Guide to Paediatric Drug Development and Clinical Research


Book Description

Children in the developed world have never enjoyed better medical care: mortality has decreased and many fatal diseases of the past can today be prevented or even cured. However, the current practice of pharmacotherapy in children does not reflect existing scientific knowledge and has come under scrutiny by paediatricians, pharmacists and regulatory authorities. In order to advance the development of medicines tailored to paediatric needs, US and EU legislators have taken action, and the WHO has initiated a global paediatric campaign. This book gives an overview over the worldwide activities that increasingly include children in the development of new medicines. Triggered by both a better understanding of how the child's body develops as well as recent legislation in the USA and in Europe, this comprises dosing, ethics, age-appropriate pharmaceutical forms and clinical trials, to name just a few aspects.A wide spectrum of readers will profit from this book, including paediatricians, pharmacists, general practitioners and health care professionals involved in child care and paediatric research, clinical trial personnel, patient advocacy groups, ethics committees, politicians, parents and interested lay persons.




Safe and Effective Medicines for Children


Book Description

The Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act (BPCA) and the Pediatric Research Equity Act (PREA) were designed to encourage more pediatric studies of drugs used for children. The FDA asked the IOM to review aspects of pediatric studies and changes in product labeling that resulted from BPCA and PREA and their predecessor policies, as well as assess the incentives for pediatric studies of biologics and the extent to which biologics have been studied in children. The IOM committee concludes that these policies have helped provide clinicians who care for children with better information about the efficacy, safety, and appropriate prescribing of drugs. The IOM suggests that more can be done to increase knowledge about drugs used by children and thereby improve the clinical care, health, and well-being of the nation's children.




Ethical Conduct of Clinical Research Involving Children


Book Description

In recent decades, advances in biomedical research have helped save or lengthen the lives of children around the world. With improved therapies, child and adolescent mortality rates have decreased significantly in the last half century. Despite these advances, pediatricians and others argue that children have not shared equally with adults in biomedical advances. Even though we want children to benefit from the dramatic and accelerating rate of progress in medical care that has been fueled by scientific research, we do not want to place children at risk of being harmed by participating in clinical studies. Ethical Conduct of Clinical Research Involving Children considers the necessities and challenges of this type of research and reviews the ethical and legal standards for conducting it. It also considers problems with the interpretation and application of these standards and conduct, concluding that while children should not be excluded from potentially beneficial clinical studies, some research that is ethically permissible for adults is not acceptable for children, who usually do not have the legal capacity or maturity to make informed decisions about research participation. The book looks at the need for appropriate pediatric expertise at all stages of the design, review, and conduct of a research project to effectively implement policies to protect children. It argues persuasively that a robust system for protecting human research participants in general is a necessary foundation for protecting child research participants in particular.




Prescribing Medicines for Children


Book Description

Prescribing for children is a particularly challenging discipline due to specific issues of drug absorption, metabolism, distribution and excretion. The aim of this book is to improve understanding in all aspects of paediatric prescribing, from the development of suitable drugs through to their practical administration. With its origins in the EU-funded Global Research in Paediatrics (GRiP) project this is the first truly international textbook to provide guidance on the principles behind optimal neonatal and paediatric prescribing. Harnessing the international expertise of paediatricians and pharmacists in the field, Prescribing Medicines for Children compliments the British National Formulary for Children (BNFC), facilitating translation of essential pharmacological principles into good prescribing practice. It incorporates specific information on how to promote safe and effective prescribing in paediatrics, including how to avoid medication errors and adverse drug reactions in children. Highlights include the differences in prescribing habits between countries and the shared principles that underpin rational prescribing in paediatrics and neonatology. The book is divided into two sections: Section A provides concise educational material relating to paediatric pharmacology and optimising how medicines are developed and prescribed for children. Section B considers key clinical prescribing areas and can be used as a quick reference guide. Each chapter is focused on the key issues in prescribing for a respective clinical specialty or context. Prescribing Medicines for Children is essential reading for all those who are involved in prescribing medicines to neonates and children. This includes undergraduate and postgraduate pharmacists, nurses, paediatricians and primary care physicians, academic scientists, and those working in the pharmaceutical industry and drug regulation.




Paediatric Formulation


Book Description

The development of paediatric medicines can be challenging since this is a different patient population with specific needs. A medicine designed for use in paediatric patients must consider the following aspects: patient population variability; the need for dose flexibility; route of administration; patient compliance; excipient tolerability. For example, the toxicity of excipients may differ in children compared to adults and children have different taste preferences. Globally, about 75% of drugs do not carry regulatory approval for use in children; worldwide, many medications prescribed for the treatment of paediatric diseases are used off-label, and less than 20% of package inserts have sufficient information for treating children. This book provides an update on both state-of-the-art methodology and operational challenges in paediatric formulation design and development. It aims at re-evaluating what is needed for more progress in the design and development of age-appropriate treatments for paediatric diseases, focusing on: formulation development; drug delivery design; efficacy, safety, and tolerability of drugs and excipients.




Drug Benefits and Risks


Book Description

This is an inclusive reference exploring the scientific basis and practice of drug therapy. The key concept is to look at the balance between the benefits and risks of drugs but in this context also the social impact which drugs have in modern societies is highlighted. Taking an evidence-based approach to the problem, the practice of clinical pharmacology and pharmacotherapy in the developing as well as the developed world is examined. For this purpose the book * Covers general clinical pharmacology, pharmacology of various drug groups and the treatments specific to various diseases * Gives guidance on how doctors should act so that drugs can be used effectively and safely * Encourages the rational use of drugs in society This book brings together a large amount of excellent content that will be invaluable for anyone working within, or associated with, the field of clinical pharmacology and pharmacotherapy - undergraduates, postgraduates, regulatory authorities and the pharmaceutical industry.




Neonatal and Pediatric Pharmacology


Book Description

"Neonatal and Pediatric Pharmacology offers guidelines for safe, effective, and rational drug therapy in newborns, children and adolescents. The book provides relevant and useful data on the molecular, physiologic, biochemical, and pharmacologic mechanisms of drug action and therapy in this population. The authors identify areas of innovative basic and translational research necessary for the continuing evaluation and development of drugs for the fetus, newborns, children and adolescents. Neonatal and Pediatric Pharmacology is is a valuable reference for all health care professionals who treat the fetus, newborns, children, and adolescents, including neonatologists, nurses, pediatricians, general practitioners, students, obstetricians, perinatologists, surgeons and allied health professionals. It will be useful anytime during the day and especially in the middle of the night when knowledge of appropriate indications, safe and effective use, dosage, and therapeutic regimen for a certain drug or molecular entity is immediately needed. The book is also directed to those involved in basic, clinical, and other academic pharmacological research, the pharmaceutical industry, and regulatory agencies dealing with drug and therapeutic developments for this population. Those teaching pharmacology and therapeutics will find this compilation of information extremely useful in preparing teaching materials"--Provided by publisher.




The Harriet Lane Handbook


Book Description




Drug Discovery and Development


Book Description

It is very important for scientists all over the globe to enhance drug discovery research for better human health. This book demonstrates that various expertise are essential for drug discovery including synthetic or natural drugs, clinical pharmacology, receptor identification, drug metabolism, pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic research. The following 5 sections cover diverse chapter topics in drug discovery: Natural Products as Sources of Leading Molecules in Drug Discovery; Oncology and Drug Discovery; Receptors Involvement in Drug Discovery; Management and Development of Drugs against Infectious Diseases; Advanced Methodology.




Pocket Book of Hospital Care for Children


Book Description

The Pocket Book is for use by doctors nurses and other health workers who are responsible for the care of young children at the first level referral hospitals. This second edition is based on evidence from several WHO updated and published clinical guidelines. It is for use in both inpatient and outpatient care in small hospitals with basic laboratory facilities and essential medicines. In some settings these guidelines can be used in any facilities where sick children are admitted for inpatient care. The Pocket Book is one of a series of documents and tools that support the Integrated Managem.