Respect for Human Rights, Protection of the Privacy and Confidentiality of the Personal Information of Clinical Trial Participants, and Assurance of Reliability in Clinical Trials

Astellas conducts clinical trials to assess the efficacy and safety of new medicinal products and other treatment candidates in patients while adhering to the Declaration of Helsinki, Good Clinical Practice (GCP), and applicable laws and regulations. Astellas prioritizes the protection of human rights, privacy and confidentiality of clinical trial participants’ personal information. Clinical trial protocols developed by Astellas are evaluated and approved for ethical acceptability and scientific validity by internal and external evaluation committees.

In conducting clinical trials, Astellas confirms that clinical trial participants have provided informed consent, having received a full explanation of the purpose and methods of the trial, its expected benefits, potential risks and other details. Moreover, we regularly implement education and training for employees and staff members involved in developing and operationalizing Astellas-sponsored clinical trials, and monitor medical institutions that perform clinical trials to ensure full GCP compliance.

In addition, we protect the privacy and confidentiality of the personal information of clinical trial participants by managing trial data appropriately. Periodic assessments are also conducted to ensure that any outsourced clinical trials are conducted in accordance with the same high standards.

Disclosure of information on clinical trials and trial results

Astellas is committed to transparency and disclosure of clinical trial data. Maximizing the value of clinical trial data, and putting it to good use in driving scientific advancement and increasing innovation, requires that the clinical trial data be appropriately accessible to the research community and others who might utilize it. The Policy on Disclosure of Clinical Trial Data*1 has been published on the Company website to present Astellas’ position on this matter.

Astellas registers clinical trials, posts clinical trial information, and discloses clinical trial results to public database. Astellas provides anonymized patient-level data in accordance with applicable laws and regulations through an external website*2 to those scientists and healthcare professionals requesting it in the case that a review panel consisting of third-party experts evaluates and approves the request based on scientific usefulness and scientist eligibility. In addition Astellas discloses summaries of clinical trial findings from phase 1 through 4 interventional trials after Health Authority approval of medicinal product or discontinuation of the medicinal product development so that healthcare professionals and the public can view them via the clinical trial results website(s)*3. These website(s) also give patients access to plain language summaries of trial results prepared for non-experts*3.

*1 For details, please visit the following website:
https://www.astellas.com/en/about/policies-and-position-statements?param=expend-tit-data#r_and_d
*2 Patient-level data are provided through the following website:
www.Vivli.org
*3 Results of the clinical trials are provided through the following website:
www.clinicaltrials.astellas.com and/or www.trialsummaries.com/Home/LandingPage

Early Access and Post-Trial Access to Investigational Therapy

Astellas has set forth its approach to supplying investigational medicines to patients for purposes other than clinical trials in its Position on Early Access and Post-Trial Access to Investigational Therapy*4.

Astellas recognizes that patients with serious, life-threatening diseases may have exhausted all of their available treatment options, may not qualify for a clinical trial and may seek access to investigational medicines. In these cases, in response to a request for investigational medicines from a primary physician, Astellas fairly and impartially evaluates whether or not the request meets the required conditions to provide early access as appropriate. Furthermore, early access programs may be established in countries where the clinical development of an investigational medicine is progressing and the medicine is targeted for commercial availability. This procedure will be implemented in accordance with the regulations of the country where early access is requested. Early access programs that require physicians to follow an approved treatment protocol are registered, if required by regulation, on ClinicalTrials.gov, the EU Clinical Trials Information System and/or local registries.

*4 For details, please visit the following website:
https://www.astellas.com/en/about/policies-and-position-statements?param=expend-tit-medicines#access_to_health

Access to Medicines Request Platform

Astellas implements access programs throughout the medicinal product lifecycle to provide patients with sustainable access to our innovative therapies. Healthcare professionals can submit a request for Astellas medicinal product on behalf of their patients using our Access to Medicines Request Platform.

Click here to access the request platform.

Patient centricity in clinical development

Astellas includes the voice of the patient in all aspects of how we develop new medicinal products and other treatments. We are listening to the opinions of patients, their families and care partners by working with patients and patient organizations.

For example:

  • To improve our communication and education tools, we obtained feedback from members of patient organizations on our informed consent, pediatric assents, thank you letters to clinical trial participants, and the design and content of our clinical trials website.
  • To inform clinical trial design and conduct, we hold panel interviews with patients and members from patient organizations. During these interview sessions, patients and care partners share their experiences on the day-to-day impact of their condition, impressions about participating in a clinical trial, and feedback on possible barriers to participation. They also provide recommendations about the types of information and resources that are meaningful to participants and their families.
  • To understand the patient experience in Astellas clinical trials, we implemented a questionnaire to request feedback from participants about their individual clinical trial experiences. Astellas is also taking steps to leverage technology where it makes sense to offer more flexible and convenient options for patients to participate in clinical trials.
  • Furthermore, we’re using data in order to deliver our clinical trials to more diverse patients and ensure participants in our clinical trials well represent the diverse population that will use the medicinal products after regulatory agency approval.

Through these efforts, we strive to make it easier for patients and their care partners to participate in clinical trials so that we can obtain trial results with scientific significance and meaningful outcomes for patients.

Anti-doping measures

Doping is an issue closely related to abuse and misuse of medicinal products in sports. It is a serious priority for the pharmaceutical industry given that it is not only associated with a risk of inducing serious side effects, but it can also become a breeding ground for the unauthorized distribution and counterfeiting of medicinal products. Astellas is working to identify the compounds under development that have the potential to be used in doping and to prevent the misuse of those compounds.

In October 2016, Astellas made a global agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to partner on the prevention of misuse and abuse of medicinal products for doping in sports which aims to contribute to the eradication of doping and improvement of public health*5.

Doping in sports relies primarily on the misuse and abuse of commercially available medicinal products, as well as compounds in development that are not as well-known or easily detected. To support WADA in its efforts to address this issue, Astellas identifies compounds solely developed by Astellas or its affiliates with the potential for sport-related doping abuse and cooperates in sharing relevant information to aid WADA in the organization’s development of detection methods for these compounds. Additionally, Astellas cooperates with WADA to minimize the risk of misuse of compounds with doping potential during clinical trials to avoid opportunities for abuse.

*5 For details, please visit the following website:
World Anti-Doping Agency and Astellas Announce Global Initiative to Prevent Misuse and Abuse of Medicines for Doping in Sports