Gene therapy medicinal products have the potential to provide curative treatment to many diseases with current limited therapeutic options. As advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs), these therapies undergo a centralised, single European Union authorisation by the European Medicines Agency, but the risks, and potential harm to the environment and population at large are weighted in each application, and different interpretations at national level exist. A streamlined procedure is now in place to facilitate a consistent approach for the assessment of the environmental risks of medicines containing genetically modified organisms. This article provides an overview of basic requirements across the EU, an overview of the new streamlined process and discusses available guidance for developers. All these initiatives are aimed to remove hurdles for ATMP developers and facilitate faster access to patients.

Aims In light of the recent safety concerns relating to NSAID use in COVID-19, we sought to evaluate cardiovascular and respiratory complications in patients taking NSAIDs during acute lower respiratory tract infections. Methods We carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials and observational studies. Studies of adult patients with short-term NSAID use during acute lower respiratory tract infections, including bacterial and viral infections, were included. Primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Secondary outcomes were cardiovascular, renal and respiratory complications. Results In total, eight studies including two randomised controlled trials, three retrospective and three prospective observational studies enrolling 44140 patients were included. Five of the studies were in patients with pneumonia, two in patients with Influenza, and one in patients with acute bronchitis. There was uncertainty as to the effects on mortality (RR 0.87 [0.63, 1.18]), but pleuro-pulmonary complications were more common with NSAID use (RR 2.62 [1.96, 3.50]). However, all studies exhibited high risks of bias, primarily due to lack of adjustment for confounding variables. Cardiovascular outcomes were not reported by any of the included studies. Conclusion Short-term NSAID use during acute lower respiratory tract infections was associated with more pleuro-pulmonary complications although this may be due to confounding by indication. There remains significant uncertainty on the effects on mortality. Such results should be interpreted cautiously given the very low quality of evidence. Mechanistic and clinical studies addressing the captioned subject are urgently needed, especially in relation to COVID-19.

Background and Purpose: SARS-coV-2 pandemic continues to cause an unprecedented global destabilization. There is an urgent need to develop vaccines or identify molecules to treat severe cases and repurposing of drugs is the best approach at this hour. Thalidomide, despite having an infamous history has been successfully repurposed and tested for various disease conditions including inflammatory diseases and tumor. Few reports emphasize the use of thalidomide with a SARS-coV-2 pneumonia patient being successfully treated with thalidomide. Experimental Approach: A meta-analysis comparing the transcriptomes of SARS-coV-2 infected tissues with thalidomide and lenalidomide-induced transcriptomic changes in transformed lung, endothelial and hematopoietic models was performed. Key Results: Thalidomide and lenalidomide exhibited pleiotropic effects affecting a range of biological processes including inflammation, immune response, angiogenesis, MAPK signaling, NOD-like receptor signaling, TLR signaling, leukocyte differentiation and innate immunity, the processes which are aberrantly regulated in severe COVID-19 patients. In addition, we show the similarities between the expression profiles of SARS-coV-2 infected lung and systemic lupus erythematous. Conclusion and Implications: The present study recommends thalidomide analogs as a “better fit” to treat severe cases of novel viral infections, healing the damaged network by compensating the impairment caused by the Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19).

Aim: Pharmacovigilance data are primarily used to identify adverse drug reactions. However, scanning for associations of drugs and adverse events that occur less frequently than expected provides hypotheses for drug repurposing, i.e. a known drug could be therapeutically beneficial for a new indication like the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Methods: Drugs associated with viral respiratory tract infections and/or influenza were extracted from the U.S. FAERS pharmacovigilance data using OpenVigil2.1-MedDRA17, filtered for significant inverse associations (punadj<0.05), checked for plausibility, and categorised by their WHO Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification code. Results: ATC clustering of 82 candidate drugs revealed anti-diabetics, neuropharmacologic sigma-receptor agonists, peptidase inhibitors, kinase inhibitors and anti-androgens. Chloroquine appears as a statistically significant risk factor for viral diseases supporting actual knowledge. Conclusion: OpenVigil 2 delivers new hypotheses for drug repurposing, theoretically for all indications. There is affirmative data for some of our results; the remaining proposed candidate drugs without already known antiviral mechanism of action should stimulate further exploration.

Aim: We hypothesize that the efficacy of COVID-19 therapeutic candidates will be better predicted by understanding their effects at various points on a viral cell cycle, in particular, the specific rate constants, and that drugs acting independently of these specific discrete sites may not yield expected efficacy. We hypothesize that drugs, or combinations of drugs that act at specific multiple sites on the viral life cycle have the highest probability of success in the treatment of early infection phase in COVID-19 patients. Methods: Using a target cell limited model structure that had been used to characterize viral load dynamics from COVID-19 patients, we performed simulations to show that combinations of therapeutics targeting specific rate constants have greater probability of efficacy and supportive rationale for clinical trial evaluation. Results: Based on the known kinetics of the SARS-CoV-2 life cycle, we rank ordered potential targeted approaches involving repurposed, low-potency agents. We suggest that targeting multiple points central to viral replication within infected host cells or release from those cells is a viable strategy for reducing both viral load and host cell infection. In addition, we observed that the time-window opportunity for a therapeutic intervention to effect duration of viral shedding exceeds the effect on sparing epithelial cells from infection or impact on viral load AUC. Furthermore, the impact on reduction on duration of shedding may extend further in patients who exhibit a prolonged shedder phenotype. Conclusions: Our work highlights the use of model-informed tools to better rationalize effective treatments for COVID-19.

Aim: To assess the potential of interleukin-6 (IL-6) signaling blockade in the lung to treat SARS-CoV-2 infection via model-based simulation by exploring soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R) sequestration by tocilizumab (TCZ) and IL-6 sequestration by siltuximab (SIL). Methods: Literature values of IL-6, the IL-6 antagonist SIL, sIL-6R, the IL-6R antagonist TCZ, and their respective binding constants were used to develop a model to predict the impact of treatment on IL-6 signaling. Models were used to generate simulated bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) concentrations for normal subjects, subjects at risk of developing acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and subjects with ARDS were simulated under four conditions: without treatment, treatment with TCZ, treatment with SIL, and treatment with TCZ + SIL. Results: With TCZ intervention, IL-6 levels are unaffected and sIL-6R is reduced somewhat below the Normal case. IL-6:sIL-6R complex only slightly decreased relative to the no-intervention case. With SIL intervention, sIL-6R levels are unaffected and IL-6 is greatly reduced below the Normal case. IL-6:sIL-6R complex is greatly decreased relative to the no-intervention case. With TCZ + SIL intervention, IL-6 and sIL-6R levels are reduced below the Normal case and achieve suppression equivalent to monotherapy results for their respective targets. IL-6:sIL-6R complex reduction is predicted to be greater than monotherapy. This reflects sequestration of both components of the complex and the nonlinear binding equilibrium. Conclusion: Co-administration of both IL-6 and IL-6R sequestering products such as SIL and TCZ may be necessary to effectively treat COVID-19 patients who have or are at risk of developing ARDS.

Aim: Although medicine misuse is a public health issue, it has multiple meanings in the medical literature. This study aimed to characterize, classify and identify the most appropriate definitions of medicine misuse. Methods: A systematic review was performed in Medline, ISI Web of Science, SocINDEX, PsycInfo, PsycArticles, and Psychological and Behavioral Sciences Collection, using keywords related to misuse, appropriateness, and medicine between November 1st, 2008 and November 1st, 2018. Additional searches were conducted in websites of regulatory agencies and public health institutions. Two authors independently selected studies providing both definitions and examples of misuse, while a third resolved disagreements. Definitions were used to propose a hierarchical classification based on initiator, intent, purpose, and context of medicine misuse. The study is registered on PROSPERO: CRD42018115789. Results: Of 2,901 identified records, 44 were included. A total of 63 definitions and 60 examples of misuse were retrieved. When the prescriber is initiator and according to intent, potential medicine misuse referred to “intentional or unintentional prescribing not in line with clinical evidence”. Based on context, he could prescribe medicines not clinically justified, i.e. “overprescribing”, or prescribe indicated medicines incorrectly, i.e. “misprescribing”. Among other groups of definitions, those overlapping with drug abuse or medication use errors were considered out-of-scope. Conclusion: This systematic review provides a comprehensive overview of the terms and definitions used to characterize medicine misuse and could serve as a basis for a terminology that makes clear distinctions between misuse, abuse, and errors.

Aims: Thrombocytopoenia is a common major side-effect of cytotoxic cancer therapies. A clinically relevant problem is to predict an individual’s thrombotoxicity in the next planned chemotherapy cycle in order to decide on treatment adaptation. To support this task, two dynamical mathematical models of thrombopoiesis under chemotherapy were proposed, a simple semi-mechanistic model and a comprehensive mechanistic model. In this study, we compare the performance of these models. Methods: We consider close-meshed individual time series data of 135 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients treated with six cycles of CHOP/CHOEP chemotherapies. Individual parameter estimates were derived on the basis of these data considering a varying number of cycles per patient. Parsimony assumptions were applied to optimize parameter identifiability. Models are compared by determining deviations of predicted and observed degrees of thrombocytopoenia in the next cycles. Results: The mechanistic model results in superior fits of individual time series data. Moreover, prediction accuracy of future cycle toxicities by the mechanistic model is higher even if it used data of two cycles, while the semi-mechanistic model used data of five cycles for the corresponding calibrations. Conclusions: We successfully established a quantitative and clinically relevant method for comparing prediction performance of biomathematical models of thrombopoiesis under chemotherapy. We showed that the more comprehensive mechanistic model outperforms the semi-mechanistic model. We aim at implementing the mechanistic model into clinical practice to assess its utility in real life clinical decision making

Background Medication harm has negative clinical and economic consequences, contributing to hospitalisation, morbidity and mortality. The incidence ranges from four to 14%, of which up to 50% of events may be preventable. A predictive model for identifying high-risk inpatients can guide a timely and systematic approach to prioritisation. Aim To develop and internally validate a risk prediction model, for prioritisation of hospitalised patients, at risk of medication harm. Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted in general medical and geriatric specialties at an Australian hospital, over six months. Medication harm was identified using International Classification of Disease (ICD-10) codes and the hospital’s incident database. Sixty-eight variables, including medications and laboratory results, were extracted from the hospital’s databases. Multivariable logistic regression was used to develop the final risk model. Performance was evaluated using area under the receiver operative characteristic curve (AuROC) and clinical utility was determined using decision curve analysis. Results The study cohort included 1982 patients median age 74 years, of which 136 (7%) experienced ≥1 adverse medication event(s). The model included: length of stay, hospital re-admission within 12 months, venous or arterial thrombosis &/or embolism, ≥ 8 medications, serum sodium < 126 mmol/L, INR > 3, anti-psychotic, antiarrhythmic and immunosuppressant medications, and history of medication allergy. Validation gave an AuROC of 0.70 (95% CI: 0.65-0.74). Decision curve analysis identified that the AIME may be clinically useful to help guide decision making in practice. Conclusion We have developed a risk prediction model with reasonable performance. Future steps include external validation.

Problematic polypharmacy is a growing challenge. Medication that is intended to improve patients’ health and wellbeing is instead becoming part of the problem. The way we practice medicine has become one of the drivers for the problems. Dealing with the challenge will need us to think differently about how we do clinical care. A 2013 Kings Fund report stated that tackling problematic polypharmacy requires us to actively build a principle of ‘compromise’ in to the way we use medicines. There are implications for how we consult and make decisions with patients, in how we design health practice and systems to support that decision making, and in our understanding of the process of research – how we generate the knowledge that informs practice. This review considers the current state of play in all three areas and identifies some of the work still need to do in order to generate the practice-based evidence needed to tackle this most challenging problem. Finding a way to redesign practice to address problematic polypharmacy could offer a template for tackling other related complex issues facing medical practice such as multimorbidity, chronic pain and complex mental health.

Aims: To assess the appropriateness of the use and interpretation of subgroup analysis in haematology randomized clinical trials (RCT). Method: A systematic review of Medline including Haematology phase III RCT published between January 2013 and October 2019 was carried to identify subgroup analysis reported. Information related to trials characteristics, subgroup analysis reported and claims of subgroup difference were collected. Results: A total of 98 studies reporting subgroup analyses were identified. Of those, 24 RCT reported 46 claims of subgroup difference. Among them, 44 were claims for the primary outcome, of which 25 were considered strong claims and 17 were considered suggestions of a possible effect. Authors included subgroup variables for the primary outcome measured at baseline for 38 claims (n = 86.36%), used subgroup variable as stratification factor at randomization for 15 (34.09%), clearly prespecify their hypothesis for 11 (25%), the subgroup effect was one of a small number of hypothesised effects tested for 17 (38.36%), carried out a test of interaction that provide statistically significant for 18 (40.91%), documented replication of a subgroup effect with previously related studies for 11 (25%), identify consistency of a subgroup effect across related outcome for 10 (22.72%), and provided a biological rationale for the effect for 8 (18.18%). Of the 44 claims for the primary outcome, 34 (77.27%) met 4 or fewer of the 10 credibility criteria. Conclusion: Credibility of subgroup claims reported in haematology RCT lack of credibility, even when claims are strong. Information about subgroup difference should be interpreted ca

Mitotane is the only drug approved for treating adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) by the FDA since 1959, despite the controversy regarding its efficacy in prolonging patient survival. This drug has cytotoxic effects on tumor tissue by inducing cell death and antisecretory effects on adrenal cells by inhibiting the synthesis of adrenocortical steroids involved in the pathogenesis of ACC. To reach the therapeutic plasma concentration, high doses of mitotane are usually necessary, which may result in several adverse effects. This suggests that important pharmacological features are involved in the mechanisms of action of this drug, such as first pass metabolism, tissue accumulation, and extensive time needed for drug elimination. However, few studies have reported the pharmacological aspects of mitotane, and they did not provide sufficient evidence regarding monitoring mitotane’s therapeutic effects. Therefore, this review summarized the chemistry, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, therapeutic effects, toxic effects, and new perspectives of mitotane treatment that are currently under investigation. Understanding the pharmacological profile of mitotane can improve the monitoring and efficacy of this drug in ACC treatment and can further provide useful information for the development of new drugs with specific action against ACC with fewer adverse effects.

Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma is the most common type of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The disease exhibits significant clinical and biologic heterogeneity. Treatment with standard first line therapy results in cure in about 60% of patients while 30-40%of patients either are refractory to therapy or relapse. Current prognostic scores and biomarkers are unable to accurately predict patients who would relapse or would have refractory disease. A part of the heterogeneity in the behavior of DLBCL is explained by the cell of origin of the tumor. Germinal center type (GCB) DLBCL which is derived from centroblasts are associated with better prognosis compared with activated B-cell type (ABC), which is derived from a B-cell committed to secretory differentiation. While the gold standard for cell of origin determination is gene expression profiling, immunohistochemical methods are routinely used because of more readily available fixed tissue and expertise. Immunohistochemical methods are however associated with a significant degree of discordance with GEP. Within the ABC and GCB types of DLBCL, subgroups of prognostic significance have been identified using various multiple approaches which do not inure themselves to routine practice partly because of limitation of diagnostic material or expertise. Exosomes are a class of membrane bound extracellular vesicles of endosomal origin, produced by multiple cell types. They are involved in intercellular communication and present in abundance in various bodily fluids. Exosomal cargo which includes nucleic acids and proteins can be analyzed, yielding diagnostic and prognostic information in management of DLBCL.

Aims: To assess whether randomized clinical trials (RCTs) proposed to evaluate treatment of COVID-19 with HQ or chloroquine include outcome definitions and data collection plans to produce meaningful efficacy/effectiveness and safety outcomes. Methods: We searched the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO-ICTRP) database for registers of RCTs evaluating HQ or chloroquine, alone or in any combination, to treat patients diagnosed with COVID-19 compared with any other treatment option. The final search was performed on April 8th, 2020. Results: Among 51 registered RCTs (median sample size of 262; IQR: 100, 520), 34 (67%) reported a clinical outcome, 12 (24%) a surrogate outcome, and five (10%) a combination of clinical and surrogate outcomes as primary endpoints. Clinical status/recovery and all-cause mortality/mortality accounted for 49% of the unique domains among 20 different clinical outcome domains of efficacy. Twenty-four (47%) RCTs did not describe plans to assess safety outcomes; when assessed, safety outcomes were determined in generic terms of total, severe or serious adverse events. Conclusions: The RCTs investigating HQ or chloroquine include heterogenous and insufficient approaches to measure efficacy/effectiveness and safety that are relevant to patients and clinical practice. These findings provide important insights to inform clinical and regulatory decisions that can be drawn about the efficacy/effectiveness and safety of these agents in patients with COVID-19.

Aim To assess clinical outcomes and adverse drug events in patients hospitalised with COVID -19 treated with off- label hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of hospitalised COVID-19+ patients who received hydroxychloroquine plus azithromycin over a 2 week period. The primary end point was clinical improvement on day 7 defined as either hospital discharge or an improvement of two points on a six-category ordinal scale. Secondary outcomes evaluated included mortality at day 28, ICU admission, requirement for mechanical ventilation and incidence of adverse drug events. Results Data from a total of 82 patients with laboratory confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection was evaluated. Clinical improvement was seen in 26.8% of patients at Day 7. 31% of patients were admitted to ICU, 16 (19.5%) underwent mechanical ventilation and Day 28 mortality was 28%. Age over 70, history of cardiovascular disease and 3 or more comorbidities were risk factors for mortality. The incidence of adverse drug events was 42%. No patient experienced a Grade 4 or 5 toxicity. Over a fifth of patients (23) had raised LFTs (65% had raised LFTs at baseline), 11 patients experienced prolonged QT and 1 patient experienced grade 1 hypoglycaemia. Treatment was stopped early in 6(7.3%) patients due to prolonged QT interval or LFT elevations. Conclusion This descriptive study details the clinical outcomes of COVID-19 positive patients treated with these agents and highlights the importance of monitoring all repurposed agents for adverse drug events.

Aims The field of cell-based therapies for human diseases is currently evolving from promising treatment options to established therapeutic concepts. The design of the non-clinical development program for cell-based products, intended to provide a rationale for treatment and to gain insight into the safety profile, is challenging because of limitations caused by species-specificity. The elements of the non-clinical package for cell-based products were evaluated using advice reports from the European Medicines Agency database from 2013-2018 to identify the approach followed for non-clinical development of these products. Methods The purpose of the in vivo studies was designated to be (a combination of) pharmacology/proof-of-concept, safety, biodistribution and/or tumourigenicity. For biodistribution and tumourigenicity also the need for, type and design of in vitro and in vivo studies were recorded. Results In vivo studies for cell-based therapies were primarily aimed at proof-of-concept (75/86), followed by addressing safety (64/86), biodistribution (49/86) or tumourigenicity (46/86). No animal studies were performed or proposed by sponsors or regulators for six (out of 86) products, which contained cell types that have been studied in humans for a relatively long time. For one-third of the products in vivo biodistribution and/or tumourigenicity studies were not considered necessary. In vivo tumourigenicity studies were regarded of limited value. Conclusions Compared to more conventional medicinal products, the non-clinical development program for cell-based products was more tailored and focussing on proof-of-concept. For tumourigenicity an in vitro approach may suffice. Total omission of in vivo studies appears to be possible for products with sufficient clinical experience.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been declared a global pandemic and urgent treatment and prevention strategies are needed. Nitazoxanide, an anthelmintic drug has been shown to exhibit in vitro activity against SARS-CoV-2. The present study used physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modelling to inform optimal doses of nitazoxanide capable of maintaining plasma and lung tizoxanide exposures above the reported nitazoxanide SARS-CoV-2 EC90. Methods: A whole-body PBPK model was validated against available pharmacokinetic data for healthy individuals receiving single and multiple doses between 500–4000 mg with and without food. The validated model was used to predict doses expected to maintain tizoxanide plasma and lung concentrations above the nitazoxanide EC90 in >90% of the simulated population. PopDes was used to estimate an optimal sparse sampling strategy for future clinical trials. Results: The PBPK model was successfully validated against the reported human pharmacokinetics. The model predicted optimal doses of 1200 mg QID, 1600 mg TID, 2900 mg BID in the fasted state and 700 mg QID, 900 mg TID and 1400 mg BID when given with food. For BID regimens an optimal sparse sampling strategy of 0.25, 1, 3 and 12h post dose was estimated. Conclusion: The PBPK model predicted tizoxanide concentrations within doses of nitazoxanide already given to humans previously. The reported dosing strategies provide a rational basis for design of clinical trials with nitazoxanide for the treatment or prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Background Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) constitute major clinical burden of public health concern. Intensive adverse drug reactions monitoring in hospitals, though advocated are rare. Aims Intensive monitoring of medical patients for ADRs to assess incidence, risk factors and fatality of ADRs leading to hospital admission or occurring in the hospital. Research design and methods Prospective cohort study on 1280 adult patients admitted to the six medical wards of a tertiary institution over a 12-month period. Patients were assessed for ADRs during and throughout admission. Causality assessment and preventability of ADRs were assessed. Results Sixty-seven (5.2%) patients had ADRs, which was the cause of admission in 46 (3.6%), and majority 61(91%) of the ADRs were preventable. NSAIDs, 14 (20.3%), antidiabetics, 12 (17.4%) and antibacterial, 11 (15.8%) were the most suspected drugs. Gastrointestinal tract (37%), CNS (30.2%), and skin (24.7%) were the most affected organ/systems, while upper GI bleeding and hypoglycaemia were the most observed ADRs. ADRs led to deaths in 7(10.4%) patients, with overall case fatality rate of 0.5%. Stevens-Johnson Syndrome/Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis 3/7(42.9%) had the highest fatality rate. Risk factors, relative risk, 95% confidence interval for ADRs were alcohol intake, 1.7 (1.04, 2.80) and duration of hospital stay, 2.0 (1.16, 3.26). Conclusions Preventable ADRs are common and important cause of hospitalization and inpatients’ morbidity and mortality among medical patients in Nigeria. Upper GI bleeding and hypoglycaemia, resulting from NSAIDs and antidiabetic drugs were the most observed ADRs. Strategic planning for intensive follow up of ADRs in Nigeria is advocated.