Guest Blog–New FDA Draft Guidance Aims to Protect Children who Participate in Clinical Trials

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a draft guidance that, when finalized, will provide the agency’s perspective on the ethical considerations for including and protecting children in clinical trials. The draft guidance is intended to assist industry, sponsors and institutional review boards (IRBs) when considering the enrollment of children in clinical investigations of drugs, biological products and medical devices. 

“Children need access to safe and effective medical products and health care professionals need data to make evidence-based decisions when treating children. However, children are a vulnerable population who can’t provide consent for themselves and are afforded additional safeguards when participating in a clinical investigation,” said Dionna Green, M.D., director of the FDA’s Office of Pediatric Therapeutics. “The best way to provide children with safe and effective treatment options is by including them in clinical research and providing these additional safeguards to protect them during clinical trials.”

Historically, children were not included in clinical trials because of a misperception that excluding them from research was in fact protecting them. This resulted in many FDA-approved, licensed, cleared or authorized drugs, biological products, and medical devices lacking pediatric-specific labeling information. If the medical product was the best available treatment option for the child, doctors were left with no choice but to use a product that had not been reviewed by the FDA for safety and effectiveness in children. It became clear that children can be better protected by including them in clinical research. 

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