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Janet Woodcock

Publications and source records attributed to Janet Woodcock.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

The progress and promise of molecular imaging probes in oncologic drug development.

As addressed by the recent Food and Drug Administration Critical Path Initiative, tools are urgently needed to increase the speed, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of drug development for cancer and other diseases. Molecular imaging probes developed based on recent scientific advances have great potential as oncologic drug development tools. Basic science studies using molecular imaging probes can help to identify and characterize disease-specific targets for oncologic drug therapy. Imaging end points, based on these disease-specific biomarkers, hold great promise to better define, stratify, and enrich study groups and to provide direct biological measures of response. Imaging-based biomarkers also have promise for speeding drug evaluation by supplementing or replacing preclinical and clinical pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic evaluations, including target interaction and modulation. Such analyses may be particularly valuable in early comparative studies among candidates designed to interact with the same molecular target. Finally, as response biomarkers, imaging end points that characterize tumor vitality, growth, or apoptosis can also serve as early surrogates of therapy success. This article outlines the scientific basis of oncology imaging probes and presents examples of probes that could facilitate progress. The current regulatory opportunities for new and existing probe development and testing are also reviewed, with a focus on recent Food and Drug Administration guidance to facilitate early clinical development of promising probes.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

Janet Woodcock discusses the FDA and the drug development process. Interview by Christopher Watson.

Currently Acting Deputy Commissioner for Operations at FDA, Janet Woodcock has served as Director, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at FDA since 1994. She previously served in other positions in FDA including Director, Office of Therapeutics Research and Review and Acting Deputy Director, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. She received her MD from Northwestern Medical School and held faculty appointments at the Pennsylvania State University and the University of California in San Francisco. She joined FDA in 1986.

Drug Evaluation↗

Translation of pharmacogenomics and pharmacogenetics: a regulatory perspective.

Pharmacogenomics and pharmacogenetics provide methodologies that can lead to DNA-based tests to improve drug selection, identify optimal dosing, maximize drug efficacy or minimize the risk of toxicity. Rapid advances in basic research have identified many opportunities for the development of 'personalized' treatments for individuals and/or subsets of patients defined by genetic and/or genomic tests. However, the integration of these tests into routine clinical practice remains a major multidisciplinary challenge, and even for well-established biomarkers there has been little progress. Here, we consider this challenge from a regulatory perspective, highlighting recent initiatives from the FDA that aim to facilitate the integration of pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics into drug development and clinical practice.

Drug Approval↗

Medical applications of microarray technologies: a regulatory science perspective.

The potential medical applications of microarrays have generated much excitement, and some skepticism, within the biomedical community. Some researchers have suggested that within the decade microarrays will be routinely used in the selection, assessment, and quality control of the best drugs for pharmaceutical development, as well as for disease diagnosis and for monitoring desired and adverse outcomes of therapeutic interventions. Realizing this potential will be a challenge for the whole scientific community, as breakthroughs that show great promise at the bench often fail to meet the requirements of clinicians and regulatory scientists. The development of a cooperative framework among regulators, product sponsors, and technology experts will be essential for realizing the revolutionary promise that microarrays hold for drug development, regulatory science, medical practice and public health.

Forecasting↗