The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the availability of a final guidance document which describes the qualification process for drug development tools (DDTs) intended for use, over time, in multiple drug development programs. DDTs are methods, materials, or measures that aid drug development. Examples of DDTs include biomarkers and patient reported outcome instruments.

The purpose of the guidance document is to describe the formal process that FDA will use in working with sponsors of DDTs to guide them as they refine the tools and rigorously evaluate them for use in the regulatory process. The guidance also provides a framework for interactions between FDA and sponsors to support work towards qualification of DDTs, as well as explains the kinds of data that should be submitted to support qualification of a DDT and creates a mechanism for FDA’s formal review of the data to ultimately qualify the DDT. For purposes of the guidance, the submitter of a DDT is the person, group, organization (including the federal government), or consortium that takes responsibility for and initiates a DDT qualification proposal using the procedures described in the guidance.

The creation of the DDT qualification process is one of multiple initiatives FDA has undertaken, as a result of its 2004 FDA’s Critical Path Initiative, to support the development of new DDTs. DDTs can help streamline the drug development process, improve the chances for clinical trial success, and yield more information about a treatment or disease. Comments to the guidance may be submitted at any time at www.regulations.gov.