M14 General Principles on Plan, Design, and Analysis of Pharmacoepidemiological Studies That Utilize Real-World Data for Safety Assessment of Medicines; International Council for Harmonisation; Draft Guidance for Industry; Availability

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing the availability of a draft guidance for industry entitled "M14 General Principles on Plan, Design, and Analysis of Pharmacoepidemiological Studies That Utilize Real-World Data for Safety Assessment of Medicines." The draft guidance was prepared under the auspices of the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH). The draft guidance outlines general principles on planning, designing, and analyzing observational (noninterventional) pharmacoepidemiological studies that utilize fit-for-purpose data for safety assessment of medicines (drugs, vaccines, and other biological products). The draft guidance includes recommendations and high-level best practices for the conduct of these studies. The draft guidance is intended to streamline the development and regulatory assessment of postmarketing pharmacoepidemiological safety studies that include Real-World Data. This guidance also seeks to improve the ability of the study protocol and/or results to be accepted across health authorities and support decision making in response to study results.

Abstract as published in the Federal Register.