ABSTRACT
The EMA Regulatory Science Strategy to 2025: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/about-us/how-we-work/regulatory-science-strategy (accessed 27 June 2021)
European Medicines Agencies network strategy to 2025:https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/report/european-union-medicines-agencies-network-strategy-2025-protecting-public-health-time-rapid-change_en.pdf (accessed 27 June 2021)
EMA/HMA Big Data Steering Group: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/about-us/how-we-work/big-data#hma/ema-big-data-steering-group-section (Accessed 22 November 2021)
European Commission: A pharmaceutical strategy for Europe: https://ec.europa.eu/health/human-use/strategy_en (accessed 27 June 2021)
Key words
Introduction
Pharmaceutical legislation for medicinal products for human use: https://ec.europa.eu/health/documents/eudralex/vol-1_en (accessed 7 September 2021)
European Medicines Agencies network strategy to 2025:https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/report/european-union-medicines-agencies-network-strategy-2025-protecting-public-health-time-rapid-change_en.pdf (accessed 27 June 2021)
European Commission: A pharmaceutical strategy for Europe: https://ec.europa.eu/health/human-use/strategy_en (accessed 27 June 2021)
EMA initiatives for acceleration of development support and evaluation procedures for COVID-19 treatments and vaccines: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/other/ema-initiatives-acceleration-development-support-evaluation-procedures-covid-19-treatments-vaccines_en.pdf (accessed 8 July 2021)
- Robertson Andrew S.
- Malone Hilary
- Bisordi Fabio
- Fitton Helen
- Garner Carlos
- Holdsworth Stacy
- Honig Peter
- Hukkelhoven Mathias
- Kowalski Robert
- Milligan Sandra
- O'Dowd Liza
- Roberts Khyati
- Rohrer Michelle
- Stewart Jerry
- Taisey Mark
- Thakkar Roopal
- Van Baelen Karin
- Wegner Max
The US FDA on Real-Time Oncology Review: https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/oncology-center-excellence/real-time-oncology-review (accessed 27 June 2021)
Analysis of the Real-Time Oncology Review (RTOR) Pilot Program for Approvals of New Molecular Entities: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33913098/ (accessed 27 June 2021)
The UK MHRA on the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/innovative-licensing-and-access-pathway (accessed 27 June 2021)
Accumulus Synergy: https://www.accumulus.org/ (accessed 27 June 2021)
PDUFA reauthorization performance goals and procedures fiscal years 2023 through 2027: https://www.fda.gov/media/151712/download (accessed 25 August 2021)
Discussion
The DRA Vision
The European Commission Cloud Strategy: https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/ec_cloud_strategy.pdf (accessed 8 July 2021)
Regulation (EU) 2016/679: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32016R0679&from=EN (accessed 30 September 2021)
DRA: Pictorial Overview
The Access consortium: https://www.tga.gov.au/australia-canada-singapore-switzerland-united-kingdom-access-consortium (accessed 27 June 2021)
The US FDA Project Orbis: https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/oncology-center-excellence/project-orbis (accessed 27 June 2021)
IFPMA Position Paper on Considerations for effective regulatory reliance – an Industry perspective: https://www.ifpma.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/IFPMA-Position-Paper-Regulatory-Reliance.pdf (accessed 27 June 2021)

Strategic Elements to Achieve the Vision
Development of a Multi-Stakeholder Vision for DRA in the EU
Leverage Ongoing Discussions and Initiatives
- •Scientific dialogue: short-term changes to regulator interactions that support development (eg, scientific advice), which could improve the current landscape based on certain principles, including improved orientation, agility, and multi-stakeholder engagement.24Longer term improvements will better integrate R&D product dialogue along the medicine life cycle and leverage contemporary IT capabilities for data exchange, decision support, and institutional memory.
Highlight report of the 5th Industry stakeholder platform on research and development support, item on ‘Evolution of the scientific advice framework’: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/report/highlight-report-fifth-industry-stakeholder-platform-research-development-support_en.pdf (accessed 4 August 2021)
- •Expedited regulatory pathways (ERPs): In the EU, ERPs currently include PRIME,25Accelerated Assessment,
The EMA PRIME scheme: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/human-regulatory/research-development/prime-priority-medicines (accessed 27 June 2021)
26and Conditional Marketing Authorisations.Recital 33 and Article 14(9): Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 laying down community procedures for the authorisation and supervision of medicinal products for human and veterinary use and establishing a European Medicines Agency: https://ec.europa.eu/health/sites/default/files/files/eudralex/vol-1/reg_2004_726/reg_2004_726_en.pdf (Accessed 22 November 2021)
27,Article 14(7): Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 laying down community procedures for the authorisation and supervision of medicinal products for human and veterinary use and establishing a European Medicines Agency: https://ec.europa.eu/health/sites/default/files/files/eudralex/vol-1/reg_2004_726/reg_2004_726_en.pdf (Accessed 22 November 2021)
28he EFPIA is undertaking a strategic reflection on their functioning as part of the association's response to the EU Pharmaceutical Strategy. This could inform policy change and create an opportunity to pilot some DRA concepts in ERPs, connecting iterative dialogue, iterative submission (dynamic review, including learnings from rolling review), and accelerated assessment to speed assessment timelines.Commission Regulation (EC) No 507/2006 of 29 March 2006 on the conditional marketing authorisation for medicinal products for human use falling within the scope of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council: https://ec.europa.eu/health/sites/default/files/files/eudralex/vol-1/reg_2004_726/reg_2004_726_en.pdf (Accessed 22 November 2021)
- •Discrete data packets: The EFPIA defines discrete data packets as dossier/data elements that can be submitted and reviewed when quality assured, ahead of a complete regulatory submission, although multi-stakeholder discussion and an eventual EU view are needed. Elements of the concept can be piloted now (eg, as components of the electronic Common Technical Document dossier) to guide how this approach could evolve in the mid-term postlegislative review and to provide principles for a long-term vision.
- •Dynamic assessment: Developing sustainable processes based on the learnings from the more dynamic approach used during the COVID-19 review of vaccines and treatments, including increased collaboration within and outside the EU and rolling reviews of data.
IT and Its Governance and Standards
- 1.A robustly governed and dynamic EU regulatory IT strategy, with multi-stakeholder engagement to ensure solutions deliver value to users. Individual projects and business users must work jointly from the start, avoiding creation of duplicate tools and/or systems to support the same or similar processes in different geographic or functional jurisdictions. A clear connection to an overall business strategy1is needed, linking individual projects to successful delivery of the strategy. We must also drive (as much as possible) consistent adoption and implementation of tools and processes across the EU regulatory network. Finally, this must be underpinned by a sustainable IT infrastructure resourcing model that allows consistent progress toward the overall vision, not just legislatively mandated elements.
The EMA Regulatory Science Strategy to 2025: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/about-us/how-we-work/regulatory-science-strategy (accessed 27 June 2021)
- 2.An overarching EU data strategy: consideration of data is needed across the EU regulatory network, not individually per project. For this reason, an overarching information architecture and data model needs to be developed and international engagement on data standards prioritized. Important steps toward this goal have been taken through, for instance, the EU Big Data Task Force and the DARWIN EU (Data Analytics and Real World Interrogation Network) initiatives.
- 3.Software development is not a core regulator competence, often taking place per-project, per regulator, and risking potential downstream inter-operability challenges. More long-term partnerships and investments, consistency, and strategic alignment are needed. Engaging in long-term partnerships with proven software vendors will improve quality and consistency as well as reduce cost. Development of software is needed to test case studies to advance the DRA concept from theory to practice.
Conclusions
Acknowledgments
Disclosures
References
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European Medicines Agencies network strategy to 2025:https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/report/european-union-medicines-agencies-network-strategy-2025-protecting-public-health-time-rapid-change_en.pdf (accessed 27 June 2021)
EMA/HMA Big Data Steering Group: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/about-us/how-we-work/big-data#hma/ema-big-data-steering-group-section (Accessed 22 November 2021)
European Commission: A pharmaceutical strategy for Europe: https://ec.europa.eu/health/human-use/strategy_en (accessed 27 June 2021)
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The Access consortium: https://www.tga.gov.au/australia-canada-singapore-switzerland-united-kingdom-access-consortium (accessed 27 June 2021)
The US FDA Project Orbis: https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/oncology-center-excellence/project-orbis (accessed 27 June 2021)
IFPMA Position Paper on Considerations for effective regulatory reliance – an Industry perspective: https://www.ifpma.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/IFPMA-Position-Paper-Regulatory-Reliance.pdf (accessed 27 June 2021)
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https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/presentation/presentation-eu-big-data-stakeholder-virtual-forum-implementation-hma-ema-big-data-task-force_en.pdf (accessed 30 September 2021)
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