter
John D
JD
Hesterlee
Sharon E
SE
Howell
R Rodney
RR
D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D000818:Animals; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D017277:Drug Approval / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000379:methods; D015195:Drug Design; D004341:Drug Evaluation / Q000191:economics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000639:trends; D004345:Drug Industry; D006801:Humans; D007449:Investments; D009135:Muscular Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D009316:National Institutes of Health (U.S.); D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D012106:Research; D012109:Research Support as Topic / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D014481:United States; D014486:United States Food and Drug Administration