Background: The selective safety data collection (SSDC) proposed in The International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use E19 guideline is a more selective approach to collect safety data of medicinal products with well-characterized safety profiles. There has been no systematic survey of the implementation status of SSDCs.
Methods: A literature search was conducted on clinical trials using SSDC published in The New England Journal of Medicine from February 1, 2016, to December 31, 2019. By reviewing the retrieved texts, protocols, and statistical analysis plans, we identified the method of safety data collection and evaluated whether each trial adopted SSDC.
Results: Of the 459 trials of medicinal products searched, 44 clinical trials adopted SSDC. The common objectives of these studies were "to study additional endpoints" (31 trials, 70.5%) and "new indications of approved drugs" (8 trials, 18.2%). Participant number was more than 1000 in 33 trials (75.0%). Most trials adopted SSDC for the entire study population throughout the trial period. Death and serious adverse events (SAEs) were recorded in all trials. Twenty-nine (66.6%) recorded death, SAE, and AE leading to drug discontinuation, which were specified in the E19 draft guideline as the data that should be collected under all circumstances.
Conclusion: There have already been cases where SSDC was used in clinical trials for regulatory application. It is desirable that the E19 guideline will harmonize the method for implementation of SSDC, making SSDC more common as an option for clinical trial design.
Keywords: Clinical trial; ICH E19 guideline; ICH guideline; SSDC; Safety data; Selective safety data collection.
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