USFDA’s drafts “Benefit-Risk Assessment for New Drug and Biological Products” Guidance

The intent of this guidance is to clarify for drug sponsors and other stakeholders how considerations about a drug’s benefits, risks, and risk management options factor into certain premarket and postmarket regulatory decisions that the Food and Drug Administration makes about new drug applications, as well as biologics license applications.

This guidance first articulates important considerations that factor into the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research’s (CDER) and the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research’s (CBER) benefit-risk assessments, including how patient experience data can be used to inform the benefit-risk assessment.

It then discusses how sponsors can inform FDA’s benefit-risk assessment through the design and conduct of a development program, as well as how they may present benefit and risk information in the marketing application.

It also discusses opportunities for interaction between FDA and sponsors to discuss benefit-risk considerations in connection with the development of an NDA or BLA.

This guidance concludes with additional considerations on benefit-risk assessments that inform regulatory decision-making in the postmarket setting.