“I need to breathe” — Living with Asthma: Patient Experiences, Old Challenges, New Drugs

"I need to breathe" — Living with Asthma: Patient Experiences, Old Challenges, New Drugs By Kathleen Hoffman, PhD MSPH Earlier this month, the American Lung Association (ALA), Inspire’s partner for the “Living with Asthma” online community, announced that it is looking for patient panelists to participate in a PFDD (Patient-Focused Drug Development) meeting on Pediatric Asthma, to be held virtually on 9/20/2021. “The meeting will consist of an overview of pediatric asthma, an explanation of the Food and Drug Administration’s PFDD meeting process, and two panel sessions,” explained Annette Eyer, the ALA’s National Assistant Vice President [...]

Out of Nowhere: Kidney Cancer

Out of Nowhere: Kidney Cancer By Kathleen Hoffman, PhD MSPH Of the estimated 1.9 million cancers diagnosed each year in the US, around 4 percent are kidney cancers, the most common are renal cell carcinomas (RCC). Around 76,000 new cases will occur in the US in 2021, 48,0000 in men and 27,000 in women. Kidney cancer can occur at any age, but is most likely to be diagnosed between the ages of 55 - 75.1,2,3 Out of the Blue Patients and caregivers describe sudden and unexpected diagnoses of kidney cancer: My husband was just newly diagnosed [...]

Real World Data to Real World Evidence

Real World Data to Real World Evidence By Kathleen Hoffman, PhD MSPH You’ve started a medication, and you feel “off” in some way. How “off” do you have to feel before you mention it to your doctor or until you or she sends an Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) report to the FDA through the MedWatch program? On the other hand, how “off” do you have to feel before mentioning it to your peers in an online health community? A study conducted by Inspire and Stanford University found that people mentioned an ADR for a specific drug [...]

The Kidney Cancer Support Community on Inspire

The Kidney Cancer Support Community on Inspire By Kathleen Hoffman, PhD MSPH Of the over 1 million cancers diagnosed each year in the US, around 3 percent are kidney cancers.1 This relatively rare cancer is twice as likely to develop in men as women. Around 73,000 new cases will occur in the US in 2019, about 44,000 men and 29,000 women.2 Kidney Cancer Association Kidney Cancer Support Community on Inspire Started in 2014, the Kidney Cancer Association Kidney Cancer Support Community on Inspire has grown to approximately 2600 members; 64 percent are female, 36 percent male. [...]

What’s the FDA up to on Patient Focused Drug Development (PFDD) these days?

What’s the FDA up to on Patient-Focused Drug Development (PFDD) these days? By Kathleen Hoffman, PhD MSPH Part of the FDA’s mandate in implementing the “21st Century Cures Act” is ensuring the incorporation of patient experience data into drug development. They’ve hit the deadline for another Patient Focused Drug Development (PFDD) Guidance document, so let’s look at the status. Background The Agency is in the process of issuing four PFDD guidance documents to “address, in a stepwise manner, how stakeholders can collect and submit patient experience data” for medical product development and regulatory decision-making.1 Draft Guidance [...]

Looking for Guidance? FDA and PFDD at “Patients as Partners” 2019

Looking for Guidance? FDA and PFDD at "Patients as Partners" 2019 By Hannah Eccard Pujita Vaidya, Senior Advisor, Patient Focused Drug Development (PFDD) program at the Center for Drug Development and Research (CDER) at the FDA, told an audience at the Patients as Partners Conference last week that patients are the experts on their conditions and on day-to-day life with their disease. A patient outcome—where improvement with treatment is meaningful in daily life—can only be understood in a patient’s own words. Vaidya noted that, “patients ‘chief complaints’ may not be factored explicitly into drug development plans.” 1 [...]