An experimental drug is a
medicinal product
A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and rel ...
(a
drug or
vaccine
A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious or malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verified. ) that has not yet received approval from governmental
regulatory authorities for routine use in
human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...
or
veterinary medicine
Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...
. A medicinal product may be approved for use in one disease or condition but still be considered experimental for other diseases or conditions. In 2018 the United States of America signed the legislation "Right to Try", this allows individuals who fit into the criteria to try experimental drugs that are not yet deemed safe.
In the United States, the body responsible for approval is the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...
(FDA), which must grant the substance
Investigational New Drug (IND) status before it can be tested in human
clinical trial
Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel vaccines, drugs, diet ...
s. IND status requires the drug's sponsor to submit an IND application that includes data from laboratory and animal testing for
safety
Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.
Meanings
There are two slightly dif ...
and
efficacy. A drug that is made from a living organism or its products undergoes the same approval process but is called a
biologics license application
A biologics license application (BLA) is defined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as follows:
The biologics license application is a request for permission to introduce, or deliver for introduction, a biologic product into inters ...
(BLA). Biological drugs include
antibodies,
interleukin
Interleukins (ILs) are a group of cytokines (secreted proteins and signal molecules) that are expressed and secreted by white blood cells (leukocytes) as well as some other body cells. The human genome encodes more than 50 interleukins and related ...
s, and
vaccine
A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious or malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verified. s.
In Canada, a Clinical Trial Application (CTA) must be filed with the Health Products and Food Branch (HPFB) of
Health Canada before starting a clinical trial. If the clinical trial results show that therapeutic effect of the drug outweighs negative side effects then the sponsor can then to file a ''New Drug Submission''.
Clinical trials in the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
(EU) are regulated by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Beginning in 2019 all applications for clinical trials must use a centralize EU portal and database. All clinical trial results will available to the public with the summary written in layperson's language.
See also
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Off-label treatment
Off-label use is the use of pharmaceutical drugs for an unapproved indication or in an unapproved age group, dosage, or route of administration. Both prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs (OTCs) can be used in off-label ways, although ...
*
List of investigational drugs
These are lists of investigational drugs:
* List of investigational analgesics
* List of investigational antidepressants
* List of investigational antipsychotics
* List of investigational anxiolytics
* List of investigational attention deficit hy ...
References
External links
Experimental drugentry in the public domain NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms
Clinical trials
*
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