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Gerhard Nahler

Dictionary of
Pharmaceutical
Medicine
Third Edition
Dictionary of Pharmaceutical Medicine
Gerhard Nahler

Dictionary
of Pharmaceutical
Medicine
Third Edition

With contribution by Annette Mollet

GerhardNahler
ClinicalInvestigation Support
Pharmaforschung GmbH
Wien
Austria

ISBN978-3-7091-1522-0 ISBN978-3-7091-1523-7 (eBook)

DOI10.1007/978-3-7091-1523-7
Springer Wien Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013936441

© Springer-Verlag Wien 2013

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the
whole or part of the material is concerned, speci fically the rights of translation,
reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on micro films
or in an y other physical w ay, and transmission or information storage and retrie val,
electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now
known or hereafter developed. Exempted from this legal reservation are brief excerpts
in connection with re views or scholarly analysis or material supplied speci fically for
the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by
the purchaser of the work. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted
only under the pro visions of the Cop yright La w of the Publisher's location, in its
current v ersion, and permission for use must al ways be obtained from Springer .
Permissions for use may be obtained through RightsLink at the Cop yright Clearance
Center. Violations are liable to prosecution under the respective Copyright Law.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks,
etc. in this publication does not imply , even in the absence of a speci fic statement,
that such names are e xempt from the rele vant protective laws and re gulations and
therefore free for general use.
While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at
the date of publication, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can
accept any legal responsibility for an y errors or omissions that may be made. The
publisher mak es no w arranty, e xpress or implied, with respect to the material
contained herein.

Printed on acid-free paper

Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)

Foreword

In the be ginning w as the w ord – and the fore word. Words are combined to
sentences and eventually language. Words are listed in a dictionary and their
meaning in building language are explained in a lexicon. In the life sciences –
e.g. drug development sciences and pharmaceutical medicine – the analogies
are evidenced by the genomic library and patho-physiological function as the
lexicon. In this transition from code to function integrated lexica pay a pivotal
role for a faster understanding. The present updated version of this books com-
bines dictionary and le xicon and pro vides the translational understanding of
the complex drug de velopment process. W ith a lar ge number of ne w terms,
their abbreviations and explanations in this comple x interdisciplinary process
a great number of dif ferent disciplines and specialists need to be informed:
they include physicians, pharmacists, biologists, chemists, biostatisticians,
data managers, information specialists, business developers, marketing experts
as well as regulators, f nancing specialists, healthcare providers and insurers in
a continuous professional development mode. This lexicon is therefore a most
suitable and economical tool for f ast and conclusi ve information for all k ey-
players in the development of medicines at the working place, in postgraduate
training as well as during graduate education. This book is an indispensible aid
in any medical library.

Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h.c. Fritz R. Bühler

Director, European Center of Pharmaceutical Medicine
ECPM at the Medical Faculty and the PharmaCenter
University of Basel Co-ordinator
Pharmaceutical Medicine Training
Programme of the Innovative Medicines Initiative
IMI, Joint Undertaking of EC and EFPIA

v
Preface

Over the last fe w years pharmaceutical medicine has e volved with a speed
never seen before. Pharmaceutical medicine comprises clinical pharmacology,
molecular biology, pharmacotherapy, toxicology, pharmacovigilance, epidemi-
ology, chemistry, drug manufacturing, regulatory and legal affairs, marketing,
statistics, data management, and a number of additional areas such as health
care and insurance. Ev en alimentation is important for the ef fects of medica-
tions if one considers the possibility of interactions as an e xample. The ongo-
ing evolution of above mentioned areas has resulted in a rapid increase of new
guidelines issued by health authorities as well as in adaptations of those that
already exist. As an example, the European Community Directive 2001/83/EC,
relating to medicinal products for human use, has been amended nine times
between 2001 and 2011, by Dir 2002/98, Dir 2003/63, 2004/24, 2004/27, Dir
2008/29, 2009/53, 2009/120, 2010/84, 2011/62. Efforts were made in this book
to scope with these changes. I be g for the user’ s indulgence if an ything has
been omitted that would have been useful in the eyes of the user. It is absolutely
necessary that the user f amiliarises him- or her with the original, most actual
texts for further information.
This ongoing evolution has also led in some cases to a slight change in our
understanding and common use of terms, e.g. “study” v ersus “trial”, both of
which are often used synonymously, but also to the creation of new terms and
their abbreviations with the result that some might be faced with a Babylonian
disarray of language. More than once one person may interpret and understand
the same term in a different way from another. Hopefully this book contributes
in reducing such ambiguities. Where “true” synonyms exist such as e.g., “mon-
itor’s visit log list / site visit log / monitoring log list / appointment log” the y
are included in the text in order to make clear that these terms mean the same.
This dictionary gives short explanations to about 2,000 terms, in addition to
over 600 commonly used acronyms. The book is not an exhaustive presentation
of all areas of pharmaceutical medicine b ut intends to be a “f rst aide” in the

vii
viii Preface

understanding of these terms on one hand as well as in their conte xt on the

other. For that, such relationships are highlighted by cross-references in small
capitals. Where it might be useful, links to websites of institutions are included.
Finally, important documents and science oriented websites are listed in the
back matter of this book where the user can f nd further information. This part
includes also a directory of important national and international bodies, author-
ities and societies with their websites. This will f acilitate to establish contacts
and to get further help.

GerhardNahler
Contents

Dictionary of Pharmaceutical Medicine

A ............................................................................................................ 1
B ............................................................................................................ 19
C ............................................................................................................ 29
D ............................................................................................................ 60
E ............................................................................................................ 80
F ............................................................................................................ 97
G ............................................................................................................ 103
H ............................................................................................................ 111
I ............................................................................................................ 117
J ............................................................................................................ 134
K ............................................................................................................ 135
L ............................................................................................................ 137
M ............................................................................................................ 143
N ............................................................................................................ 156
O ............................................................................................................ 165
P ............................................................................................................ 171
Q ............................................................................................................ 202
R ............................................................................................................ 206
S ............................................................................................................ 222
T ............................................................................................................ 242
U ............................................................................................................ 250
V ............................................................................................................ 252
W ............................................................................................................ 256
X ............................................................................................................ 263
Y ............................................................................................................ 264
Z ............................................................................................................ 265

ix
x Contents

Abbreviations/Acronyms ...................................................................... 267

Useful Websites...................................................................................... 305

abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) Application for marketing

authorisation if a drug has already recei ved approval under a pre vious
conventional ND A; important drug properties as e.g. toxicity and safety
have therefore already been documented; see also abriged application,
accelerated approval program, approval.
Aberdeen drug coding system see code.
abriged application EC: “the applicant shall not be required to provide the
results of pharmacological and toxicological tests or the results of clinical
trials if he can demonstrate: (i) either that the proprietary medicinal
product is essentially similar to a product authorized … and that the per -
son responsible for the mark eting of the original product has consented to
the … references contained in the file being used … (ii) or by detailed refer-
ences to published scienti fic literature … (iii) or that the product is essen-
tially similar to a product which has been authorized within the
Community … for not less than 6 (10)years and is marketed in the Member
State for which the application is made … ; … where the … product is
intended for a different therapeutic use from that of the other products mar-
keted or is to be administered by dif ferent routes or doses, the results of
appropriate pharmacological and toxicological tests and/or clinical trials
must be provided”; see also abbreviated new drug application, accel-
erated approval program, bibliographical application, generic
application, hybrid procedure.
absolute bioavailability see bioavailability.
absolute risk see risk.
absorption Process by which a drug enters the body; enteral absorption is
most readily with non-ionized lipid-soluble drugs (e.g. ethanol), weak acids
with pKa >3 and weak bases with pKa <7.8 are also v ery well absorbed;

G. Nahler, Dictionary of Pharmaceutical Medicine, 1

DOI 10.1007/978-3-7091-1523-7_1, © Springer-Verlag Wien 2013
2

absorption in the stomach becomes critical, if the drug has a very low solubil-
A ity in water (<5 mg/ml) or a low lipid/water partition coefficient, or if the dis-
integration-/dissolution time is lo w; see adme , administration ,
bioavailability, disintegration test, first pass effect, pKa, route of
administration.
abstinence syndrome see dependency, withdrawal (substance).
academic study see non-commercial clinical trial .
accelerated approval program syn. fast track procedure; approval of therapies
with an “added benef t” i.e. “that pro vide a meaningful therapeutic bene fit for
patients with serious illness” (FD A) will be accelerated; a similar procedure
exist in the EC; in this case, appro val relies solely or in part on surrogate end-
points for evidence of effectiveness; the average duration for marketing autho-
risation in the US tak es more than 20 months; in an accelerated appro val
program substances are classi fied according to their therapeutic potential in P
(priority) and S (standard) substances; see abbreviated new drug applica-
tion, advanced therapy, approval, new drug application, surrogate
endpoint, therapeutic potential.
accelerated testing see stress testing.
acceptable daily intake (ADI) Maximal amount of trace element, mineral and
other substances which can be taken lifelong without any harm to health; see
also alimentary risks, bioburden, defined daily dose.
acceptable quality level (AQL) defined as the maximum percent of errors that,
for purposes of controls or sampling, can be considered satisfactory as an aver-
age of the total system or process; see also audit.
accrual rate see recruitment rate.
accuracy Extent to which a measurement agrees with the “true” v alue (which
is never known) of the analyte being assayed; a. reflects the extent of a system-
atic error; the result obtained with the method in question is usually compared
with values obtained by an acceptable reference method; (v alidation); results
may be accurate, i.e. lying within acceptable boundaries, b ut still imprecise,
because they are widely scattered; see confidence interval, measurement
properties, precision.
acid dissociation constant see pKa.
acknowledgements Authors of publications frequently use a. to thank persons
who made technical or intellectual contrib utions (“contrib utors”) to a study
which were not deemed suf ficient to qualify for authorship; it may be ques-
tionable if a. should also include people who simply did their routine jobs
3

without an y special contrib utions; ( http://www.icmje.org/ethical_1author.

html). See also authorship, publication guidelines.
action letter Official letter of the FDA to a sponsor company, informing e.g. on
an ND A decision by the agenc y; tw o types e xist: since mid of 2009 (i) an
approval letter which allows marketing of the product, (ii) a not approvable let-
ter (complete response letter) which describes important de ficiencies that pre-
clude appro val unless corrected; a ne w re view c ycle may be started after
resubmission of an application; see also new drug application.
active implantable medical device see medical device.
active (pharmaceutical) ingr edient (API) syn. acti ve substance, drug sub-
stance; pharmacologically active part(s) of a formulation; in case of a salt, the
active ingredient should be understood to include both, the therapeutic moiety
and the appended portion of the molecule; the maximum acceptable deviation in
the a.i. content of a finished product must not exceed ±5 % at the time of manu-
facture; it is estimated that about 10,000 different APIs exist; see also additive,
dosage, drug, form, formulation, medicinal product, retest period,
stability .
active medical device see accelerated approval program medical device.
active site The part of a protein that must be maintained in a speci fic shape if
the protein is to be functional, for example, the part to which the substrate binds
in an enzyme or, resp., the part of an enzyme where the actual enzymatic func-
tion is performed.
active substance syn. drug substance; see drug, medicinal product; often
used synonymously to active pharmaceutical ingredient .
active substance master file see drug master file .
active substance starting material Raw material, intermediate, or an acti ve
substance that is used in the production of an active substance; see also active
ingredient, drug, medicinal product .
activities of daily li ving (ADL) Include typically the follo wing activities: sit-
ting, putting on socks and shoes, getting in/out of a chair/car, standing, walking;
in general, these activities are scored using an ordinal scale, ranging from e.g.
“0”, no impairment, to “4”, total inability to perform the activity.
actual marketing see placing on the market, see also sunset clause.
actual-treated analysis syn. as-treated analysis; opposite to intent-to-treat a.;
see intent-to-treat analysis, per-protocol analysis, valid case
analysis.
4

actuarial method see survival analysis.

A acute toxicity Single or multiple exposures in a short space of time, usually less
than 24 h; see toxicity.
adaptation In the evolutionary sense, some heritable feature of an individual’s
phenotype that improves its chances of survival and reproduction in the existing
environment.
adaptive design syn. flexible design; clinical trial design where trial and/or
statistical procedures are modi fied after the initiation according a prospecti ve
plan in an ongoing way, based on accrued data; however, many a.d. are not suit-
able for trials with a long treatment duration/where adaption depends on
response of previous subject; furthermore, quality, integrity and validity of the
trial may be at a greater risk as there are many sources of bias; commonly con-
sidered adaptive designs are: adapti ve randomization d., response adapti ve d.
(at each patient visit, the investigator decides whether to switch a patient’s treat-
ment depending on the patient’s outcome to date), group sequential d., sample-
size re-estimation d., drop-the loser (or pick-the winner) d., adapti ve dose
finding d., biomark er adapti ve d., adapti ve treatment-switching d., adapti ve-
hypothesis d., adapti ve seamless trial d., multiple adapti ve d., a.o.; see also
design .
added bene fi see accelerated approval program cost/benefit analysis .
addendum Usually a “minor” change to a protocol of a clinical trial
(without consequences on ethical aspects); see also amendment.
additives Substances (ingredients) added to active pharmaceutical ingre-
dients (APIs) to improve the final formulation; see adjuvant, antioxidants,
disintegrants, excipients, formulation, preservatives.
additive effect see interaction of drugs; see also effect modifiers,
error.
additional monitoring Pro-acti ve surv eillance of ef ficacy and safety of a
medicinal product; EC Re gulation 1235/2010 states that EMA maintains a
“public list of products that are subject of additional monitoring”; this includes
products that contain a ne w active substance or a biological product that w as
not authorized in the EC on 01 January 2011 (the y may be remo ved from the
list after 5 years), b ut also products where “observ ations raise important ne w
questions of a scienti fic or technical nature”; in such cases, the respective SPC
must include a black symbol and the statement: “This medicinal product is
subject to additional monitoring”; see also black box warning, black tri-
angle, intensive monitoring, pharmacovigilance, post-authorisation
study, prescription-event monitoring, solicited reports.
5

adjuvant Pharmacological or immunological agent that modi fies the effect of

other agents such as a drug or vaccine; see also disintegrant, effect
modifiers.

Adjuvant chemotherapy Systemic chemotherap y administered after the use

of definitive loco-regional treatment (resection of all known tumour); histologi-
cal assessment of the resected tumour specimen allo ws allocation of a patho-
logical stage, thus predication of lik ely outcome without further interv ention;
see also neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

ADME abbr. absorption ,distribution ,metabolism, and/or elimination of

a drug as a guide to the design of early clinical trials in phase i and
de fi nitve pharmacokinetic studies.

administration of a substance can be enteral (directly into the gastrointestinal

tract), i.e. oral, rectal, sublingual, nasal or parenteral (bypassing the gastrointes-
tinal tract), i.e. intravenous, intramuscular, subcutaneous, intra-arterial, intrap-
eritoneal etc.; see absorption, adme ,route of administration.

admission criteria see eligibility criteria.

adolescent see age groups .

advanced therapy EC: “adv anced therap y medicinal product” (A TMP) are
industrially manufactured products that are based on genes ( gene therapy ),
somatic cells (cell therapy, e.g. stem cells) or tissues (tissue engineered product
that contains or consists of engineered cells or tissues); they can also be combi-
nations of and are used in or administered to human beings with a vie w to
regenerating, repairing or replacing a human tissue; this excludes products act-
ing primarily by physical means (Reg 1394/2007; Dir 2009/120; Reg 726/2004);
see also accelerated approval, committee of advanced therapies (CAT),
personalised medicine, stem cell therapy .

adverse drug e vent (ADE) see adverse reaction, concomitant event,

drug-event combination, drug injury, pharmacovigilance, rule-of-
three.

adverse drug experience (ADE) Can either be e xpected (labelled) which

means that the e vent is listed in the current (FD A-) approved labelling for the
drug as a possible complication of drug use or unexpected (unlabeled), the lat-
ter term includes an e vent that may dif fer from a labelled reaction because of
greater severity or specificity (e.g. abnormal liver function vs. hepatic necrosis);
reports of death from an ADE are considered unlabeled unless the possibility of
a fatal outcome from that ADE is stated in the labelling; see alsoadverse drug
event, labeling.
6

adverse drug reaction (ADR) ICH: (pre-appro val clinical e xperience): “all
A noxious and unintended responses to a medicinal product related to any dose
should be considered adverse drug reaction”; WHO/ICH (marketed medicinal
product): “a response to a drug which is noxious and unintended and which
occurs at doses normally used in man for prophylaxis, diagnosis, or therap y
of disease or for modi fication of physiological function”; CIOMS ( council
for international organisation of medical science) reports al ways
refer to a suspect reaction (in contrast to event or experience), which implies
that a physician or other professional health care w orker has judged it a rea-
sonable possibility that an observed clinical occurrence has been caused by a
drug; some authorities (e.g. Japan) recommend to document a sufficient num-
ber of subjects to detect ADRs with an incidence of 0.1 %; in the Summary
of Product Characteristics (SPC) the term “ undesirable effects ” is
used; see also adverse reaction, drug injury, expedited reporting,
immunologic reaction, spontaneous adverse drug reaction report,
treatment emergent signs and symptoms, (un)listed adverse drug
reaction.
adverse event (AE) ICH: “an y untoward medical occurrence in a patient or
clinical investigation subject administered a pharmaceutical product and which
does not necessarily have to have a causal relationship with this treatment”; any
undesirable e xperience occurring to a subject during a clinical treatment,
whether or not considered related to the (in vestigational) product(s); expected
AE = event which is already known from previous experiences and described in
the investigator’s brochure or package insert; techniques to e valuate AEs
are e.g.: case control studies ,post-marketing surveillance programmes,
prescription-event monitoring , prescription-sequence analyses etc.;
when an AE has been assessed (see standardised assessment of causality )
and there are reasonable grounds for the suspicion that it is causally related to
the (investigational) drug(s), it must be considered as an adverse drug reac-
tion; for regulatory reporting purposes, if an e vent is spontaneously reported,
even if the relationship is unkno wn or unstated, it meets the de finition of an
ADR; see also adverse experience, adverse reaction, blinding ,concom-
itant event, incident, medical device reporting, pharmacovigilance,
rule of three, safety update report, significant adverse event,
unexpected adverse event.
adverse event of special interest AE (serious or non-serious) of scientific and
medical concern speci fic to the sponsor’ s product or programme, for which
ongoing monitoring and rapid communication by the investigator to the sponsor
could be appropriate (ICH E2F , CIOMS VII); suspected une xpected serious
adverse reactions (SUSARs) are always of special interest; seeadverse event,
patient support program .
7

adverse event report format see CIOMS form, EMA, FDA.

adverse event reporting system (AERS) National database for adverse events
of the FDA (VAERS for vaccine adverse events reporting system); see pharma-
covigilance, signal, WHO collaborating centre for international
drug monitoring system .

adverse experience (AE) Term used mainly in US; considered interchangeable

with adverse event.

adverse reaction (ADR) Reaction which is suspected to be causally related to

the intake of a pharmaceutical product “which occurs at doses normally used
in man for the prophylaxis, diagnosis, or therap y of disease, or for the
modification of physiological function” [ Dir 2001/83, Art.1(11)]; this has
been amended (Dir 2010/84/EU) to: “noxious and unintended effects resulting
not only from the authorised use of a medicinal product at normal doses, b ut
also from medication errors and uses outside the terms of the mark eting autho-
risation, including the misuse and abuse of the medicinal product”; (ARs asso-
ciated with a medication error, misuse or abuse have been included); intensity
rating scale: mild = awareness of a sign or symptom which is easily tolerated
and reversible, moderate = reversible, but discomfort is enough to cause inter-
ference with usual acti vity, severe = incapacitating with inability to w ork or
undertake usual activity; seriousness: ICH: “a serious adv erse event (experi-
ence) or reaction is an y unto ward medical occurrence that at an y dose (i)
results in death, (ii) is life-threatening (i.e. an e vent in which the patient w as
at risk of death at the time of the e vent; it does not refer to an e vent which
hypothetically might have caused death if it were more se vere), (iii) requires
inpatient hospitalisation or prolongation of existing hospitalisation, (iv) results
in persistent or signi ficant disability/incapacity, (v) is a congenital anomaly/
birth defect, or is an other medically important condition” (e.g. increase in the
rate of occurrence of an e xpected sAE, signi ficant hazard such as lack of
efficacy, major safety finding from a new animal study); FDA: serious = ADR
which is “ life-threatening, requires inpatient hospitalization, prolongs
hospitalization, permanently or se verely disabling, or requires prescription
drug therapy: the following types are al ways considered serious: death, con-
genital anomaly, cancer, or o verdose”; serious (EC) = ADR which is “f atal,
life-threatening, disabling, incapacitating, or which results in or prolongs
hospitalisation or is a congenital anomaly/birth defect”; classification of reac-
tion: type A = “augmented”, reactions of a predictable nature, follo wing a
known response pattern; type B = “bizarre”, ef fects that are unpredictable
(hypersensitivity or idiosyncratic reactions); type C = “chronic”, ef fects
that occur with long term use of a drug (cataract with corticosteroids); type
D = “delayed”, effects that occur remote from use (v aginal cancer in female
8

offsprings of w omen who took diethylstilbestrol during pre gnancy); type

A E = “exit”, rare reactions after stopping a medication (e.g., myocardial isch-
emia after sudden stop of ß-block ers); type F = “failure”, a treatment ef fect
that can reasonably be e xpected is not observ ed, e.g., no antibodies formed
after vaccination; timing (ICH): “acute” <1 h, sub-acute< 1 day, latent > 1 day;
EC regulations foresee reporting of (spontaneous) serious ADRs (labelled or
unlabelled/unexpected) to the competent authority as soon as possible but not
later than 7 calendar days after first knowledge by the sponsor (for which the
cioms-form is recognised by a number of EC-member states; other regulatory
report forms are the fda 1639 (US) and the yellow card in UK), follo wed
by a written report as complete as possible within 8 additional calendar days
(FDA: 15 working days, “ fifteen days report”), including assessment of cau-
sality; a second type of report are periodic safety update reports
(EC: half-yearly for the first 2 years of mark eting and annually thereafter for
the first 5 years, than e very 3rd year; FDA: quarterly for the first 3 years and
annually thereafter); outcome: unchanged; reco vered = patient returned to his
previous health status with no subsequent problems; not yet reco vered = patient
has not yet returned to his previous health status and continues to be followed
for the adv erse e vent, b ut is e xpected to reco ver without sequelae; seque-
lae = patient has a permanent change in health status subsequent to the ADR;
fatal = patient died (indication of date, cause, if an autopsy was performed and
autopsy report); unkno wn = outcome of e vent unkno wn; une xpected (unla-
belled, unknown) ADR or Suspected Une xpected Serious Adv erse Reaction
(SUSAR) = a reaction that is “not listed in the current labelling for the drug
(EC: SPC) as ha ving been reported or associated with the use of the drug”
(FDA); ICH: “an adverse reaction, the nature or severity of which is not con-
sistent with the applicable product information (e.g. in vestigator’s brochure
for an unapproved investigational medicinal product)”; this includes an ADR
that may be symptomatically or patho-physiologically related to a kno wn
ADR, but differing in nature, severity or incidence (frequency) with regard to
information given in the current labelling (reference safety information ),
e.g. package insert , investigator’s brochure, in the general investiga-
tor’s plan, or elsewhere; serious ADRs and SUSARs are to be reported with
15 days (death within 7 days + 8 days for follo w-ups), non-serious ADRs
within 90 days at the latest to the EudraVigilance database of the EC; the clini-
cal trial protocol or IB can identify those serious ARs that do not require
immediate reporting (Guidance 2011/C 172/01, e.g., those that are included in
the reference safety information); methods for assessments are e.g. spontane-
ous (voluntary) reporting, intensive (hospital-based) drug surveillance, record
linkage or case–control studies; incidence (ICH): very common: >10 %, com-
mon: 1–10 %, uncommon: 0.1–1 %, rare: 0.01–0.1 %, v ery rare: <0.01 %; it
has been estimated that in 2011 about 2.4–5.8 % of the hospitalizations in
9

Germany were caused by ARs and that 197,000 deaths are caused by ARs
annually in the EU (Commission of the European Community 10 Dec 2008,
Summary of the Impact Assessment SEC(2008) 2671); see also adverse
event, black triangle, causality, consumer report, core data sheet,
critical term list, drug abuse, drug-event combination, drug injury,
expedited reporting, incidence, individual case safety report, inten-
sive monitoring, misuse, parent–child/foetus report, periodic safety
update report , s-2 report, significant overdose, WHO-adverse reac-
tion terminology, WHO collaborating center for international
drug monitoring, WHO-drug reference list.

adverse reaction databases see WHO collaborating centre for interna-

tional drug monitoring .

age see geriatric population .

age groups Age groups may be defined as follows (ICH, EMA): preterm new-
born infants (<36 weeks gestation), term ne wborn infants (0–28 days), infants
and toddlers (28 days – 23 months), children (2–11 years), adolescents (12–
18 years), adults (18–65 years), elderly (>65 years); for individual case
safety reports age groups are “foetus, neonate, inf ant, child, adolescent,
adult, elderly”; [ICH E2B(R3)]; see also elderly, geriatric evaluations,
pediatric population, vulnerable subject .

Agency (EMA) former: European Medicines Evaluation Agency ( EMEA);see

european medicines agency .

Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry (ATSDR) Federal public
health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; provides
health information to pre vent harmful e xposures and diseases related to toxic
substances. http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/; see also environmental risk
assessment .

age-speci fi crate def.: rate of an outcome calculated for a certain age group;
only individuals in the designated age range are included in the numerator and
denominator; see also incidence, outcome measurement, prevalence
rate.

air-lock EC (IV): “ An enclosed space with tw o or more doors, and which is

interposed between two or more rooms, e.g. of dif fering class of cleanliness,
for the purpose of controlling the air -flow between those rooms when the y
need to be entered; an a.-l. is designed for and used by either people or
goods.”

AJCC Staging (= American Joint Committee of Cancer) see TNM.

ALCOA see data quality.

A alert report see expedited report.
algorithm Procedure permitting various choices among alternative decisions to
reach a result.
alimentary risks A number of substances are found, particularly in industrial
food, that ha ve been link ed to potential serious health problems: trans fats
(components of man y industrial foods) ha ve been estimated in 1994 to ha ve
caused 20,000 deaths annually in the US from heart diseases but are also linked
to diabetes and cancer; acrylamide in food such as bread or other baked products
may induce diabetes and cancer , or bisphenol A in plastic containers that can
damage the developing brain or induce erectile dysfunction; pesticides on dried
teas, fruits such as apples or v egetables such as tomatoes have also been linked
to fertility disorders, diabetes and cancer as man y of such pesticides ha ve hor-
monal effects; other risks arise from microor ganisms and from contaminations
such as with viruses or prions, that cause about 300 deaths annually in the US
or from chemicals such as methylmercury released to seawater and concentrated
along the food chain (fish) causing 1968 the “Minamata disease” in Japan; other
sources of a.r . are mycotoxins (e.g., a flatoxins in peanuts) or cadmium (dyes,
fertilizers); risks are not limited to food only; e.g. drinking w ater may contain
byproducts that result from disinfection with chlorine, ozone, chlorine dioxide
or chloramines such as modif ed organic compounds that may be cancerogenic
(e.g. bromate, chlorite, haloacetic acids); see alsoagency for toxic substances
& disease registry (ATSDR), allowed daily dose, bioactive compounds,
cytochroms P450 (CYP P450), environmental risk assessment, genetic
engineering, nanoparticles, threshold of toxicological concern ,
total organ carbon, http://www.pan-europe.info/index.php .
allele Any of several alternative forms of a given gene at a specific locus; see also
cytochromes P450, dominant ,genetic variance, genome ,heterocygous ,
homocygous ,polymorphism, recessive, single nucleotide polymorphism.
allele frequency Often called gene frequenc y; a measure of ho w common an
allele is in a population; the proportion of all alleles at one gene locus that are
of one specific type in a population.
allelic exclusion A process whereby only one immunoglobulin light chain and
one hea vy chain gene are transcribed in an y one cell; the other genes are
repressed.
allergen pr oduct EC (I): “an y product which is intended to identify or to
induce a specific acquired alteration in the immunological response to an aller-
gizing agent”; see also biological medicinal product.
11

allocation see randomisation.

allogenic Of the same species, but with a different genotype.
allopathy Def. (WHO) “Non-traditional, western scienti fic therap y, usually
using synthesised ingredients, but may also contain a purified active ingredient
extracted from a plant or other natural source; usually in opposition to the dis-
ease”; see also allopathy, alternative medicine, homeopathy .

allosteric regulation Regulation of an enzyme’s activity by binding of a small

molecule at a site that does not overlap the active site region.

allotype The protein product (or the result of its activity) of an allele which may
be detected as an antigen in another member of the same species (e.g. histocom-
patibility antigens, immunoglob ulins), obeying the rules of simple Mendelian
inheritance.

allowed daily dose Human e xposure threshold v alue for chemicals abo ve
which an increasing risk to human health is assumed; see also acceptable
daily intake, defined daily dose, maximum residue limit, recommended
daily/dietary allowances, threshold of toxicological concern.

alpha err or syn. type I error; statistical risk of saying there is a dif ference
between treatments when there is none (“false alarm”; truth: A = B, false judg-
ment: A > or < B);usually called p-value with p < 0.05; error of f alsely reject-
ing a null hypothesis; see also beta error, bonferroni correction,
gamma error, interim analysis.

alternative hypothesis (Ha) Postulate of a clinically important (treatment-) dif-

ference or de gree of association between tw o groups; see also beta error,
delta value, null hypothesis.

alternative medicine syn. non-conventional or traditional or natural medicine;

health care practices that are not inte grated into the dominant health care sys-
tem and usually not covered by health insurance; most treatments have not been
objectively tested according to accepted standards of con ventional medicine;
see also apitherapy, balneotherapy, complementary medicine, func-
tional food, integrative medicine, orthomolecular medicine, phyto-
medicines; see also allopathy, homeopathy.

alternative splicing Various w ays of splicing out introns in eukaryotic pre-

mRNAs resulting in one gene producing se veral different mRNAs and protein
products.

amendment Term often used for “major” change(s) to a protocol relating to

ethical aspects as e.g. a ne w risk/bene fit relation by an increase in treatment
12

duration or doses and needing therefore resubmission and appro val by an

A ethics committee in contrast to an addendum (= minor change without
consequences on ethical aspects); there may be reasons for urgent amendments
in clinical trials such as QT -prolongation, unexpected liver toxicity that need
immediate contacting of the health authority.
Ames test Widely used test to detect possible chemical carcinogens; based on
mutagenicity in the bacterium Salmonella typhimurium; see also in vitromuta-
genicity test, toxicity testing.
amino acids Molecules that b uild up peptides and proteins; there are 20 com-
mon (essential) amino acids: alanine, ar ginine, asparagine, aspartic acid,
cysteine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine,
methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, and
valine; they exists as d- and l- enantiomers. An e xample for a non-protein-
forming a.a. with clinical rele vance is homoc ysteine, a risk f actor/marker for
cardiovascular diseases and dementia; see also biomarker, chirality, prog-
nostic/predictive marker.
analysis see bioanalytical method, ecological fallacy, effect size,
error, explanatory trial , extender a. , intent-to-treat a ., per -protocol a,
standardized response mean.
analysis certi fi cat see release certificate.
analysis of study r esults Analysis of study results may be done in dif ferent
ways, whether all patients are considered or not; the intent-to-treat a . (1)
considers statistical analysis of data from all randomized patients, whether
they were in full compliance with the study protocol or not, that is without
omitting def aulters; the last v alues available from all patients are pooled for
analysis (Last V isit Carried F orward – technique); although this procedure is
artificial, results are less likely to be disturbed by drop-outs especially if they
are similar frequent in the groups to be compared; in contrast, the as-treated
a. (2) considers drop-outs, missed doses, erroneous doses, wrong diagnosis
a.s.o.; all data of all patients are included as the y are a vailable (e valuable);
analysis of subjects “as eligible” (3) e xcludes patients violating the selection
criteria; other possibilities of analyses are: (4) a. of “completers” only , where
there is a risk that results are distorted by drop outs, and a. “per protocol ”(5)
which excludes major protocol violators; (6): sometimes it may be justi fied to
exclude those patients who dropped-out during a run-in period (“all subjects
dosed” a.), usually at least tw o types of analyses are pro vided for randomized
clinical trials: ITT-analysis and an additional a. of one of the types men-
tioned which should give comparable results; all a. excluding patients are more
likely to be subject to bias due to selection mechanisms which may antagonize
13

randomisation; see also complete case a, error, last value carried

forward, valid case a.
anatomical therapeutic chemical classification system (ATC) Recommended
by the WHO for use in drug utilization studies (http://www.whocc.no/atc_ddd_
index/); drugs are divided into different groups and codi fied according to their
main site of action as well as therapeutic and chemical characteristics; the first
1-digit represents the anatomo-physiological class, the second 2-digits repre-
sent the pharmacological class, the third 1-digit represents the pharmacological
sub-class, the last 1-digit represents the therapeutic class; A TC-codes may be
updated; useful also as basis for setting up therapeutic groups for reimburse-
ment; see also defined daily dose (DDD), WHO-drug reference list.

anchored visual analogue scale syn. “cate gorized” VAS; see likert scale,
visual analogue cale.

anecdotal study see observational study .

aneugen Substance causing toxic effects upon genetic material (DNA) of cells,
inducing permanent and transmissible genomic mutations (numerical aberra-
tions with changes – gain or loss – of chromosomes); see also clastogen,
genotoxicity, toxicity tests.

animal pharmacology Before the first application of ne w drugs in men the y

usually under go e xtensive testing in v arious animal species; see also
pharmacology.

ankle-brachial index (ABI) ratio of the systolic blood pressure in the a. dorsa-
lis pedis or posterior tibial artery in the le g divided by the systolic pressure in
the brachial artery of the arm; commonly used parameter for assessing
Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD).

annual pr ogress r eport Report required by ethics committees to inform

them on the status and progress of a particularclinical trial; this report is not
identical to the annual safety update report; a.p.r. can be milestones in
risk management; see also investigator’s brochure.
annual safety report (ASR) has been replaced in the EC by theDevelopment
Safety Update Report (DSUR).

annual safety update report (ASUR) Report to provide health authorities and
ethics committees with ne w safety information and an updated risk/bene fit
evaluation pertinent to the clinical trial program (one or more clinical trials)
with a particular product; this report is not identical to the DSUR although
some safety information o verlaps; as of 01 September 2011 only DSUR
14

submissions will be accepted in the EU; the ASUR overlaps also with the safety
A information in the investigator’s brochure; see annual progress report,
development safety update report (DSUR), suspected unexpected
serious adverse reaction/susar.

anonymised see code.

antagonism see interaction of drugs.
anthropometry Measurements include e.g., the body mass index , skin-fold
measurement, upper mid-arm circumference, waist-height-ratio, waist-hip
ratio, waist circumference etc.; see also body composition, lorentz for-
mula, mosteller formula.
antibiotic Chemical substance formed as a metabolic by-product in bacteria or
fungi and used to treat bacterial infections; antibiotics can be produced natu-
rally by fermentation, using microorganisms, or synthetically.
antibody A protein produced by the immune system in response to an antigen
(a molecule that is perceived to be foreign); antibodies bind specifically to their
target antigen to help the immune system destroy the foreign entity.
anticodon Triplet of nucleotide cases (codon) in transfer RN A that pairs with
(is complementary to) a triplet in messenger RNA; for example, if the codon is
UCG, the anticodon might be AGC.
antigen A substance to which an antibody will bind specifically.
antioxidant Substances (e.g. ascorbic acid, sulphites, ascorbyl palmitate, alkyl
gallate, hydrochinone, tocopherols) used in pharmaceutical formulations to
inhibit the reaction with oxygen in the surrounding atmosphere; the y can react
with free radicals to form stable or meta-stable products, thus terminating the
oxidation reaction; see bioactive compounds, excipients, disintegrants,
formulation, preservatives.
antisense drug see antisense oligonucleotide.
antisense oligonucleotides (AS-ODNs) Class of new therapeutics planned for
the treatment of viral infections, autoimmune disease, endocrine disease and
cancers; AS-ODNs are small synthetic molecules of single-stranded DNA that
suppress gene expression by binding to RNA templates in a sequence-speci fic
manner, thus suppressing gene expression, mRNA translation and therefore the
production of disease-causing proteins; see gene therapy, ribozyme.
antiseptic substance Compound which is designed for application to li ving
tissues and which destro ys a microor ganism; see also minimum inhibitory
concentration.
15

apheresis (Extracorporal) removal of potentially harmful compounds by tech-

nical devices; see plasmapheresis.
apitherapy Honey has been used for the treatment of w ounds already 4,000
years ago; see also alternative medicine.
apoptosis syn. cell death; see also integrative medicine, telomer.

application Within the EC se veral categories of a. for mark eting authorisation

exist, each demanding a dif ferent documentation status, e.g. (cate gories of
abriged a.): bibliographic , essentially similar and hybrid applications ;
see also abriged application, application fees, generic application, mar-
keting authorisation holder, proprietary medicinal products, well-
established medicinal use.

application fee see marketing authorisation.

appointment log book see monitor’s visit log list .

approval Authorisation for mark eting a ne w product; see also accelerated

approval program, committee for proprietary medicinal products,
conditional approval.

archiving According to EC guidelines, the following documents pertinent to a

clinical trial have to be archived by the investigator for at least 15 years after
completion of the trial: patient identi fication list, correspondence with the eth-
ics committee and sponsor company, protocol including addenda/amendments,
copies of CRFs ( case record forms); the sponsor has to archi ve the trial
master file for lifetime of the product, reports 5 years be yond lifetime of the
product; according to US re gulations “an in vestigator shall retain records
required to be maintained … for a period of 2 years follo wing the date a mar-
keting application is approved for the drug for the indication for which it is
being investigated; or if the application is not appro ved for such indication,
until 2 years after the investigation is discontinued and FDA is notified”; hospi-
tals are usually requested to archive data for 30 years, physicians with a private
praxis for 10 years.

area under the cur ve (AUC) Area under the concentration/time curv e of a
substance in pharmacokinetic investigations; describes the extent of the bio-
availability of a drug.

assay Technique for measuring a biological response.

assessment report (AR) EC: “document exchanged between member states in

the mutual recognition procedure and which forms part of the opinion in
the centralised procedure”; k ey document e xplaining why a marketing
16

authorisation and each of the proposed indications ha ve been appro ved or

A rejected and detailing the risk-to-benefit considerations for the product.

association study Investigates associations between one (independent) v ari-

able (e.g. the cause) and another (dependent) v ariable (e.g. the ef fect); useful
statistical tests are e.g. odds ratio for nominal data, Spearman’ s ratio for
ordinal data, and Pearson’s ratio for continuous data.
as-treated analysis see actual-treated a., per protocol a .
ATC exemption scheme Scheme similar to the clinical trial exemption
scheme for animal health products.
attack rate def.: number of indi viduals exposed to a risk f actor (or infection)
who became ill compared with the number of indi viduals exposed to the risk
factor (more correct: a proportion, not a rate; refers usually to infectious dis-
eases); see also incidence, outcome measurement, prevalence rate,
secondary attack rate.
attributable risk see risk.
audit Generally speaking, the purpose of an a. is to ensure that acti vities are
performed in accordance with commonly accepted standards (GXP) and laws;
in clinical research, an a. is the inspection of f acilities, documentation and
procedures of clinical investigator ,sponsor ,contract research organi-
sation, ethics committee etc.; audits are made to ensure that either the
internal system or a trial is performed in accordance with good clinical
practice (GCP) and applicable laws, including ethical considerations as well
as that raw data and associated records have been accurately reported, and to
establish whether practices were emplo yed in the de velopment of data that
would impair their validity; audits are part of a quality assurance system;
audits or inspections usually start with an opening meeting and end with a
closing/debriefing meeting (see exit interview); types of a.: official external
a. =inspection by a supervisory authority , unof ficial external a. = visit by a
service company contract service organisation , CRO on request by the
sponsor, unofficial internal a. = carried out by an internal structure (e.g.qual-
ity assurance department, parent compan y) EC (III): “ An internal a. inde-
pendent of those participating in the trial should be conducted by or on behalf
of the sponsor to assure the inte grity of the quality control system”; “the
sponsor is responsible for conducting an internal a. of the trial” and for assur-
ing “the in vestigators’ acceptance of v erification procedures, audit, and
inspection”; a. are performed either as “during-study” a. or as “post-study” a.;
usually the written final “Ev aluation Report” re veals only findings e.g.
deficiencies; an a. is not a scienti fic evaluation of the data of a study; a trial
17

audit is a comparison of ra w data and associated records with the interim or

final report; a regulatory a. is the verification of the credibility of data and the
evaluation of the design, planning, conduct, monitoring and reporting of a
clinical trial against regulatory requirements; further types of audits are:
management a. = evaluates the efficiency and economy of a given operation in
terms of accounting, purchasing, producing, personnel and research; program
a. = evaluates effectiveness by a higher le vel of authority; a. can also be per -
formed concerning other areas such as production plants, laboratory facilities
or pharmacovigilance to ensure adherence to good manufacturing prac-
tice (GMP) , good laboratory practice (GLP) or good pharmacovigi-
lance practice (GPhP) respectively; see also acceptable quality level ,
confidentiality , data quality, establishment inspection report,
exit interview, (closing meeting, debriefing meeting) , inspection,
iso/dis 10011–2, medical a.

audit certi fi cat Document which certi fies that an audit has taken place (to be
stored together with the audit report in the trial master file); see also data
trail.

audit cycle Describes the frequency of audits; see audit, audit plan .

audit plan syn. audit program; term used to describe a listing of audit proce-
dures to be performed in completing a single, speci fic audit (“agenda” to be
followed when conducting an audit) as well as all audits to be e xecuted over a
particular period of time, e.g., 1 year/annual audit plan, with the scope of these
audits and probable dates; the a.p. usually includes also v arious additional
information such as person(s) responsible/lead auditor , planned b udget,
approver, etc.; see audit, audit cycle.
audit program see audit, audit plan .

audit trail Record of changes/deletions; see data trail.

Austria Codex see national drug list .

authorisation form Form used by the investigator and monitor to docu-

ment that other persons than the investigator, e.g. a study nurse or a subinvesti-
gator, are authorised to make entries or corrections in the case record forms ,
or other critical trial-related procedures; see subinvestigator.

authorship According to the criteria formulated by the International Committee

of Medical Journal Editors “authorship credit should be based only on substan-
tial contributions to (a) conception and design, or analysis and interpretation of
data; and to (b) drafting the article or re vising it critically for important intel-
lectual content; and on (c) final appro val of the v ersion to be published.
18

Conditions a, b, c must all be met” (International Committee of Medical Journal

A Editors. Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical jour -
nals. N Engl J Med 1991, 324: 1415–1417). Contrib utors are listed in the
acknowledgements ( http://www.icmje.org/ethical_1author.html). See also
publication guidelines.
autoimmune disease A disease in which the body produces antibodies against
its own tissues; there are approx. 80 diseases known such as rheumatoid arthri-
tis, systemic lupus erythematosus or autoimmune inflammatory bowel disease;
see also genetic diseases, orphan diseases .
autoimmunity Condition in which the body mounts an immune response
against one of its own organs or tissues.
auxiliary medicinal pr oduct (AMP) Replaces the term non-in vestigational
m.p. (NIMP); a medicinal product with a mark eting authorisation (MA) v alid
throughout the European Community or in one or more Member States; in
clinical studies, NIMPs should be supplied in the commercial vaailable package
and must be used according to the MA (otherwise it is a IMP); product liability
applies; see investigational medicinal product.
average see weighted average.
B

bacterium Any of a large group of microscopic, single-cell organisms with

a very simple cell structure; some manuf acture their o wn food from inor -
ganic precursors alone, some live as parasites on other organisms, and some
live on decaying matter.
balanced study Trial in which numbers of patients and their characteristics
are equally distrib uted between groups e.g. similar number of males/
females, above 65 years a.s.o.; see also stratification.
balneotherapy Treatment with water rich in minerals such as sulfur, radon
or other, usually in spas; see also alternative medicine.
bar chart see gantt chart.
bar code Codi fication system using a number of v ertical black lines the
relative widths of which encode a speci fic information; used also for auto-
mated form reading by optical mark recognition; see also code.
baseline obser vation carried f orward (BOCF) see last value/last
observation carried forward.
baseline variables Characteristics of a patient and of his/her disease measured
before the start (as soon as measurements are constant) ofprotocol treatment
(baseline period); see also run-in-phase; b.v. are important for the evaluation
of the results of a clinical trial to a void regression to the mean or
learning effects; see also demographic data, placebo effect.
batch syn. lot; EC (IV): “a de fined quantity of starting material, packaging
material or product processed in one process or series of processes so that it
could be expected to be homogeneous”; FDA: “speci fi cquantity of a drug or
other material that is intended to ha ve uniform character and quality, within
specific limits, and is produced according to a single manuf acturing order
during the same cycle of manufacture”; for stability testing batches should be

G. Nahler, Dictionary of Pharmaceutical Medicine, 19

DOI 10.1007/978-3-7091-1523-7_2, © Springer-Verlag Wien 2013
20

selected at random, with not less than three batches to be taken for assessment of
B batch-to-batch variability; in order to be GMP-compliant a batch must ha ve a
minimal size of 100,000 units (e.g., vials; not applicable for in vestigational use
during development); see also batch documentation, lot, pilot scale.
batch documentation EC: set of documents making possible to trace the his-
tory of the manufacture of a batch; b.d. needs to be retained for at least 1 year
after the expiry date of the batch to which it relates or at least 5 years after the
certification, whichever is longer; samples of each batch must be retained for at
least 1 year after the expiry date, samples of starting materials (other than
solvents, gases and w ater) used must be retained for at least 2 years after the
release of the product; see also finished product .
batch number EC (IV): “a distincti ve combination of numbers and/or letters
which speci fi callyidenti fi esa batch”; NLN: “a designation given by the man-
ufacturer to a batch for the purpose of its identification”.
batch recall see class 1 (or 2 or 3) defect .
batch r elease The release of a batch is the responsibility of the “Quali fied
Person”; a risk management plan must e xist if batch release f ails; see also
qualified person.
batch size see batch, pilot scale .
Bayesian adv erse r eaction diagnostic instrument (B ARDI) Bayesian based
approach for assessing drug-induced illness; the goal is to calculate the posterior
odds in favor of a particular drug being the cause of the adverse event; the poste-
rior odds are calculated by considering six assessment subsets: “prior odds” as
background epidemiological and clinical trials information, and five other deal-
ing with case-specific information of possible differential diagnostic value (“like-
lihood ratios”); see also adverse drug reaction, pharmacovigilance, signal
detection, standardized assessment of causality (SAC).
bene fi t-riskanalysis see decision analysis, number needed to harm,
periodic benefit-risk evaluation report.

Berkson’s bias There is an increased chance that hospitalised patients will

have other comorbid conditions in addition to the disease of interest, compared
with the decreased chance that non-hospitalised patients will ha ve more than
one condition; see also bias.

beta error syn. type II error; “missed difference”; statistical risk of saying there is no
difference between tw o treatments A and B when actually there is one (error of
falsely accepting the null hypothesis Ho; truth ( one-sided): A > or < B,false
judgment: A = B); therefore b is the probability of failing to detect, by mere chance,
21

a treatment difference at least as large as the degree specified (delta value) by the
alternative hypothesis Ha; 1-b is usually referred to as the power of the statisti-
cal test, the probability of detecting the specified difference and, therefore, the prob-
ability of rejecting Ho when Ha is true; the probability for a b-error increases with a
lower delta, smaller sample size and larger variance of the measured (continuous)
variables; see also alpha error, error, gamma error.
between-subject design opp. within-patient d.; see design.
bias Errors due to incorrect assumptions ( ICH E9: “systematic tendency of any
aspect of the design, conduct, analysis, and interpretation of the results of clinical
trials to mak e the estimate of a treatment ef fect to de viate from its true v alue”);
frequent examples for bias are: recall b . = the more often a subject is ask ed the
same question, the more likely are differences in the answer due to more intensive
reflections or due to a better memory for findings which were important for the
subject (which is not necessarily the case for controls, e.g. diagnosis or treatments
in cancer); allocation b. = even drugs of the same substance class and being nearly
identical may not be “allocated” by prescribing physicians in e xactly the same
way, new drugs are more lik ely to find their principle first uses in patients who
have not responded satisfactorily to previously available drugs; attrition b. = biased
occurrence and handling of protocol deviations and losses to follow-up; depletion
b. = patients not tolerating or not responding to a treatment leave the study; chang-
ing pattern b . = methods of diagnosis, techniques, treatments a.s.o. may change
over time; confounding b . = one or more v ariable associated, independently of
exposure, both with exposure and outcome; detection b. = biased outcome assess-
ment; performance b. = unequal provision of care apart from the treatment under
investigation; publication (information) b . = studies with positi ve, statistically
significant results are more likely to be published, which may result in overestima-
tion of treatment results; reverse causality b. = study outcome preceded and caused
actually the exposure; selection (sample distortion) b. = selected cases may not rep-
resent adequately the whole population or baseline characteristics may be different
between two populations; principal b. reducing techniques are blinding and ran-
domization; b. can also be induced by dropouts because they rarely occur fully
independent of the treatments being tested; see also berkson’s bias, drug chan-
nelling, ecological fallacy, error, hawthorne effect, immortal time
bias, intent-to-treat a., labelling phenomenon, life event data, neyman
fallacy, placebo effect, protopathic bias, regression paradox, sequence
effect.
bibliographical application EC: abridged application made by reference to
published scienti fic literature; rele vance and quality of these data should be
stressed; see also application.
binary outcomes see data.
22

bioactive compounds Extra-, non-nutritional components of food claimed

B to ha ve bene ficial health ef fects; normally, this does not include essential
nutrients such as vitamins and unsaturated/essential fatty acids; many bc act
primarily as antioxidants but their effect, often variable, is complex (e.g.,
hydroxytyrosol, one of many phenolics present in olives and olive oil; lyco-
pene, a potent antioxidant carotenoid in tomatoes and other fruits; or gano-
sulfur compounds in garlic and onions; isothioc yanates in cruciferous
vegetables; monoterpenes in citrus fruits, cherries, and herbs claimed to have
anticarcinogenic actions and cardioprotecti ve effects; there are rare reports
of cases where processed components demonstrate a modi fied activity com-
pared with the non-processed original herb, e.g., micronized w ater-soluble
powder of green tea (Camellia sinensis, rich in epigallocatechin-3-gallate)
interacted with an oral contracepti ve causing acute hepatitis, probably via
CYP3A4; see also alternative medicine, food supplement, functional
food, macrobiotics, nutrigenomics, orthomolecular medicine,
phytomedicines, self-medication, traditional herbal medicinal
products.
bioanalytical method Generating quantitati ve concentration data used for
pharmacokinetic and toxicokinetic parameter , e.g., blood, plasma, serum, or
urine; see analysis.
bioavailability EC: rate and e xtent to which the acti ve substance or thera-
peutic moiety is absorbed from a pharmaceutical form and becomes a vail-
able at the site of action; absolute .b: bioavailability of a given pharmaceutical
form as compared with that (100 %) follo wing intravenous administration;
relative b.: bioavailability of a gi ven pharmaceutical form administered by
any route other than intravenous; b. is usually determined by blood level and/
or urinary excretion data; examples of factors on which the b . depends are:
disintegration-, dissolution rate, crystalline form, state of hydration, of
ionisation, chemical stability in (gastric) fluids, surf ace area, presence or
competition with food or drugs, drug binding to biological constituents as
plasma protein or red blood cells, disease states, demographic characteristics
(age, se x, race), first-pass effect a.s.o.; see also absorption, dissolu-
tion test, formulation, pharmacokinetic, steady state study,
suprabioavailability.
biobank Repository of biological samples (usually human) for use in research
like genomics and personalized medicine; biobanks are unique data sources
for longitudinal studies; see also framingham study.
bioburden Microorganisms (type, level) that can be present in raw materials or
pharmaceutical products; if this e xceeds a prede fined level it is considered as
contamination; see also acceptable daily intake, impurities.
23

bioequivalence Equivalent doses of dif ferent dosage forms deli ver the same
amount of drug (e.g. 3×100 mg vs. 1 × 300 mg tablets); drugs whose rate and
extent of absorption differ by £20 % (with the same bioavailability) are gen-
erally are considered as bioequi valent (acceptance range 0.80–1.25); FD A:
“bioequivalent drug products means pharmaceutical equivalents or phar-
maceutical alternatives whose rate and e xtent of absorption do not sho w a
significant difference when administered at the same molar dose of the thera-
peutic moiety under similar experimental conditions, either single dose or mul-
tiple dose”; see also biologic equivalent, drug comparability study,
pharmaceutical equivalent, rule 80/125, therapeutic equivalent .
bioinformatics The discipline encompassing the de velopment and utilization
of computational facilities to store, analyze and interpret biological data.
biologic equi valent Dosage form that results in similar bioavailability
regardless of the pharmaceutical formulation; see also essentially similar
product, pharmaceutical equivalent, therapeutic equivalent.
biological (medicinal) pr oducts Syn: “inno vative biologics”; products pre-
pared from biological materials of human, animal or microbiological origin
such as v accines, serums, toxins, allergen products or products deri ved
from human blood or plasma; clinical trials with blood or biological products
as well as their registration are subject to special regulations in order to assure
absence of infectious contaminants (e.g. mandatory screening of blood donors);
see also advanced therapy, biopharmaceutical, biosimilar, establish-
ment licence application .

biological rhythm see chronotherapy.

biomarker Def (NIH): “characteristic that is objecti vely measured and evalu-
ated as an indicator of biologic processes, pathogenic processes or pharmaco-
logical response to a therapeutic interv ention”; biomark ers can be used for
detection, diagnosis, prediction or prognosis of diseases; e xamples: C-reactive
protein (CRP) for in flammation, Prostate Speci fic Antigen (PSA) for diagnos-
ing prostate cancer; ele vated le vels of IgE for predicting an aller gy, homo-
cysteine for cardio vascular risks, C-reacti ve protein (CRP), etc.; see also
prognostic/predictive marker, proteomics, surrogate .

bionics Application of techniques in medical devices that mimic the biological

functions; e.g., cardiac pacemak ers which mimic the natural cardiac impulse
generating system; see also device .

biopharmaceutical Therapeutic product in volving biotechnology, e.g. genetic

engineering; product of biotechnological origin such as antisense, genetic engi-
neering, transgenics, involving manipulation of li ving organisms; this includes
24

among others also the post-translational modi fication for protein molecules,
B such as the addition of a carbohydrate moiety to a protein molecule (“protein
glycosylation”); as sugar chains on glycoproteins can mediate biological activ-
ity, they influence safety and ef ficacy attributes; therefore, the relative amounts
of the individual glycan structures must bemonitored at all stages of research and
development; see also biological medicinal product, biosimilar, biotech-
nology, interaction of drugs .
bioprosthesis Implantable device of non-synthetic, organic material; e.g., por-
cine heart valve; see also device .
biorepository see biobank.
biosimilar Syn: “(bio-)generic”, or “follow-on” biologic drug in contrast to “inno-
vative biologics”; biologic drugs such as recombinant proteins, v accines or anti-
bodies produced by a competitor after e xpiry of patent protection are in the lar ge
majority of cases not absolutely identical to the reference drug and may vary e.g.,
in one or a fe w amino acids or e xhibit post-translational modi fications (such as
glycosylation) depending on the cell line used and the culture conditions or sim-
ply the formulation to make the drug; such differences may or may not affect the
properties as compared to the innovator (plasma levels, biological half-life, immu-
nogenicity, bioactivity, side effects, …); thus a 100 % interchangeability may not
always be given; market revenues have been estimated to $172 million in 2010; see
also essentially similar product, generic.
biotechnology (Biotech) De velopment of products by a biological process.
Production may be carried out by using intact or ganisms, such as yeasts and
bacteria, or by using natural substances (e.g. enzymes) from or ganisms; tech-
niques involving manipulation of living organisms or substances made by li v-
ing organisms, particularly at the molecular genetic level; according to the U.S.
Office of Science and Technology Policy, the term covers also “recently devel-
oped and ne wly emerging genetic manipulation techniques, such as recombi-
nant DN A (rDN A), recombinant RN A (rRN A), and cell fusion, that are
sometimes referred to as genetic engineering”; see alsobiological medicinal
product, biopharmaceutical, genetic engineering, immunotherapy,
transgenic drug, xenotransplantation .
birth control Methods considered to be highly effective (failure rate <1 % per
year) are the following (ICH consensus guideline CPMP/ICH286/95): implants,
injectables, combined oral contracepti ves, some IUDs, se xual abstinence or
vasectomised partner.
birth date see development international birth date, harmonised
birth date, international birth date.
black list (1) List produced by the FDA which contains the names of
investigators who are “ineligible to recei ve in vestigational products”
25

(Feb. 1993: 79 names, Sep. 2008: 114 names); an additional list contains
the names of “in vestigators agreeing to some restriction of their use of
investigational products” (Feb . 1993: 28 names, Sep. 2008: 14 names); in
1996, the “golden memory” of FÄPI, an unof ficial black list of the German
association of physicians in the industry (no w DGPharMed), listed in the
1990s some 114 physicians, some named up to eight times; a similar referral
system is run in UK for the ABPI; see also fraud, investigational drug ;
a “black list” is also under discussion in the EC forgulatory
re non-compliance
of mark eting authorization holders, mainly concerning pharmaco vigilance
aspects; other options for sanctions include suspension or revocation of the
marketing authorisation; (2) syn. negative list; pharmaceutical products
which cannot be prescribed either by brand name or generic name on the
National Health Services; see also negative list, positive list,
reimbursement.
black box war ning Strongest w arning the FD A requires, studies indicate a
significant health risk for this particular drug; see also additional monitoring,
black triangle.
black triangle A black triangle onsummary of product characteristics indi-
cates that the product is subject tointensive monitoring for suspected adverse
reactions (strongest form of warning of the FDA), often due to limited informa-
tion available after start of marketing; see also additional monitoring, black
box warning, pharmacovigilance, prescription-event monitoring,
yellow card scheme.
blinding syn. masking; to a void bias in controlled clinical trials ,
treatment should be concealed from both patient and physician (double-b .,
doubly masked) or at least from one of them (single-b .) – most often from
the patient; if treatment is also concealed from the e valuator (if not identi-
cal with the investigator) treatment allocation is triple-b . (also “treble
b.”); in some cases e.g. surgery, assessment of devices, blind assessment of
response may be the only practical w ay for blinding (partial b .); as a gen-
eral rule, monitors and data management must be kept blind as well; blind-
ness, however desirable, may not al ways be possible (tablets dif fering e.g.
in taste and smell, obvious treatment/side effects, breaking of codes a.s.o.)
especially for long lasting trials; the “weaker” the endpoints (i.e. the more
likely results are influenced by the patient or physician) the more important
will be adequate b.; in reporting adverse events “there may be disadvan-
tages to maintain b.: by retaining the blind, placebo and comparator (usually
a marketed product) cases are filed unnecessarily and notifying relevant par-
ties in a blinded fashion is inappropriate and possibly misleading; breaking
the blind for a single patient usually has little or no significant implications
for the conduct of a clinical investigation or on the analysis of the final data
(except when a serious or f atal outcome is the primary endpoint)” (ICH);
26

bug error (fault) in a software; see also error.

B bug log List of problems encountered with a system; it includes date/time of
problems, origin, correcti ve measures tak en, etc.; see also computerised
system.
bulk drug substance see bulk product.
bulk product EC (IV): “any product which has completed all processing stages
up to, but not including, final packaging” (i.e. pharmacologically active compo-
nent of a drug before formulation); see also finished product, intermedi-
ate product, medicinal product, packaging.
byproducts see excipients, formulation, impurity.
C

cachexia def. unintended and progressi ve weight loss that is often accom-
panied by weakness, fe ver, nutritional de ficiencies, diarrhoea, and usually
with a disproportionate muscle wasting. It occurs in many chronic illnesses
and diseases such as cancer , in particular adv anced stage cancer , but also
Alzheimer’s disease, chronic heart failure, chronic lung disease, congestive
heart f ailure, c ystic fibrosis, Crohn’ s disease, renal f ailure, rheumatoid
arthritis, tuberculosis, li ver cirrhosis, heart sur gery, sepsis and sarcopenia;
there is no uni versally accepted de finition but the 95 % CIs for change in
body weight in healthy adults is ±2 % in 1 month and ±5 % in 6 months; see
weight .

calibration EC (IV): “the set of operations which establish, under specified

conditions, the relationship between values indicated by a measuring
instrument or measuring system, or v alues represented by a material mea-
sure, and the corresponding known values of a reference standard”.

CAMA Computer assisted mark eting authorisation (Europe), whereby the

information on the new drug is submitted in electronic form; see canda .

Canada Vigilance Program Canada’s reporting program for adverse reac-

tions; similar programs are the “ EudraVigilance Program” (EC) and
“medwatch ”(FDA).

CANDA Computer assisted new drug application (US), whereby the infor-
mation on the ne w drug is submitted in electronic form, e.g. on optical
disks of WORM – type (write once, read many); no universal recommenda-
tions exist at the time being; see also damos .

CAPA see corrective and preventive actions.

Capability Maturity Model (CMM) According to the “Capability Maturity
Model” there are five maturity le vels: (1) Initial: The softw are process is

G. Nahler, Dictionary of Pharmaceutical Medicine, 29

DOI 10.1007/978-3-7091-1523-7_3, © Springer-Verlag Wien 2013
30

characterised as ad hoc, and occasionally e ven chaotic; fe w processes are

C defined, and success depends on indi vidual effort and heroics. (2) Repeatable:
Basic project management processes are established to track cost, schedule,
and functionality; the necessary process discipline is in place to repeat earlier
successes on projects with similar applications. (3) Defined: The software pro-
cess for both management and engineering acti vities is documented, stan-
dardised and inte grated into a standard softw are process for the or ganisation;
all projects use an appro ved, tailored v ersion of the or ganisation’s standard
software process for de veloping and maintaining softw are. (4) Managed:
Detailed measures of the softw are process and product quality are collected;
both the software process and products are quantitatively understood and con-
trolled. (5) Optimising: Continuous process improvement is enabled by quanti-
tative feedback from the process and from piloting inno vative ideas and
technologies.
CAPLA Computer assisted product license application; see canda .
CAPLAR Computer assisted product licensing application re view (USA); see
canda .
carcinogen Cancer-causing agent; see alimentary risks .
carcinogenicity tests Such t. are normally required for substances likely to be
applied in man longer than 3 months or having a close chemical analogy with
known (co-)carcinogenic compounds or in respect to substances which sho wed
suspicious changes in longterm toxicological, mutagenicity or other short
term tests; typical tests may require e.g. 500 rats exposed over 24 months; see
toxicity tests.
cardiac index Hemodynamic parameter (L/min)/(m 2); normal v alues: 2.6–
4.2 L/min; see also ejection fraction.
carry-over effect see sequence effect.
carrier-based drug delivery see drug delivery systems, formulation.
case-control study Retrospective study which investigates, from outcome to
exposure, potential associations between a drug and adverse events or,
more generally, between a v ariable and the onset of a disease; a study in
which patients who already ha ve a certain condition are compared to people
who do not. E.g.: lung cancer patients are asked how much they smoked in the
past; answers are then compared with a sample of the general population;
c.c.s. are often the design of choice when outcome is rare and when random
sampling is therefore far less efficient than selection by outcome; the use of a
drug by patients with a speci fic disease (“cases”) is compared with that of a
group of patients without the disease b ut otherwise similar (the “controls”);
31

if use is higher among cases than controls, then it may be possible to infer an
association between the drug and the disease; e xample: subjects suf fering
from lung cancer are selected as “cases” and another group of non-diseased
subjects as the “controls”; than the frequenc y of smok ers in both groups is
determined in order to clarify a relationship between smoking habits and lung
cancer (in a cohort study one w ould draw a sample of smok ers and non-
smokers and compare the frequenc y of lung cancer); adv antages: smaller
number of patients, shorter duration, reduced costs; can elucidate risk factors;
useful when there is considerable latency between use of drug and emergence
of adverse events; disadv antages are bias as: selected cases may not be
representative b ut a speci fic subgroup (e.g. hospitalised and with a more
severe form of disease), the controls may not be identical to cases in any way
other than the absence of disease, collection of data on preceding drug use
may be biased (e.g. w omen with breast cancer may be more a ware of their
previous use of oral contracepti ves than non-breast cancer patients); the
method for choosing the control group should al ways be established before
the study be gins; it may also be useful to select an additional control group
from the general population to reduce the likelihood of false conclusions; see
also cohort study, cross-sectional study, design, nested case-control
studies. The odds ratio (relative risk) is calculated as follows:

Exposure DiseaseYES (cases) DiseaseNO (controls)

Yes a b
No c d
Oddsof exposure a/c b/d

case crossover see single case study.

case-fatality rate Number of subjects who die of a specific disease, within a given
number of person-years of follow-up, divided by the number of subjects develop-
ing this disease (more correct: a proportion, not a rate); see also lethality,
prevalence rate.
case record form see case report form (CRF).
case report form (CRF) syn. case record form, data collection form; record
of data or other information on subjects in a clinical trial as de fi nedby
the protocol; data may be recorded by hard (e.g. NCR (no carbon
required) paper) copies, electronic/web-based or optical disk methods or
any other means, ensuring accurate input and allo wing v erification against
raw data; CRFs are essential documents; EC: “CRFs may be requested by
Member States and should therefore al ways be a vailable”; CRFs must be
archived as long as the product is on the mark et; see also data transfer,
electronic CRF, electronic data, patient diary, raw data.
32

case series Study of case patients only; there are no control subjects; see
C design.
case -surveillance Study of patients with diseases which are likely to be caused
by drug exposure; see also post-marketing safety study, post-marketing
surveillance.
categorical data see data, visual analogue scale.
causality syn. imputability; in man y countries (e.g. US, France) a c. assess-
ment of adverse reactions, in addition to reports, is mandatory; in
Germany, but also within the EC, a c. assessment is currently not obligatory ,
despite that a classi fication system with three categories has been adopted by
the member states (“ A – probable”: reasons and documentation gi ven are
sufficient to assume a causal relationship, in the sense of plausible, concei v-
able, likely, but not necessarily highly probable; “B – possible”: information
in the report is suf ficient to accept the possibility of a causal relationship, in
the sense of not being impossible or unlik ely, although the connection is
uncertain or doubtful, because of, e.g. missing data or poor documentation; “O –
unclassified”: reports where causality is, for one reason or another, not assess-
able, e.g. because of insuf ficient evidence, poor documentation or con flicting
data); a frequently used classi fication system is that according to Karch and
Lasagna: definite = adverse reaction (ADR) that follows a reasonable temporal
sequence from administration of the drug or in which the drug le vel has been
established in body fluids or tissues, that follo ws a kno wn response pattern,
that is con firmed by dechallenge and rechallenge; probable = ADR as
above but that has not been con firmed by rechallenge and that could not be
reasonably e xplained by the kno wn characteristics of the patient’ s clinical
state; possible = ADR that follo ws a reasonable temporal sequence from
administration, a known response pattern, but that could have been produced
by the patient’s clinical state or other modes of therapy; conditional = ADR as
above but that does not follow a known response pattern to the suspected drug
and that could not be reasonably e xplained by the patient’ s clinical state;
doubtful = any reaction that does not meet the criteria abo ve; insufficient = there
is insuf ficient data available to make a comment; cate gories of the WHO are
also widely used: Certain – reasons and documentation given are sufficient to
be sure of a causal relationship (e.g. same reaction on re-e xposure); Probable
– reasons and documentation given are suf ficient to assume a causal relation-
ship, in the sense of plausible, concei vable, likely, but not necessarily highly
probable; Possible – information in the report is suf ficient to accept the pos-
sibility of a causal relationship, in the sense of not being impossible or unlik ely,
although the connection is uncertain or doubtful; Impossible/Unrelated – no
reasonable temporal sequence from administration of the drug; event is clearly
produced by the patient’s clinical state or other modes of therapy; Unclassified/
33

Unassessable – reports where causality is, for one reason or another , not
assessable, e.g. because of insuf ficient e vidence, poor documentation or
conflicting data; the French Ministry of Health demands use of an o wn, five-
point causality assessment method; in order to reduce inter -rater variances
which occur when c. assessment is done by ante mortem methods standard-
ized decision aids (SDA) have been developed; see also drug interaction
probability scale, naranjo nomogram, standardized assessment of
causality .
ceiling effect opp. floor effect; treatment ef fects or scores (e.g. grip
strength) that can be reached are limited, even when dosage or treatment dura-
tion a.s.o. is increased (e.g. analgesics); results will be hea vily sk ewed (see
skewness) .
cell The smallest structural unit of li ving organisms that is able to gro w and
reproduce independently.
cell culture Growth of a collection of cells, usually of just one genotype, under
laboratory conditions.
cell cycle The term given to the series of tightly regulated steps that a cell goes
through between its creation and its division to form two daughter cells.
cell line Cells which grow and replicate continuously in cell culture outside the
living organism.
cell therapy see advanced therapy .
cellular r eprogramming syn. Dedif ferentiation; techniques to con vert
differentiated cells to a pluripotent state (see also advanced therapy ,
regenerative medicine, stem cell therapy) .
CE marking (of a medical device) The CE marking of conformity must
appear in a visible, le gible and indelible form on the de vice or its sterile pack
(where practicable and appropriate), and on the instructions for use. where
applicable, the CE marking must also appear on the sales packaging. The CE
marking must be accompanied by the identification number of the notified body
responsible for implementation of the respective quality and conformity proce-
dures; for de vices which are custom-made or de vices intended for clinical
investigations special regulations will be established; these devices do not bear
the CE marking; see also EC type-examination certificate .
censored data Values which are not kno wn at the time of analysis, b ut which
have a known minimum value (e.g. survival).
central ethics committee syn. Lead Ethics Committee; ethics committee
reviewing a protocol for dif ferent institutions, e.g. in a multicentre or
34

multinational trial; in the EU the v ote of one EC per country is (le gally)
C sufficient, frequently however, the formal appro val by the ethics committee
of each participating hospital is requested in addition; in other countries, e.g.
France, approval by one central e.c. is sufficient.
centralised pr ocedure former: concertation procedure, former high
technology procedure; mandatory procedure in the EC for getting mark eting
authorization for all biotechnology products (products de veloped by recombi-
nant DNA technology, monoclonal antibody methods, gene and cell therapies,
etc.), optional for other biotech products and new chemical entities (products of
significant therapeutic interest or inno vation); presentation to the commitee
for proprietary medicinal products (CPMP) is a must unless the applica-
tion is accompanied by a signed declaration that no other application has been
made during the preceding or will be made during the ne xt 5 years resp.;
presentation to the european medicines (evaluation) agency (EMEA now
EMA) and CPMP resp. is undertak en by the company, the rapporteur mem-
ber state will be appointed by the CPMP after discussion with the company; the
CPMP has 210 days for examination and to reach its opinion which is then send
to the Commission, member states and the applicant, including the assessment
report, the summary of product characteristics, the labelling and the
package insert; the Commission has then 30 days for decision, after which
the member states have 28 days for raising questions; then the application goes
to the standing committee (with representati ves from the member states) and
becomes a final Commission’s decision if the majority is in f avour; the total
time to approval should be max. 300 days, the final decision will be binding for
all member states; products will automatically benefit from a 10 year period of
protection of innovation against use of the submitted data by second parties in
the e vent of there being no ef fective patent co ver; see also decentralised
procedure.
certi fi cateof destruction Unused or returned medication is usually destro yed
either by the sponsor or by the hospital pharmac y; for drug accountability
reasons this process has to be documented with date, quantity
, and identification
of drugs incl. the batch number.
certi fi edcopy see electronic data.
cessation of placing on the market By analogy to placing on the market ,
cessation of placing on the mark et/cessation of release into the mark et means
that the product is no longer available for supply; the date is the date of the last
release into the distribution chain and should be noti fied 2 months in advance
(Reg_2004_726); there are no fixed rules for the frequenc y of PSURs after
(voluntary) withdrawal of a product; this is decided by the CA on a case-by-
case basis; see also withdrawal.
35

challenge agent a pharmaceutical product that is given to subjects to produce a

physiological response that is necessary before the pharmacological action of
the medicinal product can be assessed.
changing pattern see bias, cusum plot.
chemical equivalents see pharmaceutical equivalents.
chemokins Biological substances acting as chemo-attractants, e.g. such as
eotaxin which attracts eosinophils.
chemosensitizer Substance with modulatory acti vities on multidrug resis-
tant cells; the magnitude of it’ s effect is described by the ratio of the IC50
value for a c ytotoxic drug in the absence and presence of a non-toxic, fixed
concentration of the chemosensitizer.
chirality Drugs with a carbon atom to which four dif ferent other atoms bind
(asymmetric carbon atom) can exist in two different, nonsuper-imposable ste-
reochemical v ersions ( stereoisomers , enantiomers), similar to mirror
images of each other, and which show under suitable conditions optical activ-
ity (i.e. ability to rotate the plane of plane-polarized light in a polarimeter
either to right “R” or to left “S”); biological systems usually produce only one
version, e.g. l -aminoacids; chemical synthesis, ho wever, results in 50:50
mixtures of both types of stereoisomeres, so called racemates; there are many
examples that l- and d-forms can act dif ferently in organisms (e.g. d -amino-
acids are usually toxic in contrast to l-forms which may be even essential for
life, l-sotalol is a b-blocker whereas d-sotalol is an anti-arhythmic, l - thyroxin
is a hormone whereas d-thyroxin is a lipid-lowering substance, d -albuterol is
an antiasthmatic b ut l-albuterol increases intensity of asthmatic bronchos-
pasms; only r-thalidomid causes embryotoxic ef fects, the L-form produces a
sedative effect, a.s.o.); it is still unclear to which e xtent this aspect may be
important also for other drugs; health authorities (e.g. FDA) may request stud-
ies with the racemate as well as with the isomers; ho wever there e xist also
examples where the racemate has synergistic properties (e.g. tramadol in anal-
gesia) or where the enantiomer has been found to be in verted by the human
organism to the racemate (e.g. L-thalidomid); see alsodistomer ,enantiomer ,
eutomer.
chromosomes Subcellular structures which con vey the genetic material of an
organism; threadlik e components in the cell that contain DN A and proteins;
genes are carried on the chromosomes; see also gene, nucleotide,
telomer.
chronic toxicity T oxic ef fects on a or ganism after continuous or repeated
exposure; see toxicity.
36

chronotherapy T reatment optimising desired ef fects and minimising unde-

C sired ones by administering medications at the appropriate time according to
the body’s biological rhythms, e.g. administration of methyl-prednisolon in the
morning, asthma and heart medication in the morning as attacks are peaking in
early morning, duodenal ulcers have shown to peak in May-June and November-
December; signs and symptoms of many diseases vary over a 24-h period, e.g.
asthma symptoms may be more than 100-fold greater during sleep, myocardial
infarction is more frequent during the initial hours of acti vity, hypertension is
most prominent around noon, ulcer disease is w orsening during early hours of
sleep; in cancer treatment, hypothesis of chronotherap y is that normal tissues
conform to a circadian growth cycle, while malignant cell divisions occur ran-
domly; see also circadian rhythm.
CIOMS International, non-go vernmental, non-pro fit organisation, which w as
set up in 1949 under the auspices of the WHO and UNESCO; its prime func-
tions include acting as sound board for capturing and disseminating informed
opinion on ne w developments in biology and medicine, and to e xplore their
social, ethical, moral, administrative, and legal implications.
CIOMS I f orm Reporting form for adv erse reactions; as a minimum the y
should contain the follo wing information: identi fiable source, patient
identification, a suspect drug, a suspect reaction; manuf acturers should submit
completed CIOMS (council for international organisation of medical
sciences) report forms to regulatory authorities as soon as they are received but
not later than 15 working days after their receipt; this period begins as soon as
a company, or any part or affiliate of a company, receives the report; many regu-
latory authorities including of Eastern Europe accept this format for reporting,
e.g. Australia, France, Italy , Poland, Russia, Slo venia, United Kingdom; see
also adverse drug reaction .
circadian rh ythm Functional c ycle of cells and or gans conforming to 24-h
cycle of activity; see chronotherapy .
citation style man y journals use the “ AMA Citation Style” (American
Medical Association Manual of Style, 9th edition), examples: (Book) Okuda
M, Okuda D. Star T rek Chronology: The History of the Future. Ne w York:
Pocket Books; 1993. (Journal or Magazine Article – with v olume numbers)
Wilcox RV. Shifting roles and synthetic women in Star trek: the next genera-
tion. Stud Pop Culture. 1991;13:53–65. (Ne wspaper, Magazine or Journal
Article – without v olume numbers) Di Rado A. T rekking through colle ge:
classes e xplore modern society using the w orld of Star trek. Los Angeles
Times. March 15, 1995:A3. (Enc yclopedia Article) Stur geon T . Science
fiction. In: Lorimer L T, editorial director; Cummings C, ed-in-chief; Leish
KW, managing ed. The Enc yclopedia Americana. V ol 24. International ed.
37

Danbury, Conn: Grolier Incorporated; 1995:390–392. (Book Article or

Chapter) James NE. Two sides of paradise: the Eden myth according to Kirk
and Spock. In: P alumbo D, ed. Spectrum of the F antastic. Westport, Conn:
Greenwood; 1988:219–223. (ERIC Document) Fuss-Reineck M. Sibling
Communication in Star T rek: The Ne xt Generation: Con flicts Between
Brothers. Miami, Fla: Annual Meeting of the Speech Communication
Association; 1993. ERIC Document Reproduction Service ED364932.
(Website) Lynch T. DSN trials and tribble-ations re view. Psi Phi: Bradle y’s
Science Fiction Club W eb site. 1996. A vailable at: http://www.bradley.edu/
campusorg/psiphi/DS9/ep/503r.htm. Accessed October 8, 1997. (Journal
Article on the Internet) McCo y LH. Respiratory changes in V ulcans during
pon f arr. J Extr Med [serial online]. 1999;47:237–247. A vailable at: http://
infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/nysl_li_liu. Accessed April 7,1999; there are
other common styles such as of the “International Committee of Medical
Journal Editors, Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to
Biomedical Journals”, e xample: Halpern SD, Ubel P A, Caplan AL. Solid-
organ transplantation in HIV -infected patients. N Engl J Med. 2002 Jul
25;347(4):284–7.; Internet publications, although their location on serv ers
may change, can be cited by their Digital Object Identifier (DOI) that
provide persistent identi fication for information resources; common citation
styles include, in addition to author’s name, title etc., the full address such as
the Universal Resource Locator (URL) or [DOI] + the date when the Internet
address has been accessed last; e xample; MHRA 2008, < www.style.mhra.
org.uk> [accessed 31 December 2010] or MHRA Style Guide. A handbook
for authors, editors and writers of theses. 2nd ed., Modern Humanities
Research Association, London 2008; [ http://www.mhra.org.uk/Publications/
Books/StyleGuide/StyleGuideV2_3.pdf]; see havard style, vancouver
style.
class 1 (or 2 or 3) defect see product defect, quality defect.
classi fi cationof recurrence Classi fication system used for describing recur -
rence of tumors after therapy: a = alive, without recurrence, B= alive with recur-
rence, C = alive, recurrence unkno wn, D = dead without recurrence, E = dead
with recurrence, F = dead, recurrence unkno wn, G = lost, without recurrence;
see also tumor staging.
clastogen Substance causing toxic ef fects upon genetic material (chromo-
somes) of cells, inducing permanent and transmissible damages with micro-
scopically detectable structural alterations of chromosomes; see alsoaneugen,
genotoxicity, toxicity tests.
clean area EC (IV): “an area with defined environmental control of particulate
and microbial contamination, constructed and used in such a w ay as to reduce
38

the introduction, generation and retention of contaminants within the area”; see
C also cross contamination.
clearance (Cl) Rate of drug elimination from the body (v olume of blood
cleared of a drug per minute: Cl = 0.693 (Vd)/(t½) = ml/min) where the
volume of distribution (Vd) is e xpressed in ml/kg and the half-life (t½)
in minutes or hours; see also creatinine clearance, elimination ,
pharmacokinetic.
clerical err or syn. k ey-punch error; c.e. are mainly those of transferring
information, e.g. person or instrument to document, document to punch cards
or computers, computer output to reports, typing mistak es a.s.o.; see also
bias.
climatic zones As the stability of a medicinal product may vary in dependence
of climatic conditions, four climatic zones ha ve been de fined; see also impu-
rity, stability test. Test conditions are usually 21 °C/45 % r.h., 25 °C/60 %
r.h., 30 °C/35 % r.h., 30 °C/70 % r.h. (relative humidity).

I II III IV
Mean annual temperature upto 15 >15–22 >22 >22
(open air) (°C)
Calculated mean annual upto 20.5 >20.5–24 >24 >24
temperature(°C)
Mean annual water vapour up to 11 >11–18 up to 15 >15
partial pressure (mbar)

clinical development plan Plan for clinical de velopment of a new drug, from
first application in man to drug re gistration; such a plan usually includes e.g.:
overview of the therapeutic indication(s), target product profile, profile of com-
petitive drugs, properties of the ne w substance, justi fication for de velopment,
advantages and risks, overview of principal clinical trials with design and size,
drug supplies, staffing requirements and financial resources; see study list.
clinical heterogeneity C.h. results mainly from differences in characteristics of
patients such as age, gender, genetic/ethnic differences, co-morbidities, disease
severity etc. and may be responsible for considerable variability of results or
conclusions; in an attempt to reduce c.h. clinical trials de fi neselection
criteria; see bias, confidence interval, error; see also health care
services, medical culture, meta-analysis, prescription.
clinical hold FDA: “A c.h. is an order issued by FDA to the sponsor to delay a
proposed clinical investigation or to suspend an ongoing investigation.”
clinical investigation see clinical trial.
39

clinical investigation plan (CIP) see protocol.

clinical program outline see study list.

clinical research assistant (CRA) see clinical research associate.

clinical research associate (CRA) syn. clinical research assistant; person per-
forming mainly the “on-site” monitoring activity of a trial; also called “home
based CRA” or local CRA if based outside of the office of a company; some of
these acti vities may be also dele gated to a “ study nurse”; see also
monitor.

clinical r esearch coordinator (CRC) see clinical trial coordinator,

study coordinator.

clinical research executive (CRE) Member of the clinical research staff, e.g. a
monitor.

clinical research manager (CRM) syn. clinical trial manager; responsible per-
son for a clinical project, including the supervision of monitoring; nominated
by the sponsor; see also clinical trial coordinator .

clinical research organisation (CRO) see contract research organisation.

clinical signi fi canc see delta value.

clinical study An y clinical in vestigation in volving human subjects; see

clinical trial.

clinical trial (CT) syn. clinical in vestigation, clinical study; “an y systematic
and carefully designed study on medicinal products in human subjects
whether in patients or non-patient v olunteers”; CTs are usually subject to an
authorisation; some consider the term “ clinical study” as a broader term
that includes post-authorisation activities other than phase iv trials; the aim of
a CT is to disco ver or v erify the ef fects of, and identify an y adverse reac-
tion to (investigational) products and to study their absorption, distrib ution,
metabolism and excretion in order to ascertain the efficacy and safety of the
product; a CT can be either prospecti ve (non-randomized observ ational
cohort , randomized controlled – frequently doubleblind –, with-
drawal ,rechallenge, etc.) or retrospective (historical control, case-control
study, cross-sectional study); activities concerning CTs are usually divided
into four stages: a planning or set-up phase, requiring about a fe w weeks to
several months for protocol and case record form preparation, packaging,
labelling and re gulatory re view incl. by an ethical committee, a patient
treatment or monitoring phase (including follow-up) and finally the analysis
as well as the reporting phase, requiring also a fe w weeks to se veral months
40

for data clean-up, quality assurance, statistical analysis and report

C writing; average costs for clinical trials per drug were estimated to US$ 22.4
mio the late 1990s; administrative workload and costs for CT-authorisations is
estimated to be twice as high in 2010 compared to the time prior Dir 2001/20/
EC; in parallel, the number of clinical trial in the EU has decreased by 25 %
from about 5,000 in 2007 to 3,800 in 2011; see also costs , design , investi-
gational medicinal product, medical office trial , megatrial , multi-
centre trial, non-alpha site, postmarketing surveillance, run-in
phase, solicited report .
clinical trial authorisation (CTA) F ormal appro val to do studies; in most
countries formal approval by health authorities to do studies esp. with e xperi-
mental drugs is requested (in particular for genetically modi fied organisms or
the very first application of a new drug in man), e.g. most countries in Eastern
Europe; in the EC, a formal process exists that includes the entry of trial details
in the “EudraCT” database and notification to the competent authorities (CA);
a tacit authorization is granted if the CA has not informed the sponsor within
60 days of any grounds for non-acceptance; many CA request the payment of a
fee around € 1,500 for authorisation; other countries have less strict regulations
and only notification to the health authority is necessary
, e.g. Australia, Germany
a.s.o.; see also clinical trial certificate, clinical trial database, clin-
ical trial exemption, EudraCT.
clinical trial certificate (CTC) Formal approval to do studies in the UK; valid
for 2 years, rene wable; see also clinical trial authorisation, clinical
trial exemption.
clinical trial compensation guidelines Guidelines produced by the ABPI;
according to which compensation should be paid when the injury w as attribut-
able to the medicinal product or any procedure provided for by the protocol, for
the more serious injury of an enduring and disabling character (not for tempo-
rary pain or discomfort), for injuries caused by procedures adopted to deal with
adverse reactions to a product under trial, re gardless of whether the reaction
was foreseeable or predictable or whether the patient is able to pro
ve negligence
of the company; see also insurance .
clinical trial coordinator (CTC) syn. clinical coordinator , trial c., study c.,
research c.; in large and complex trials it may be suitable to nominate a person
acting as liaison between sponsor and in vestigator and for administrati ve
responsibilities, e.g. who coordinates dates for visits, in vestigations a.s.o. b ut
reviews also data and records before monitor’ s visit; see also clinical
research manager, study coordinator, study nurse .
clinical trial data base (CTDB) Public data base that lists planned or ongo-
ing clinical trials; editors of biomedical journals request that a clinical trial
41

has been listed in a CTDB in order to be considered for publication

(International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, ICMJE: Uniform
requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals: Writing and
editing for biomedical publication; updated October 2007); the WHO hosts a
web-based platform, the International Clinical T rials Re gistry Platform,
ICTRP ( http://www.who.int/ictrp/en/) or the ENCePP Inventory of Databases
( http://www.encepp.eu/encepp/resourcesDatabase.jsp); accepted databases
are: www.actr.org.au , www.clinicaltrials.gov , www.ISRCTN.org , www.umin.
ac.jp/ctr/index/htm , www.trialregister.nl and of the EU (CTR, https://www.
clinicaltrialsregister.eu/, since March 2011); the “Pharmaceutical Research
and Manufacturers of America” (PhRMA, www.phrma.org) maintains a clini-
cal study database that includes summaries of unpublished study results; see
also data base, EudraCT .

clinical trial exemption (CTX) Ex emption from the need to gain formal
approval to perform clinical studies in the UK; see alsoclinical trial autho-
risation, clinical trial certificate.

clinical trial manager see clinical research manager.

clinical trial manual see trial master file.

clinical trial notification (CTN) see clinical trial authorisation.

clinical trials register see clinical trial database.

clinical trial report see report.

clinical trial status r eport Gives (in case of a multicentre trial for each centre)
the current status of a particular trial, including details on the number of patients
recruited/completed/lost, serious adverse events, a.s.o.; see also report.
clinical trial supplies Test and comparator substances for a speci fic trial, usu-
ally produced and labelled by the production unit of the sponsor compan y; in
some countries there exist specific regulations for importation of test drugs; see
also blinding, double-dummy technique, labelling.
clone A group of genes, cells, or or ganisms derived from a common ancestor.
Because there is no combining of genetic material (as in se xual reproduction),
the members of the clone are genetically identical or nearly identical to the
parent.
cloning Technique of reproducing organisms with identical properties; cloning
of animals in volves replacing the nucleus of an embryo with that of a cell of
another animal; see also gene therapy.
close down see termination visit.
42

closed system opposite to open system; FDA: “computerized system whereby

C access is controlled by persons responsible for the content of electronic
records that are on the system”; see also computerised system, electronic
signature, open systems .
close out visit see termination visit.
closing meeting see audit, exit interview.
cloud systems Network-based systems that allow remote access to “everything
and everywhere” (e.g., mobile phones with access to internet, company server,
retrieval and storage of data, fax, GPS, etc.); such systems are usually customer-
tailored.
clusters Occurrence of “more cases than e xpected” in space and time which
may indicate that an etiological factor was introduced into the environment; see
also incidence rate.
cluster randomized contr olled clinical trial Syn. group-randomized con-
trolled clinical trial; design where clusters of subjects are randomized instead of
individuals; such designs can comply for treatment conditions that cannot eas-
ily be influenced, e.g. specific lifestyles or medical cultures; see design.
coating see film coating.
Cockcroft formula see creatinine clearance.
code Numeric v alue assigned to te xtual data; e.g. for diagnoses: SNOMED
(of the College of American Pathologists), ICD-9 c., ICD-10 c. ,read clini-
cal classification for diagnoses, signs, symptoms and history; for
adverse events: who-adverse reaction terminology/who-adverse
reaction dictionary or FDA’s COSTART (Coding System for a Thesaurus
of Adv erse Reaction T erms); for coding medications or treatments resp.:
who-drug dictionary and drug reference list resp., WHO-International
Nonproprietary Names for Pharmaceutical Substances Classi fication, Nutley
System Glossary c., anatomical therapeutic chemical classification
system (ATC), and its derived EPhMRA system, the Aberdeen Drug Coding
System, International Classi fication of Primary Care, ICD A, Medical
Dictionary for Drug Regulatory Activity (MEDDRA) a.s.o.; electro-
cardiograms can be classified according to the Minnesota c., malignant dis-
eases by the icd-o and so on; outcome is also often codi fied separately, e.g.
as: adverse event, treatment failure, early improvement, refused treatment,
death during study, lost to follow-up, did not cooperate, protocol violation,
entry violation, intercurrent illness, completed according to protocol a.s.o.; in
software de velopment processes coding is the softw are acti vity where the
detailed design speci fication is implemented as source code; coding is the
43

lowest level of abstraction for the software development process (FDA: Gen.
Principles of SW Validation); in medicine, subjects data can be “identi fied”
(e.g., by security or health insurance number) “single coded”, “double coded”
or “anonymised”, depending whether the respecti ve subject can be directly
identified, indirectly via a single code k ey or tw o sets of code k eys that are
kept by tw o different parties, or not at all because the link between code(s)
and the identity has been deleted; coding dictionaries used should al ways be
specified in reports such as the PBRER.
code breaking procedures see disclosure procedure.
codes of practice In order to harmonise activities of public interest the pharma-
ceutical industry has issued a number of voluntary and self-limiting regulations
e.g. the clinical trial compensation guidelines, the “Code of Practice for
the Clinical Assessment of Licensed Medicinal Products in General Practice”,
issued by the ABPI (UK), or the ifpma code of pharmaceutical marketing
practices .
codon a sequence of three nucleotide bases in a DNA or RNA molecule that in
the process of protein synthesis codes for one amino acid or pro vides a signal
to stop or start protein synthesis (translation).
coef fi cientof variation (CV) standard deviation SD di vided by the arith-
metic mean x and expressed as a percentage ( CV (% ) = SD / x ∞100 ); it per-
mits the relati ve comparison of totally dif ferent sets of data (“apples vs.
oranges”); see also correlation coefficient .
coenzyme An or ganic compound that is necessary for the functioning of an
enzyme. Coenzymes are smaller than the enzymes themselv es and may be
tightly or loosely attached to the enzyme protein molecule.
cohort Group of subjects with a common characteristic who are followed pro-
spectively; see also immortal time bias .
cohort-event monitoring see prescription-event monitoring .
cohort study Investigates, e.g. a drug effect, prospectively, from exposure to
outcome, in a group of patients without, or with appropriate control data
(experimental c.s., observational c.s.); study in which subjects who presently
have a certain condition and/or recei ve a particular treatment are follo wed
over time and compared with another group who are not affected by the con-
dition/have not this treatment (e.g. to follow the effect of smoking on health);
in experimental c.s. (syn. randomized controlled clinical trial ):cohorts
of patients are prospecti vely and randomly allocated to treatment or control
and effects (or adverse effects, AE) are monitored; adv antages: resistance
to bias , great de fi nitve power; disadvantages: time consuming, e xpensive,
44

brief study length identi fies only short term AEs, size of study normally not
C large enough to permit identification of rare AEs; observational c.s.: relies on
the follow-up of patients and controls; patients are non-randomly assigned a
treatment, a comparable group ( control) is selected and assigned to either
no treatment or another treatment; both groups are then follo wed prospec-
tively to determine the outcome; advantages: less expensive than experimen-
tal c.s., identi fies new hazards even when they occur with a long latency, can
estimate the risk; disadvantages: appropriate control group may be difficult to
define, follow-up is often incomplete, bias may be introduced by choice of
patients for dif ferent treatment according to the characteristics of the indi-
vidual drugs (e.g. evaluation of gastrointestinal AEs with non-steroidal anti-
inflammatory drugs might be biased by allocation of patients with a
pre-existing problem to drugs reputed to have the least effect on the GI tract);
see also case-control study, cross-sectional study, framingham
study, immortal time bias, nested case-control studies.
coinvestigator see investigator.
COLA design Stands for Change to Open Label design; subjects are included
in a conventional randomized, controlled, blinded clinical trial as long as the y
agree to the treatment; primary endpoint is the time when the patient decides to
withdraw and to follow an open label treatment; see also design,
co-marketing see co-promotion.
combining of lab data see pooling of lab data.
commercial study (trial) see non-commercial clinical trial .
Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Pr oducts (CPMP) Committee of the
EC formed by representati ves of national re gistration authorities; members
have to assess new applications for biotechnology and other novel medicines as
well as to settle disputes between member states when the y disagree as to
whether a product may be licensed for use in their territory; for “high-technology”
products the CPMP is the chosen b ut not mandatory appro val route; see also
centralised procedure, multistate procedure.
Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) Committee preceding the
medicines control agency (MCA), no w MHRA; and inte grated in the
Commission on Human Medicines; of ficial body concerned with efficacy
and safety aspects (incl. licensing) of new medicinal products in UK.
Committee for Veterinary Medicinal Products (CVMP) Of fi cialbody within
the EC similar to committee for proprietary medicinal products.
45

Common Technical Document (CTD) Harmonised format ofdocumentation

to be submitted for marketing applications in the three ICH-regions; Module
1 contains the administrative and prescribing information documents specific
to each re gional re gulatory agenc y; Module 2 contains the quality o verall
summary, the nonclinical o verview and the clinical o verview follo wed by
nonclinical written summaries and the clinical summary . A one-page intro-
duction of the pharmaceutical description should be provided; Module 3 pro-
vides the chemical-pharmaceutical and biological information for both
chemically acti ve substances and biological medicinal products; Module 4
and 5 contain the nonclinical and clinical study reports, respecti vely; each
Module is preceded by a table of contents.

community based trials As part of an expedited drug development pro-

gram simple, lar ge, low-tech trials can be planned that collect less stringent
data, generally on patients not eligible for standard trials.

community r egister (of medicinal products) The European Community

maintains a public alphabetical list of medicinal products authorised in the
EC (active – withdrawn/suspended – refused, with an inde x of brand names,
active ingredient, A TC etc.; http://ec.europa.eu/health/documents/commu-
nity-register.html/index_en.htm; access via ec.europa.eu/health/human-use/
index_en.htm); see also formulary, national drug list .

Company Cor e Data Sheet (CCDS) ICH: “ A document prepared by the

marketing authorisation holder containing, in addition to all rele vant
safety information, material relating to indications, dosing, pharmacology
and other areas that are not necessarily safety related” (ICHe2c); syn. inter -
national prescribing information, “virtual SPC”, core data sheet (CDS); cen-
tral document that may be prepared by the mark eting authorisation holder
concerning a medicinal product co vering material relating to safety , indica-
tions, dosing, pharmacology, and other information as a reference; synthesis
of general information for prescribers on the correct use of a drug including
risks; it is the reference document by which expected and unexpected adverse
drug reactions are determined and is therefore al ways included in a drug
safety update report; if there is an EC SPC this will tak e the place of the
CCDS; the safety information contained within its central document (CCDS)
would be referred to as “ Company Core Safety Information ” (CCSI);
CCDS and CCSI are compan y-internal documents, the CCSI is used as
“Reference Safety Information”; see also drug safety updates,
patient information leaflet (PIL), periodic safety update report
(PSUR), reference safety information, summary of product charac-
teristics (SPC) .
46

Company Cor e Safety Inf ormation (CCSI) ICH: “ All rele vant safety
C information contained in the (internal) Company Core Data Sheet pre-
pared by the marketing authorisation holder (MAH) and which the
MAH requires to be listed in all countries where the compan y mark ets
the drug, e xcept when the local re gulatory authority speci fically requires a
modification. It is the reference information by which listed and unlisted
are determined for the purpose of periodic reporting for mark eted products,
but not by which e xpected and une xpected are determined for expedited
reporting” (expected/unexpected is used in association with of ficial label-
ling); the CCSI is the minimum information that should be present in all
documents relating to the safety of a product and part of the CCDS; it is
also the common safety information that is included in all SPCs (common
denominator) as authorized in Member States; the CCSI is appended to the
PSUR including the date of last re vision and highlighting an y difference to
the authorised te xt of the SPC; see also company core data sheet , core
safety profile, listed adverse drug reaction, safety update report,
unlisted adverse drug reaction; for other types of documents seerefer-
ence safety information.
comparative effecti veness r esearch Research comparing clinical outcomes,
effectiveness, and appropriateness of items, services, and procedures that are
used to pre vent, diagnose or treat diseases, disorders and other health
conditions.
comparator product EC: “an in vestigational or mark eted product (i.e. acti ve
control), or placebo, used as a reference in a clinical trial”; see also control,
design, evaluation technique.
compassionate in vestigational new drug Also called treatment IND ;
exemption from some of the FDA regulations to facilitate treatment of patients
when alternate therapy is not available or is less effective.
compassionate use Also compassionate IND, sometimes mix ed-up with sin-
gle, named patient treatment, “pilot” application of a drug that has no mar -
keting authorization b ut constitutes a signi ficant therapeutic inno vation for
patients with a life threatening, chronically or seriously debilitating disease that
cannot be treated satisfactorily by an authorized product; in the EC the medici-
nal product must be undergoing clinical trials or must be subject of an applica-
tion for marketing authorization (Reg.726/2004); sometimes this is a first look
to test a medical hypothesis, in volving a v ery small number of, in most cases
just a single patient; because it is so early in the development of the idea, there
can be little speci fic evidentiary or other requirements go verning such a use;
there must be v ery careful observ ations and reporting on outcome made; see
also expanded-access program, treatment IND.
47

compendium of drugs see community register, national drug list.

compensation for drug induced injury According to the EC guidelines on
good clinical practice (III) “patients/healthy v olunteers taking part in a
clinical trial should be satisf actorily insured against an y injury caused by the
trial”; usual maximal sums are in the order of € 500,000.00 per patient or of
€ 10,000,000.00 per trial respectively; see also clinical trial compensation
guidelines, indemnification ,insurance, product liability.

competition laws EC le gislation prohibits agreements between undertakings

designed to prevent or distort competition within the EC and which may affect
trade between EC member states; the EC Commission can impose fines of up
to 10 % of a group’s annual worldwide turnover on each company involved in
a breach; sums are in the order of DM 500,000.00 per patient or of DM
10,000,000.00 per trial respecti vely; competition rules apply also discounting
and gifts; EC: “no gifts, pecuniary advantages, or benefits in kind may be sup-
plied, offered, or promised to prescribers or suppliers, unless they are inexpen-
sive and rele vant to the practice of medicine or pharmac y”; see also
co-promotion, joint marketing.
complementary medicine syn. alternati ve or non-con ventional or traditional
(e.g., Chinese) medicine often used along with conventional/standard or main-
stream medicine resp., with treatments such as acupuncture, biofeedback,
herbs, yoga etc.; see alternative medicine, integrative medicine.
complete case analysis Only those cases of a clinical trial are analysed where
complete data sets are a vailable; see also extender analysis, intent-
to-treat analysis, last value carried forward, multiple imputation
approach.
complete response letter (CRL) Off cial letter of the FD A to a sponsor com-
pany, informing that a new drug application (NDA) or an abbreviated new drug
application (ANDA) is not ready for appro val; more than 25 % of the drugs
approved in the US are delayed by CRLs with a median of 13 months; see also
action letter ,new drug application .

complete review letter The FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research
issues crl instead of “appro vable” or “non-approvable” letters; this means that
all data and information has been re viewed, but that it is not sufficient to sup
port appro val; deficiencies are described together with suggested remedial
actions.

compliance Degree of cooperativeness and adherence of a patient totherapeutic

advice or the dosage schedule resp.; depending on the burden of disease, about
half to tw o-thirds of the patients (non-compliers) do not tak e medications as
48

prescribed (time, frequency, dose, duration, not filling a prescription/not taking

C the drug at all, inappropriate use with other drugs or alcohol, a.s.o.) which
causes enormous b urdens to health care systems by direct costs such as costs
resulting from increased hospitalisation and interv entions, b ut also indirect
costs such as from lost productivity and premature deaths; compliance must be
considered on a disease-by-disease basis and is also dependent on the age of
patients with elderly being less compliant; a statement on compliance must be
included in the final report of a clinical study as appropriate; increasing num-
bers of prescribed items are likely to cause decreasing compliance; methods for
controlling c. are e.g. drug measurements in urine (e.g. colorimetric test on
isoniazide) or blood, pill-counting, intervie ws and comments by the treating
physician, electronic medication boxes that register each opening, a.s.o.; regard-
less of the degree of compliance all patients initially included in studies should
be reported ( intent-to-treat principle); compliance can be increased with
appropriate dose formulations (e.g. transdermal patches), low dosing frequency,
pill calendars (or other forms of medication packaging), reminder devices (e.g.
electronic pill box es, counter caps, prescription label scratch-of fs); see also
drug holidays .

component Refers to an intended constituent of a speci fic substance (e.g.,

dimethicone and silicon dioxide are components of simethicone; human insulin
protamine and zinc are the components in human insulin isophane); see also
constituent, formulation .

composite endpoint see composite variable, genie score, global assess-

ment variable, variable .

composite variable Combines multiple measurements (e.g. severity of various

symptoms) into a single ne w endpoint, so called composite v ariable, using a
pre-defined algorithm; this a voids the problem of adjustment to the type I
error due to multiple testing; in case rating scales are used, content v alidity,
inter- and intra-rater reliability and responsiveness for detecting changes in the
severity is particularly important; see also genie score, global assessment
variable, variable .

compulsory licensing (CL) syn. forced licensing; in some countries (e.g.

Germany, Japan) health authorities can grant CL for adrug on a specific thera-
peutic area for public interest reasons or e.g. when a patented in vention is not
used by the originator during se veral years; use of the in vention by a firm
induces payment of a royalty to the patent owner.

computer assisted new drug application see canda .

computer assisted product licence application see capla .

computer assisted product licensing application review see caplar .

computerised system OECD: “A group of hardware components and asso-
ciated softw are designed and assembled to perform a speci fic function or
group of functions … Where computerised systems are used to capture, pro-
cess, report or store ra w data electronically , system design should al ways
provide for the retention of full audit trails to sho w all changes to the data
without obscuring the original data. It should be possible to associate all
changes to data with the person making those changes by use of timed and
dated (electronic) signatures. Reasons for change should be given … Formal
acceptance testing requires the conduct of tests following a pre-defined plan
and retention of documented evidence of all testing procedures, test data, test
results, a formal summary of testing and a record of formal acceptance”; see
also closed systems, electronic signature, open systems .
concerned member state (CMS) see decentralized procedure, essentially
similar products, mutual recognition procedure, rapporteur .
concertation procedure see centralised procedure.
concomitant event (CE) Event during treatment with a drug without antici-
pating relationship to the drug itself; see also adverse reaction.
concomitant medication Medication tak en during treatment with a (test)
drug; see also drug channelling.
condition (EU) In the context of orphan drugs, c. is defined as “any deviation(s)
from the normal structure or function of the body, as manifested by a character-
istic set of signs and symptoms (typically a recognised distinct disease or a
syndrome)”; see also disease, illness.
conditional approval (EU) syn. conditional marketing authorization, restricted
marketing authorization under exceptional circumstances such as when particu-
lar aspects concerning ef ficacy or safety can only be identi fied/resolved when
the product is marketed [Reg 1235/2010, Art.9(4)cc, Art.14(8)]; usually a time-
limited appro val based on surrogate endpoints , historical controls or
other type of limited information such as safety; further clinical studies (e.g.
post-marketing surveillance, post-authorisation safety study, post-
authorisation efficacy study) may be a condition of mark eting approval
by health authorities; c.a. may be applied for by the sponsor if: (i) the indica-
tions for which the product in question is intended are encountered so rarely
that the applicant cannot reasonably be expected to provide comprehensive evi-
dence; (ii) in the present state of scienti fic knowledge comprehensive informa-
tion cannot be pro vided; (iii) it w ould be contrary to generally accepted
principles of medical ethics to collect such information; independently , the
50

regulatory authority may request that theMarketing Authorisation Holder

C arranges for speci fic pharmacovigilance data to be collected from tar geted
groups of patients for a period of 5 years follo wing the initial placing on the
market in the European Community (Vol.9A, but unlimited since Dir 2010/84,
(9)); see also accelerated approval program, committee for proprietary
medicinal products, legal status, restricted marketing authorisation.
con fi denceinterval Measure of the range which is lik ely to contain the true
value of the parameter of interest; it indicates ho w large a true treatment dif-
ference may exist with a reasonable likelihood (usually 95 %); the c.i. reflects
the v ariability or hetereogeneity of results and gi ves an indication of the
degree of imprecision of the sample v alue as an estimate of the population
value; the width of a c.i. is a measure of this imprecision and is the difference
between the upper and lo wer con fidence limits; the lar ger the sample size ,
the narrower the width of the c.i. (all else being equal); c. limits for the results
of a trial give the range of figures of the true response rate that are compatible
or consistent resp. with the observed result for a given probability; the degree
of consistency is determined by the con fidence level (e.g. 95 %); con fidence
limits (CL) should al ways be reported in case of “ne gative” trials; 95 %
CL = meandifference ± 1.96∞ standard error (difference); 90 % CL= mean
difference ± 1.64 ∞ standard error (dif ference); see also accuracy, point
estimation, rule of three, variability .
con fi dencelimits Upper and lo wer limit of the range of a confidence
interval.
con fi dentialdisclosure agreement (CD A) syn. con fidentiality agreement,
secrecy agreement; mutual written agreement between tw o parties concerning
confidentiality of pro vided information; such documents are routinely used
between pharmaceutical companies, companies and contract research
organisations, or investigators.
con fi dentialit Regarding trial subjects, EC (III): “maintenance of the pri vacy
of trial subjects including their personal identity and all medical information;
if data verification procedures demand inspection of such details, this may
only be done by a properly authorized person; identifiable personal details must
always be kept in con fidence; the trial subject’s consent to the use of records
for data verification purposes should be obtained prior to the trial and assurance
should be given that c. will be maintained”; – regarding material from the spon-
sor, EC: “maintenance of secrecy of confidential information from the sponsor
in connection with the planning, execution, reviewing, auditing or evaluation
of a clinical trial ”.
con fi dentialityagreement see confidential disclosure agreement.
51

confidentiality of personal data According to the EC guidelines on good

clinical practice (III) it ranks among the responsibilities of the investiga-
tor to “ensure that the con fidentiality of all information about subjects is
respected by all persons involved …” see also data protection act.
con fi guratio see design.
con fl ictof interest Beginning 2013, companies producing medicinal products
or devices must enter all payments to physicians e xceeding US$ 10 in a pub-
licly available database (“Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act”).
confounder syn. confounding variable, nuisance v ., interfering v .; vari-
able that is related to both the outcome and exposure under study in such a
way that it can create a f alse association or mask a real one, e.g. coronary
artery disease increases the risk of sudden death, older patients or patients
with a longer duration of disease may ha ve a w orse prognosis, a non-
experimental study with a b-blocker might demonstrate an e xcess of sud-
den deaths, or the labelling phenomenon; thus, e ven if the drug were
efficacious (bene ficial), it might appear harmful; in the absence of ran-
domization, i.e. in a non-e xperimental study, to control for confounding
v., one must be able to measure them; c. are not simply effect modifiers
(which, in contrast, do not bias the o verall estimate of e xposure-outcome
associations); see also learning effect, placebo effect, simpson’s
paradox.
consent see informed consent.
consent form Form used to obtain written or oral consent; in the latter case this
form is not only signed and dated by the investigator but also the witness; these
forms need to be approved by the responsible ethics committee; in some coun-
tries health authorities do not accept oral consent, e.g. Hungary; see also
informed consent.
consistency of data Degree of association among items, plausibility; examples
for c. checks: male patient who is pre gnant, a patient’ s aging by more than
1 year over a 1 year period a.s.o.; see also measurement properties.
CONSORT Consolidated Standards of Reporting T rials; the CONSOR T
Statement is intended to improve the reporting of a randomized controlled trial
( http://www.consort-statement.org/consort-statement/); see also publication
guidelines, report .
constituent Substance(s) present/mixed-up within a specified substance or sub-
stances that taken together form a product (can be e.g., degradation product(s),
impurities, marker substance etc.); see also component .
52

construct validity refers to the similarity in mechanisms underlying drug taking

C in the laboratory and drug taking in the natural ecology; see also validity .

consumer report information on an adverse reaction received directly from

a patient/consumer (or other non-health care professionals); Dir 2010/84
encourages “patients, … healthcare professionals to report suspected adv erse
reactions to the national competent authority”; see alsodirect patient report-
ing, individual case safety report, side effect.
consumption see medical culture.
container closure system see packaging system.

contamination Undesired introduction of viable organisms such as bacteria or

viruses; the term is sometimes used also for other impurities; see also
bioburden .
contingency fees Le gal fees contingent or conditional on the successful
outcome of the plaintiff’s case.
contingency table T abulated data which are cate gorical, and mutually
exclusive; entries into cate gories are actual numbers or counts; see also data
mining, signal.

continuation study Study with patients initially treated in a controlled

clinical trial; the character of such studies is usually observ ational and a
separate extension or follow-up protocol is used; see also cohort study .
continuous data syn. parametric data; data ha ving an (theoretically) unlimited
number of equally spaced data points, e.g. blood pressure values and most clini-
cal laboratory measurements; suitable statistical tests are for tw o groups,
unpaired samples the t-test, for tw o groups, paired samples P aired t -test, for
multiple groups, unpaired samples F-test follo wed by pair -wise comparisons
and for multiple groups, paired samples the modified F-test; see also data.

continuous r eassessment method (CRM) Comple x dose escalation model

which uses all available data for calculating probability distribution for response
vs. toxic dose; see also dose escalation, fibonacci search scheme, maxi-
mum tolerated systemic exposure (mtse), pharmacokinetically guided
dose escalations (PGDE ).
contra-label use see off-label use.

contract CRA Sometimes clinical research associates may be hired by a

contract research organisation or rarely by a pharmaceutical compan y
only for the duration of a specific project or for a specific time.
53

contract house see contract research organisation.

contract research organisation (CRO) Sometimes also called contract house,
clinical research or ganisation (o verall term: trial management or ganisation),
third party service; EC (III): “scienti fic body (commercial or academic) to
which a sponsor may transfer responsibility for some of its tasks or obligations”;
FDA: “If a sponsor has transferred any obligations for the conduct of any clini-
cal study to a CRO, a statement containing the name and address of the CR O,
identification of the clinical study , and a listing of the obligations transferred
may be submitted” (with a new drug application); see also site manage-
ment organisation .
contraindication History or condition of a patient that indicates that a drug/
treatment should not be used; absolute c.: treatment should not be used and
under no circumstances; relative c.: when risks can be minimised e.g. by careful
examination, monitoring a.s.o.
control Comparison with another treatment, either a concurrent treatment
(internal or concurrent c.) or not (e xternal c., often historical c.); see also
comparator product, design, evaluation technique, evidence based
medicine, matched pair, münch’s law, neighborhood control
subjects.
controlled clinical trial (CCT) syn. e xperimental t., e xperimental cohort
study; opp. non-e xperimental t., observ ational t.; an y prospective clinical
trial with one or more further groups of individuals (control) for direct com-
parison of outcome of a treatment; it is desirable to select at random the
patients with the disease process from the entire population with that dis-
ease (especially if e xtrapolations to the entire population are to be made) as
well as to allocate the patients to groups at random; before randomization
patients may be stratified into dif ferent cate gories of risk or prognosis;
assessment of treatment should ideally be double-blind; if a control group is
compared with more than one acti ve treatment the control needs to be lar ger
in order to gain maximum power for a given sample size (as a rule of thumb
the number of subjects for the control group is multiplied by the square root
of the number of acti ve treatments); see also design; non-comparative
study.
controlled drug Drugs known for inducing dependence such as e.g. morphine,
methadone, barbiturates, codeine, amphetamines a.s.o.; usually special arrange-
ments apply to the prescribing of such drugs; in some countries, e.g. UK, only
physicians holding a special license may be allowed to prescribe a c.d.; see also
designer drug, general sale list medicine , gras-list, pharmacy drug ,
prescription only medicine.
54

controlled release form (CR) syn. controlled deli very; dosage form (usually
C oral) designed to release drug(s) slo wly in the gastrointestinal tract, ideally
irrespective of the concentration according to a zero order kinetic; such for-
mulations frequently use e.g., polymer coatings, polymer/drug-extrudate prep-
arations (usually drug crystals embedded in a polymer matrix, hot-melt
extrusion), hydrophilic matrices (hydroxyprop yl methylcellulose), w ax
matrices, polyethylene oxide, or osmotic pump devices; see coating, delayed
release form, dissolution test, formulation, modified release, trans-
dermal patch.
conventional medicine syn. “school medicine”, opposite to alternative
medicine.
cooperativeness see compliance.
co-payment P atients pay a fixed sum or a percentage for pharmaceuticals
prescribed by their doctor or for hospital stays, or for other health services, the
rest is paid by the health insurers; seenegative list, positive list, reimburse-
ment systems black list.
co-primary endpoints Intersection unit principle; see primary endpoint.
co-promotion The same drug is promoted by two or more companies under a
single trademark; in case of “co-mark eting”, the same medicinal product is
promoted by tw o or more companies b ut under dif ferent brand names; c.-p.
achieves greater visibility in the marketplace and makes entry of new competi-
tive drugs more difficult; see also competition law, joint-marketing.
core protocol Clinical trial protocol de fining basic and important issues for a
particular trial.
core safety profile (CSP) simplified and harmonised document provided by the
originator (inno vator only!) of a medicinal product that contains all safety
information in the SPC (SmPC)-format; it includes common information from
sections 4.3 to 4.9 present in all SPCs within the EU and an y relevant safety
information from 4.2 and is intended to help the assessment of dif ferences in
national SPCs; updates are with the ne xt PSUR; see company core data
sheet, company core safety information.
correction see corrective and preventive action.
correction log see data resolution form.
correction of errors In a case record form corrections should be made by the
investigator as follows: (1) draw a single line through the error so that the origi-
nal entry remains visible; (2) enter new value alongside (preferably with a black
ball point pen); (3) initial (initials of the investigator); (4) date; (5) give reasons
for correction.
55

corrective and pr eventive actions (CAP A) During inspections, inspectors

expect to see a program how deviations from quality are handled by a company;
corrective action is defined by the FDA as “action taken to eliminate the causes
of an existing non-conformity defect or other undesirable situation in order to
prevent recurrence”; in contrast “correction” refers to repair of an existing non-
conformity; see also inspection, quality control.

correlational study Looks for a (linear) correlation of a specific outcome with

a risk f actor (exposure) in a whole population (e.g., lung cancer – number of
cigarettes/day; breast cancer – per capita intak e of saturated f at); such designs
can generate hypotheses but may not be conclusi ve on a more indi vidual level
or a level of less aggregated data resp. (risk of ecological fallacy); see also
cross-sectional study.

correlation coef fi ciensyn. Pearson correlation coef ficient; descripti ve

statistic; indicates relationship (e xtent of linear correlation) between tw o
continuous variables; the better comparable the data resulting from tw o
different methods are (i.e. the closer the correlation is) the more the r v alue
approaches the v alue 1, whereby 0 represents no correlation, –1 a perfect
inverse correlation (negatively sloping line) and +1 a perfect positi ve corre-
lation; as a rule of thumb data should al ways be visualized as scatter -plot
before reporting linear correlation; the square of r signifies the proportion of
the variation explained (thus, a r of 0.2 means that the supposed relationship
only explains 4 % of the variation); r is defined mathematically as:

r=
∑ (x − x) (y − y)
i i

∑ (x − x) ∑ (y − y)
i
2
i
2

cosmetic FDA: “articles intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed

on, introduced into, or otherwise applied to the human body or any part thereof
for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance;
articles intended for use as component of an y such articles, e xcept that such
term shall not include soap”; see also emollient, nanoparticles.

costs see adverse reaction, clinical trial, drug consumption,

european medicines agency, health care costs, health care services,
marketing authorisation, pharmaceutical market, pharmacovigi-
lance, price regulatory scheme, prescription, reimbursement,
research and development.

COSTART see code.

cost/bene fi tanalysis (CBA) Sometimes used as overall term for economic

C analyses such as cost/effectiveness a. ,cost/utility a., and quality of
life studies; in a narrower sense the term CBA is confined to studies where
both the resources used and the bene fit a treatment yields can be e xpressed
in monetary terms (e.g. a speci fic treatment avoids later costs of sur gery or
hospitalisation, money saved/lost when medications exert beneficial/adverse
health effects); CBAs are often used to justify the price of a product. The
result of a CBA can be a “major added benefit”, “significant added benefit”,
“unquantifiable additional benefit” or “no added benefit”; a treatment is most
cost-beneficial if the economic return e xceeds the treatment costs (highest
net bene fit) or if it has a higher ratio of bene fits to costs (B/C); economic
analyses require speci fication of the treated populations and treatment
procedures; depend therefore on the social conte xt, on the indications for
which the drug is prescribed, on the characteristics of the treated population
and on the dosage schedules; for the manuf acturer the y may be useful to
demonstrate therapeutic adv antages also of mar ginally innovative products
and to support price ne gotiations or rationalise reimb ursement decisions;
economic analyses are rarely required by health authorities, e.g. in Australia,
Canada, and Germany (the so calledArzneimittelmarkt-Neuordnungsgesetz”/
“
AMNOG since January 2011, b ut not by the FD A); they may ho wever be
required for reimbursement by health insurance systems; see also delta
value, disease management.
cost/consequence analysis (CCA) Lists adv antages and disadv antages, with-
out giving a bottom line total, leaving the adding up and weighting of the data
to the decision maker.
cost/effectiveness analysis (CEA) Measures ef fectiveness of a treatment in
natural, not monetary units, e.g. days of f work, years of life gained; sho ws the
least cost per outcome measure gained, comparing the costs of achie ving the
desired outcome (effect) by a variety of treatment methods; CEA sho ws there-
fore how to spend resources most ef fectively given a particular desired objec-
tive; (e.g. cost per pound lost for measuring c./e. of weight loss programs, cost
of means of avoiding an infant death per year of life gained); most appropriate
for comparison of treatments not producing an equi valent likelihood of clinical
outcome; cost/effectiveness data are increasingly used to f acilitate re gulatory
approval, justify pricing and in fluence reimbursement; Australia and Canada
request economic data to support product application and reimbursement listing
since 1993, in France CEA and quality of life data are e xplicit criteria for
determining prices and reimbursement; it is likely that other European authori-
ties will follow; see also economic analysis, effectiveness .
cost/minimisation analysis (CMA) Compares net costs of treatments which
have identical medical outcomes (patient outcomes are all the same); not to be
57

confounded with a cost-of-illness study, where total costs (direct and indirect)
attributable to a given illness are calculated.

cost/utility analysis (CU A) Synthesizes simultaneously multiple outcomes

(e.g. on both morbidity and mortality, pain and physical function, b ut also
quality) into a single measure; the basis for this type of analysis is that each
outcome is weighted by a person’ s preference (“utility”) for e xperiencing the
outcome; CUA relates therefore the costs of dif ferent procedures to the increased
utility which the y produce e.g. in terms of quality-adjusted life-years
(QUALY) gained; the treatment with the lo west costs per QALY is to be pre-
ferred; see also quality of life, utility measurement.

Council f or Inter national Or ganisation of Medical Sciences (CIOMS)

International, non-go vernmental, non-pro fit or ganization ( http://www.cioms.ch/ );
set up under the auspices of the WHO and UNESCO; acts as sounding board for
capturing and disseminating informed opinion on new developments in biology and
medicine, b ut e xplores also their social ethical, moral, administrati ve and le gal
implications; well known is also the so called cioms I-form for reporting suspect
adverse reactions to the WHO centre in Uppsala and which is accepted as report
form by a number of health authorities, e.g. in Germany, France, Italy, Ireland, The
Netherlands and UK; this form is almost identical with the form fda 1639 and
accepted by the US authority.

counterfeit medicine a medicine that is deliberately and fraudulently misla-

belled with respect to identity and/or content and/or source; c.m. may mak e
between 1 and 30 % of the mark et and represent a safety concern; in 2010,
customs in the EC seized 103 million products suspected of being counterfeit,
68 % of them originated from China and 28 % from India; see also falsified
medicinal product .

country code see also ISO country codes.

covariate variable assumed to be related to the treatment response.

creatinine clearance (CCr) A widely accepted formula for calculating the CCr
from the serum creatinine Cr is that put forth by Cockcroft and Gault (Nephron
1976, 16: 31–41): male CCr = [body weight (kg) × (140 – age)] di vided by
[72 × Cr (mg/100 ml)]; female CCr = 0.85 × above; see also clearance, glom-
erular filtration rate.

CRF correction log see data resolution form.

critical path method (CPM) Project management technique which calcu-

lates total duration of a project based on indi vidual task durations and depen-
dencies, and identifies which tasks are time-critical.
58

critical term list WHO-originating list of about 50 selected adverse reac-

C tions which are considered indicati ve of more serious clinical problems; see
WHO-adverse reaction terminology.
cross contamination EC (IV): “contamination of a starting material of a
product with another material or product”; see also clean area,
contamination.
crossing over Exchange of genes between two paired chromosomes.
crossover Two period (two-way), three period (three-way), four period or multi-
period comparison (within- or between- subject); each subject recei ves tw o
treatments one after the other (or simultaneously e.g. left vs right for topical
treatments), the order of treatment being decided randomly; although this is a
common design to demonstrate bioequi valence, clinical studies with such a
design are infrequent (only for agents with prompt onset and rapid of fset of
effects and diseases with a stable course); see design, heaton-ward effect.
cross-sectional study Provides a “snapshot” of the frequency and characteris-
tics of a disease in a population at a particular single point in time; basically
identical to case-control study except that the variable assumed to be the
cause of an event (or disease) is measured at the same time as the assignment
of the patient to the e vent/disease cate gory. In a cross-sectional surv ey, a
specific group is look ed at to see if a substance or acti vity, say smoking, is
related to the health effect being investigated – for example, lung cancer. If a
significantly greater number of smok ers already have lung cancer than those
who don’t smoke, this would support the hypothesis that lung cancer is caused
by smoking; c.s.s. usually measure prevalent outcomes, dropouts , fatal
cases, migrants a.s.o. are not counted (e xample: assumption of a relationship
between deep vein thrombosis and pills for birth control; if a true relationship
exists the patient was taking the pill at the time when the thrombosis occurred;
a history of pill-taking in the past would be much less conclusive); best suited
for chronic, nonfatal conditions; disadvantages: frequently c.s.s. are unable to
distinguish cause from effect possibility for selection bias; see also associa-
tion study, case-control study, cohort study, correlational study,
odds ratio, pharmacovigilance.
CTX-scheme see clinical trial exemption.
cultural background Term is used by FDA to encompass such socio-economic
characteristics as age, ethnic origin and economic status.
cumulative incidence Number of patients diagnosed with the disease of inter-
est in a fixed (initial) population observed for a speci fied time (proportion, not
a rate); see also incidence rate.
59

cure Elimination of an abnormal condition, in the best case also of the cause of
this condition, as a result of a speci fic treatment (e.g. by a physician); see also
healing.
CUSUM plot From “cumulative sum”; a method which is employed for examin-
ing if there is a drift in the results in long term trials or laboratory results; for each
measurement during the trial the difference is calculated between this figure and
the initial mean result; the cumulati ve sum is calculated during the course and
plotted against the time; see also bias, sequence effect.
cut-off date see date lock-point.
cytochroms P450 (CYP P450) A complex mixture of enzymes with metabolic,
biosynthetic and bio-modulating functions; clinically most rele vant are
CYP1A2, CYP3A, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6; man y of them can e xist in
an number of alleles (e.g., more than 30 alleles known for CYP2C9); as such
alleles differ in their enzymatic acti vity/metabolic capacity this results e.g., in
genotypes that are “e xtensive” or “poor metabolisers”; CYP3A is responsible
for about 50 % of the drug oxidations, CYP2D6 for another 30 % and CYP2C9
for about 15 %; about 5–10 % of all Caucasians possess no acti ve CYP2D6
enzyme, up to 6 % are deficient for CYP2C19; drugs or food components can-
not only be substrates for these enzymes b ut are also able to induce or inhibit
them (e.g., grapefruit juice inhibits intestinal CYP3A and other enzymes); CYP
P450 enzymes are thus responsible for man y drug-drug or drug-food interac-
tions; see also genetic variance, genotype, interaction of drugs, metab-
olism, www.im.ki.se/CYPAlleles .
cytotoxic Able to cause cell death; a cytotoxic substance usually is more subtle
in its action than is a biocide.
D

DAMOS (Drug Application Methodology with Optical Storage)

Standardised interface between pharmaceutical companies and re gulatory
authorities for transferring information, e.g. documents for registration.
data Types of data (variables) are: either continuous (quantitative, dimen-
sional, parametric, interval) d.: have an almost unlimited number of equally
spaced data points, e xpressed in inte gers, decimals or fractions e.g. body
temperature, blood pressure, pulse rates, age, number of e vents, and most
clinical laboratory measurements; suitable statistical tests for normally dis-
tributed continuous d. are t-tests and analysis of v ariance; or cate gorical
(qualitative, discrete, proportional) d.: entity measured fits either into one of
two cate gories (= dichotomous (binary-, paired) d.) e.g. yes/no, female/
male, dead/alive, worsened/improved, percentage cured or dead a.s.o. (suit-
able is e.g. chi-square test; when examining the change in a proportion over
time in the same subjects (within group comparison), then an analysis suit-
able for paired d. could be performed, e.g. Mc Nemar’s test) or in more than
two cate gories (= polychotomous d.) e.g. taste, race, colour , study centre
location (= nominal d. with no ordered relationship), or with an ordered
relationship to one another and which can be rank ed into three or more
categories (= ordinal d.) e.g. pain- or adverse event scales (mild, moder-
ate, severe), psychiatric scales (often pseudocontinuous i.e. the dif ference
between +1 and +2 is not the same as between +3 and +4), complete, partial,
no response or progression, a.s.o.; include also many of the subjective mea-
surements such as visual analogue scales; “hard” (opposite soft)
data = d. which do not depend on observ er errors and are precisely mea-
sured; see also distribution, electronic data, outliers, primary end-
point, raw d.
data analyst see data manager.
data archiving see archiving.

G. Nahler, Dictionary of Pharmaceutical Medicine, 60

DOI 10.1007/978-3-7091-1523-7_4, © Springer-Verlag Wien 2013
61

data audit trail see data trail.

data base see relational data base; see also clinical trial data base,
EudraCT.

data capture document Document for recording data; see case record form,
source data.

data clari fi cationform (DCF) see data resolution form.

data coding see code.

data collection form (DCF) see case record form.

data dictionary Electronic or written information for each type ofdata or ele-
ment containing the name, de finition, size, type, (normal) range, where and
how it is used, its relationship to other data a.s.o.; the d.d. describes the data
base and ensures consistenc y across indi vidual databases; such a repository
does, however, not contain the actual data itself.

data dredging Multiple, e xhaustive analysis of data until the (w anted) result
has been found; see also bonferroni correction, multiple comparisons.

data edit form see data resolution form.

data editing syn. data monitoring; checking of each recorded answer to e very
question of a questionnaire to ascertain whether the collected data are v alid
with respect to range ( outliers), format, content, completeness, accuracy ,
legibility, plausibility (logical inconsistencies as e.g. male se x and gra vidity),
and consistency (e.g. a patient suf fering from diabetes at the time of recruit-
ment must also have a diabetes at the end of the study), as well as the process
of transformation of these data; e.g. into ne w units, which mak e them compa-
rable with the same type of data of another trial; d.e. can be made at an y step
after receipt of the case record form (before or after data entry); part of
such v erification processes can be made by special computer programs; to
detect doubtful data, descripti ve statistics are useful, especially on important
variables; see also pooling of lab data.

data entry Transfer of observations, usually from a case record form (CRF)
or another written document to an electronic medium or direct entry into an
electronic CRF (eCRF); this is achieved either by single d.e., normally checked
by proofreading (at least for the primary variables), or by double d.e. (enters
made by one operator are check ed against that of a second in order to reduce
key-punch errors to a minimum, whereby most often operators will be kept
“blind”); in interactive d.e., range and cross-checks on the figures entered are
executed immediately, which has major advantages: the investigator is warned
62

of errors immediately, time spent later on data checking is reduced, retrieval

D of the patient’ s file at a later date to answer inconsistencies is a voided, data
integrity is assured; at the begin of the d.e. process a data entry screen, match-
ing the CRF as close as possible, has to be prepared; other possibilities of d.e.
are continuous, ongoing d.e. (opposite: batch input), automated reading ( with
optical mark or optical character recognition, and facsimile transmission); see
also remote data entry, web-based data entry.

data handling manual Manual describing what must be done with data of a
clinical trial, beginning when they are received by the biometric department till
closure of the data base; see also data coding, d. editing, d. entry, d. lock-
point, d. manager, d. resolution, d. trail, d. validation.

data lock-point (DLP) syn. data cut-off date; ICH: “The date designated as the
cut-off date for data to be included in aperiodic safety update report .which
is based on the international birth date ( orharmonised birth date) and
should be in six-monthly increments”; date at which a data base is “frozen” or
“closed” in order to follo w development of stored information, e.g. for PSURs
and their resp. statistical analysis, or e very 6 months for the first 2 years subse-
quently to the date of the first approval by the first regulatory authority for a
particular drug; see also periodic safety update report; the DLP is 2 months
earlier than the date of the updated PSUR; other documents that need re gular
review such as the investigator’s brochure do not have a defined DLP.

data manager Responsible person for the data and administrative activities of
a clinical research process from the v ery beginning till the generation of the
final report; she/he designs trial forms, ensures that randomization and data
collection are conducted according to the protocol, ensures correct data
entry, logic checks (e.g. blood pressures, heart rates, etc. check ed for certain
acceptable values) and editing, as well as documentation in a data master file
within a data centre, ready for use by the statistician; the d.m. is also responsi-
ble for data base creation, its structure, and maintenance; together with the
monitor she/he is responsible for resolving data queries; a data analyst may
assist the d.m.

data mining syn. “kno wledge detection”; Process of sorting through lar ge
amounts of data and picking out relevant information; statistical and logical (dis-
proportionality) analysis of lar ge sets of data, looking for patterns that can aid
(e.g. safety) decision making (useful: visual e xploration of relationships with
e.g., shift table /transition matrix, histograms, distrib ution curv es, etc.);
d.m. for adv erse reactions relies on medical dictionaries for adv erse e vents;
however, results can be af fected by coding redundancies of such hyper granular
dictionaries as the MedDRA where a single high level term comprises preferred
63

terms which present very different medical concepts or conditions which dif fer
greatly in their clinical importance (e.g., PTs related to li ver injury: ‘Jaundice’,
‘hepatitis’, ‘hepatotoxicity’, ‘hepatic f ailure’, ‘hepatic necrosis’, ‘acute hepatic
failure’); this leads to “signal fragmentation”; used for signal detection in
pharmacovigilance; see also disproportionality assessment, medical
dictionary for drug regulatory activity .
data monitoring see data editing.
data monitoring committee (DMC) see data safety monitoring board.
data protection act In most countries the storage of personal data in electroni-
cally processed form is re gulated by law; companies storing information must
be registered in a national Data Registrar. see also confidentiality.
data quality In order to be acceptable, data must be attrib utable, legible, con-
temporaneous, original and accurate (ALCO A). These quality and inte grity
criteria are applicable to all data, whether the
y are collected on paper or recorded
electronically; see also electronic data, raw data, source data.
data r esolution f orm (DRF) syn. CRF correction log, data clari fication
form, data edit form, notice-of-change form, query log, query resolution
form; form used by monitors or clinical research associates to collect
missing or to correct illegible, wrong or implausible entries in case record
form (CRF); once collected, CRF ne ver go back to the in vestigator; see
data manager.
data and safety monitoring board (DSMB) syn. Data Monitoring Committee
(DMC); group of independent researchers who re view data from a blinded, con-
trolled clinical trial; the y may decide on its’ continuation or stop if safety and/or
benefit/risks concerns arise; see also safety analysis, steering committee.
data sheet see summary of product characteristics.
data trail syn. audit trail; integrity of the documentation record which allows
a monitor, auditor or inspector to follo w the process of e vents from patient
record to new drug application and to con firm that the correct procedures
were followed; record of all changes made to data after the data were origi-
nally entered.
data transfer Data can be transferred to the data management centre either by
hard-copy CRFs, f axed copies of CRFs, disk ettes or tapes, or electronic data
files via modem; see also case record form (CRF) .
data validation Process to ensure that data in the data base orfinal report accu-
rately reflect data in the case record forms.
64

dead line Ultimate date till e.g. a clinical trial has to be finished.
D Dear Doctor letter syn. ‘Dear Health-care Professional’ letter
, ‘Dear Prescriber’
letter; see direct health care professional communication, risk man-
agement system, safety communication .
death rate see mortality rate.
debrie fi ngmeeting syn. closing meeting, exit debriefing; see exit interview,
FDA 483 form.
decentralised procedure – multistate procedure, applicable in cases where an
authorisation does not yet e xist in an y of the Member States (MS); identical
dossiers will be submitted in all MS where a marketing authorisation is sought
(concerned MS); the reference MS, selected by the applicant, will prepare draft
assessment documents within 120 days and send them to the concerned MS.
They, in turn, will either appro ve the assessment or the application will con-
tinue into arbitration procedures; see also centralised procedure, mutual
recognition procedure.
dechallenge Improvement of an adverse reaction after stopping the drug ;
see also causality ,rechallenge.
decision analysis syn. bene fit-risk a.; systematic strate gy by which the
ramifications of each possible decision are compared for all relevant outcomes;
the most common approach is in general to construct a decision tree, estimate
the probabilities of its branches and assign utilities to its possible final out-
comes; other strategies are e.g. the “minmax” strategy (decision with the mini-
mum probability of the maximum loss, opposite: “gambling” approach – decision
with the maximum possibility of the most f avourable outcome) or a more
scientific approach where decisions are made according to results of investiga-
tions in the past which sho w “signi ficant” dif ferences in f avour of one
decision.
decision tree see decision analysis.
Declaration of Helsinki Comprises recommendations of the W orld Medical
Assembly, guiding physicians in biomedical research in volving human sub-
jects; adopted in Helsinki, Finland (1964), amended in T okyo, Japan (1975),
Venice, Italy (1983), Hong K ong (1989), at the 48th General Assembly ,
Somerset West, Rep. of South Africa, Oct. 1996, at the 52nd WMA General
Assembly, Edinburgh, Scotland, October 2000, and at the 59th WMA General
Assembly, Seoul, October 2008, 7th re vision ( http://www.wma.net/en/
30publications/10policies/b3/); see also nuremberg code .
defect see product defect, product recall.
65

de fi neddaily dose (DDD) Assumed average dose per day for a drug used in its
main indication in adults; basis for cost comparison of medicinal products for
reimbursement; see http://www.whocc.no/atc_ddd_index/ (search options
enable to find DDDs for substances and/or ATC codes, the index is maintained
by the WHO); see also acceptable daily intake, anatomical therapeutic
chemical classification system, overdose.
degradation products Undesirable products that result from the synthesis (e.g.,
solvents, intermediates), storage/aging (en vironmental factors) or the formula-
tion (e.g., excipients); see also contamination, impurity, stability tests .
delayed r elease Opposite: instant deli very/immediate release; modi fied release
product in which the release of the acti ve substance is delayed for a finite “lag
time”, after which release is unhindered (e.g., enteric coated or gastro-resistant
oral tablets or capsules which remain intact in the stomach and only disintegrate in
the higher pH of the small intestine); delayed release results in a longer T max but
with Tmax and elimination half life unchanged (European Pharmacopoeia, EudraLe x
3AQ19a: Quality of prolonged release oral solid dosage forms, No v. 1992); see
also controlled release, dissolution test, prolonged release.
delta value syn. minimum rele vant difference, smallest clinically meaningful
difference; size of a clinically or therapeutically meaningful dif ference (e.g.
improvement in outcome, tolerance, costs) that a trial is designed to detect; in
experimental trials delta should be set to de fine an impro vement that is great
enough that most people w ould select the ne w treatment despite its potential
unknown hazards; see also alternative hypothesis, beta error, sample
size estimation.
demographic data Data describing basic characteristics of subjects in a clini-
cal trial, e.g. age, sex distribution, ethnic origin, length of current disease, num-
ber of subjects treated de novo a.s.o.; see also baseline variables.
dependency (ph ysical) characterized by withdra wal symptoms (abstinence
syndrome) upon cessation of the drug; see withdrawal (substance).
depletion bias see bias.
depth of product recall see product recall.
derived variable Variable created from other v ariables; example: body mass
index (BMI) which is calculated using height and weight of a subject; see also
meta-data .
descriptive statistics Presentation of results by their median, arithmetric mean,
standard deviation, mode, distribution of data with min. max. values a.s.o.; see
also inference statistics.
66

design Cross-over d. (opp. parallel) = two period or multi-period comparison

D (within- or between- subject); each subject recei ves two treatments one after
the other (or simultaneously e.g. left vs right for topical treatments), the order
of treatment being decided randomly; this d. is appropriate when the disease
process or subject is relati vely stable (e.g. bioequivalence studies in healthy
volunteers, M. Parkinson, myasthenia a.s.o.), when treatments are not curative,
when periods of treatment are short, when there is no interaction or order
effect and when the number of dropouts and withdrawals can be kept low;
within-subject studies allow in general a more precise comparison of treatments
and require an about 2,6 times smaller number of subjects than between-subject
studies; a wash-out period is usually essential between treatments to elimi-
nate drug or drug-effect carry -over; special types of cross-o ver d. are latin
square d., and graeco-latin square d.; a factorial d. can be planned either
as cross-over or as parallel d. and answers tw o questions at the “price” of one;
parallel d. = simultaneous group-comparison, e.g. two group parallel d.; in this
simple, standard d. subjects are randomised to either the test treatment (experi-
mental group) or to a control (placebo, no treatment, acti ve treatment or posi-
tive control, dose comparison); positive results reported in open studies without
control (i.e. without further parallel group(s) for direct comparison) should be
confirmed by controlled clinical trials later on; fixed sample size (closed)
d. = the number of subjects is de fined according to a speci fied dif ference
between treatments; opposite: open d. = sample size is allo wed to increase
indefinitely; if the control group has not been treated simultaneously but some-
where in the past, this is called a historical comparison ; fi ed sample size
variance trials, rechallenge trial: the hypothesis is that a patient will, if repeat-
edly exposed, experience once more a beneficial or, more frequently, an adverse
reaction to a specific medication; most often this is done on a single patient who
serves as his own control ( single case experiment); randomized withdrawal
trial = patients on a speci fic treatment due to a speci fic disease (e.g. chronic
treatment with anticon vulsives or digitalis) are randomly assigned to either a
control (e.g. placebo) or an e xperimental group, “early escape” (treatment
fails or subject does not tolerate treatment) can be an endpoint (caveat: efficacy
and tolerance may be better than expected because of enrichment of “respond-
ers”); natural endpoints are the (prede fined) worsening using standard time-
to-occurrence statistical tests or a comparison of proportion of outcomes; see
also association study = investigates associations between one variable
and another (e.g. cause-effect rather than size and significance of differences)
in groups treated with one interv ention v ersus another; see also adaptive
design, case series, cluster randomised controlled trial, cola design,
cross-sectional study, gehan’s design, large simple trial design,
non-comparative study , observational study, one sample
multiple testing design, randomized consent d., repeated measures d.,
sequential d .,steady state study.
67

designer drug Drugs (“le gal highs”) that are analogues of controlled sub-
stances with modifications of an existing structure; dd replace the existing drug
when e.g., the latter is banned, circumventing legal issues; most are distributed
over the internet; see also controlled drug .

detailed description of the pharmaco vigilance system (DDPS) w as intro-

duced in September 2008 (“Volume 9A”); a DDPS is no longer requested to be
joined to applications for mark eting authorizations; it has been superseded in
December 2010 by the pharmacovigilance (system) master file
(PSMF).

development Relates often to the improvement of a product; in the pharmaceu-

tical industry the d. stage can be seen as the clinical part of the research process;
in other industries distinction between d. and research can be problematic and
may implicate financial consequences (tax authorities may refuse tax relief on
expenditures which they define as development, i.e. improvement of an already
marketed product, rather than research); see research and development.

development inter national birth date (DIBD) “Date of first appro val (or
authorisation) for conducting an interv entional clinical trial in an y country”
(ICH E2F); see also birth date, international birth date.

development safety update r eport (DSUR) replaces the IND Annual Report
(US) and Annual Safety Report (EC), implemented in September 2011; annual
report that provides safety information of an investigational drug from all ongo-
ing clinical trials that the sponsor is conducting or has completed during the
review period; start of the periodicity is the Development International
Birth Date; the co vered period of a DSUR is 1 year and is to be submitted
until the last visit of the last patient in a clinical trial in the member state con-
cerned; a DSUR is also needed in phase IV; the main objective of a DSUR is to
(1) summarise the current understanding and management of identi fied and
potential risks; (2) describe new safety issues that could have an impact on the
protection of clinical trial subjects; (3) e xamine whether the information
obtained by the sponsor during the reporting period is in accord with pre vious
knowledge of the product’s safety; and (4) provide an update on the status of the
clinical in vestigation/development programme (ICH E2F); reference safety
information for a DSUR is the Investigator’s Brochure or the Summary of
Products Characteristics (package insert in Japan and USA); the DSUR
overlaps with the investigator’s brochure/investigational medicinal
product dossier (before authorization) and the PSUR (post-authorisation);
any scienti fic advice the sponsor has recei ved by a competent authority has to
be included in the DSUR; if development of a medicinal product continues after
marketing authorization the respecti ve compan y must maintain tw o safety
update reports despite of considerable overlapping; see also annual progress
68

report, annual safety update report, company core safety information,

D data lock point, periodic safety update report, reference safety
information, susar .

deviation log List of de viations from the clinical trial protocol observed
by the monitor or study nuse; not an “ essential document”; see also
monitoring plan .
device FDA: “instrument, apparatus, machine, implement, contrivance, implant,
in vitro reagent, or other similar or related article, including an y component,
part or accessory, which is (1) recognized in the Official National Formulary, or
the US Pharmacopoeia, (2) intended for use in the diagnosis, treatment or pre-
vention of disease, (3) intended to af fect the structure or an y function of the
body of man or animals and which does not achieve its purposes through chem-
ical action within the body and which is not dependent upon being metabo-
lized”; in the US, devices are placed in three classes, all of which are subject to
regulatory aspects such as premark et noti fication, registration and listing, pro-
hibitions against adulteration and misbranding, and rules for good manufac-
turing practices; in addition, class II d. also need performance standards, and
class III d. need premarket approval; examples for class I d.: needles for injec-
tions; e xamples for class II d.: electrocardiographs, po wered aspirators to
remove blood, loose bone chips a.s.o. during sur gery, haemodialysers; e xam-
ples for class III d.: heart valves, inflatable penile implant, electrohydrolic litho-
tripter; see also bionics, bioprosthesis, device master record, EC
declaration of conformity, medical device.

device master r ecord (DMR) FD A: “compilation of records containing the

design, formulation, speci fications, complete manufacturing procedures, qual-
ity assurance requirements and labelling of a finished device”; overall docu-
mentation required to manuf acture de vices (e.g. general documents such as
standard operating procedures, b ut also documents for procurement,
processing, labelling, packaging, tests or inspections); an individual must be
designated to prepare, date, sign, and approve the DMRs and authorize changes;
according to the FDA, all records pertaining to a device must be retained for at
least 2 years from the date of release for commercial distrib ution; see also
device ,medical device.

diagnosis see code ,labelling phenomenon, staging.

diagnostic A product used for the diagnosis of disease or medical condition;

e.g., monoclonal antibodies and DNA probes are useful diagnostic products.

diagnostic index Frequency of patients with a specific disease among the total
number of patients seen at a trial centre; such lists or estimates are important for
69

assessments of the recruitment potential; see also age-specific rate, preva-

lence, recruitment rate.

dialysis Removal of substances from circulation by e xtracorporeal measures;

drugs with small volume of distribution and low protein binding are usu-
ally well dialysable; see also ADME, excretion.

diary card see patient diary.

diastereoisomers are stereoisomers that are not enantiomers and thus not
mirror images of each other; see also chirality.

dichotomous data see nominal data.

dietary supplement syn. nutritional supplement, see food supplement; see

also functional food, nutraceutical.

Digital Object Identi fier (DOI) The DOI System is an ISO International
Standard for identifying content objects in the digital environment, managed by
the International DOI Foundation; DOI® names are assigned to an y entity for
use on digital networks; they are used to provide information where they can be
found on the Internet; information about a digital object may change over time,
including where to find it, but its DOI name will not change; see < http://www.
doi.org/>; see also citation style .

digital pen see electronic CRF.

digital signature FDA “a type of electronic signature based upon crypto-

graphic methods of originator authentication, computed by a set of rules and a
set of parameters that permit verification of the signer’s identity and the data’s
integrity” (21 CFR 11); used in lieu of a physical signature; see also comput-
erised systems, electronic signature .

diluants see excipients.

diploma in pharmaceutical medicine In some countries (e.g. Belgium,

Germany, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, UK) postgraduate education in ph.m. is
offered with the possibility to get a master’ s degree, a diploma, or a PhD; see
also international federation of pharmaceutical physicians.

directive (Dir) Term used for documents in the EC which are legally binding in
contrast to a guideline; directives are binding for Member States as re gards
the objective to be achieved but leave it to the national authorities to decide on
how the agreed Community objective is to be incorporated into their domestic
legal systems; in contrast to a regulation, the aim is not the unification of the
law, b ut its harmonisation in order to remo ve contradictions and con flicts
70

between national laws; d. oblige Member States to adapt their national la w in

D line with Community rules; a Dir may be frequently updated: e.g., Dir 2001/83/
EC has been amended by Dir 2002/98, Dir 2003/63, 2004/24, 2004/27, Dir
2008/29, 2009/53, 2009/120, 2010/84, 2011/62; see EC law, regulation.

Direct Health Car e Professional Communication (DHPC) Often used syn-

onymously with “Dear Doctor/Prescriber Letter” or “Dear Pharmacist Letter”
resp.; provision of information to health care professionals through letters or
other means such as the compan y’s website concerning the safe and ef fective
use of a medicinal product; the content may be restricted to safety aspects of a
drug such as recall, suspension or withdra wal of the product or important
changes to the SPC in relation to safety or a vailability; see also risk manage-
ment system, safety communication.

direct medical costs Fixed and variable costs associated directly with a health
care interv ention (e.g. payments for drugs, treatments, laboratory and other
medical services, costs for staying in the hospital, honoraries) ; see economic
analysis.

direct non-medical costs Costs associated with pro vision of medical services
(e.g. costs for transport of a patient to a hospital, payments for a housekeeper);
see economic analysis.

direct patient reporting Australia, Canada, USA and countries of the EC (e.g.,
Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, UK) encourage consumers (patients or per -
sons caring for them) to report suspected adverse reactions directly to the
health authority (“consumer report ”).

direct -to -consumer (DTC) In most countries DTC-adv ertising of prescrip-

tion drugs mandate prior approval of the content by regulatory authorities or
are regulated in other ways resp. to protect consumers from false or misleading
advertising.

direct-to-consumer adv ertising (DTCA) In Europe, direct-to-consumer

advertising of prescription drugs is still forbidden.

disabilities WHO: “restrictions or lack of ability to perform an acti vity in a

manner or within a range considered normal for a human being”; see also dis-
ease ,handicap ,health, illness, impairment.

disclosure pr ocedure Also: code breaking procedure; NLN: “procedure

designed to identify, in the e vent of an emer gency, the nature of the treatment
given to a subject”; d. is rarely justified in clinical trials (availability of a drug-
specific antidote, reassessment of safety pro file); reasons for code breaking as
well as when and by whom should always be stated in the case record form ;
71

after breaking the code the trialist is not blinded any more and the patient must
be withdrawn from the study; see also blinding.
discontinuation criteria see stopping rules.
disease Abnormal, scientifically verifiable process occurring in the body; WHO
recommends that consequences of diseases be classi fied according to “ impair-
ments” (neurologic abnormalities), “ disabilities” (physical incapacity), and
“handicaps” (societal impact); see also condition, illness, orphan
disease.
disease fr ee inter val (DFI) syn. Disease free survi val (DFS); term recom-
mended to describe the period during which there is no e vidence of disease
activity; it is calculated from the day of sur gery to the first day of recurrence;
see also disease latency, tumor staging.
disease free survival (DFS) see disease free interval .
disease latency Time interval between an increment of e xposure and a subse-
quent change in an individual’s risk; see also disease free interval .
disease management syn. medical management, therap y management, dis-
ease-state management; sometimes also called population-based care, systems
management; strategic approach to healthcare for a disease state that attempts
to optimise health outcomes within a vailable resources (best medical practice
with the least e xpenditure); model of care directed to pre vent or to manage
treatment of a disease by maximising the ef fectiveness and ef ficacy of care
delivery and minimising expenditures of money, time and effort; see also cost/
benefit analysis, disease, evidence-based medicine, nairobi principle,
outcome measurement, outcomes research, personalised medicine,
quality of life.
disintegrants substances with swelling properties in water (e.g. carboxymeth-
ylcelluloses), which are used in small amounts to improve tablet disintegration
and dissolution; see also disintegration test, dissolution test, excipients ,
formulation.
disintegration test In vitro test measuring time to disinte gration of tablets
under standardized conditions; see also dissolution test, formulation.
disproportionality assessments Data mining algorithms that are basing on dis-
proportionate reporting of an adverse event of interest across different medici-
nal products; a simple statistical method would be the “Proportional Reporting
Ratio”, PRR = [A/(A + B)]/[C/(C + D)], i.e. the proportion of reports for a
specific suspected adv erse reaction (AR) for a gi ven drug compared with the
proportion for the same reaction for all other drugs, or the Reporting Odds
72

Ratio, ROR = (A/C)/(B/D), or the Y ule’s Q-ratio = (AD − BC)/(AD + BC); see
D data mining ,signal detection .

AR of interest All other events All ARs for drug

Drug of interest A B A+B
All other drugs C D C+D
AR for all drugs A+C B+D –

In the queries of the EudraVigilance Data Analysis System the follo wing
criteria are applied to de fine a signal of disproportionate reporting: (a) When
the PRR is displayed with its 95 % con fidence interval: (i) the lower bound of
the 95 % con fidence interval greater or equal to one; (ii) the number of indi-
vidual cases greater or equal to three, or (b) when the PRR is displayed with the
c2 statistic: (i) the PRR > 2; (ii) the c2 > 4; (iii) the number of indi vidual cases
greater or equal to three; see also bayesian adverse reaction diagnostic
instrument (BARDI) .

disquali fi cationrate see inevaluability rate.

dissolution test In vitro test measuring time to dissolution of tablets or capsules

under standardized conditions, e.g. artificial gastric juice; dissolution rates cor-
relate with in vivo availability of drug ingredient(s); see also bioavailability,
disintegration test, formulation.

distomer Stereoisomer (out of two enantiomers) that is biologically less potent

for a given effect/receptor in contrast to the eutomer having the desired activity;
see chirality, enantiomer, stereoisomer .

distribution see volume of distribution.

distribution of data Dependent on the frequenc y, data can be distributed either

normally (i.e. symmetrically around the arithmetic mean, in a bell-shaped or
Gaussian curve) or skewed (i.e. with a right-/left-hand tail of higher/lower values);
examples for roughly normally distributed data (continuous quantitative measure-
ments): haematocrit, haemoglobin, platelet, blood sugar, heart rate a.s.o., for posi-
tively skewed data (to the right): plasma urea, creatinine, catecholamines a.s.o., for
negatively skewed data: plasma alb umin a.s.o.; frequently statistical tests require
normally distributed data (e.g. F-test, t-test); if tests of distrib ution show that data
are not normally distributed, then logarithmic transformation can render data often
more normal; otherwise data are analysed by nonparametric statistical techniques
(e.g. Spearman rank correlation, Mann–Whitney U-test); in normally or symmetri-
cally distributed data description by the mean and standard deviation is appro-
priate; for sk ewed data the median is a better measure of the center of the
73

distribution and as a measure of the spread the range itself or the interquartile
range (percentile r.) should be used.

documentation EC (III): “all records in any form (including documents, mag-

netic or optical records) describing methods and conduct of the trial, f actors
affecting the trial and the action taken; these include protocol, copies of sub-
missions and appro vals from the authorities and the ethics committee ,
investigator(s), curriculum vitae, consent forms, monitor reports, audit
certificates, rele vant letters, reference ranges, raw data, completed case
record forms and the final report”; other relevant documents as e.g. prod-
uct analysis certificates must also be considered.

dominante An allele whose expression overpowers the effect of a second form

of the same gene; (incomplete-/semi-dominante alleles produce the same prod-
uct but in lesser quantity compared to the dominant allele); see also allele ,
heterocygous ,homocygous ,recessive .

dosage form Form of the finished pharmaceutical product such as capsule, tab-
let, granulate, drops, suppository , etc.; see also active pharmaceutical
ingredient, formulation.

dosage regimen Number of prescribed doses (e.g. in capsules of a speci fied

strength, mg or ampoules, ml) within a given time period.

dose escalation study syn. dose titration study; application of increasing doses
of a new substance in human subjects in phase I trials; the starting dose is usu-
ally calculated on the no observed adverse event level (NOAEL) or the
minimum anticipated biological effect level (MABEL), the increase as
“single ascending dose” or “multiple ascending dose” design (each patient is
titrated to the maximal tolerated dose, e.g., cytostatics); a widely accepted tech-
nique uses a modi fied fibonacci search scheme with initially rapid, b ut
smaller dose increments at higher dose le vels which might sho w to be more
toxic; e.g. in oncology , the maximally tolerated dose (MTD) is usually
reached with such a scheme in about nine escalations (e.g.: 1, 2, 3.3, 5, 7, 9, 12,
16 mg/m 2); other dose escalation schemes proposed are: the maximum toler-
ated systemic exposure (mtse), pharmacokinetically guided dose esca-
lations (PGDE), and the continuous reassessment method (CRM) ;
generally about three subjects are treated at each non-toxic dose le vel; to avoid
problems of e ventual cumulati ve ef fects, subjects are usually e xposed to not
more than one dose level; see also staggered dosing approach, phase i .

dose proportionality study Study which purpose is to demonstrate linearity

(or lack of it) ofbioavailability of a drug with increasing doses; see alsodose
escalation study.
74

dose response relationship In general, the effect of a drug can be considered

D to be proportional to its dose; the documentation of such a relationship is impor -
tant in early in vestigations of drug ef fects; ef fects with man y drugs such as
biological substances as e.g. interferons may go through an optimum, i.e.
decreasing with increasing doses or fear reduction with low doses of dronabinol
but anxiety with high doses; see also phase i.

dose titration study see dose escalation study.

dosing schedule see treatment schedule.

double blind see blinding.

double data entry see data entry.

double coded see code.

double-dummy technique When drugs cannot be formulated in a w ay that

galenical forms result which are identical in size, shape, colour , taste, smell
a.s.o. then placebo forms identical to each acti ve drug may be produced; dis-
advantage: the number of e.g. tablets is increased, reducing compliance of
patients; see also blinding.

double masked see blinding.

draize tests Single e xposure irritanc y test for topical drug preparations and
cosmetics, usually applied on rabbit skin or eyes; see also toxicity tests.

dropouts Subjects not finishing a clinical study for other reasons than such
which are clearly study related (e.g. subject re vokes consent, transfer to other
unit, intercurrent illness, unrelated death, emigration etc.), in contrast to with-
drawals (study related) or loss to follow-up (premature termination, no
reason known); in long-term trials the d-o. rate will be at least 4 % per annum
but the o verall d.-o. rate/loss to follo w-up rate should not e xceed 20 %; in a
3 month trial the number of dropouts should be less than 10 %; the higher the
dropout rate the greater the chance that some variable related both to dropping
out and to the outcome in question may bias study findings (groups are no
longer comparable); there is always the risk of a preferential d-o of w orsening
patients; see also bias, extender analysis , inevaluability rate , intent-
to-treat, loss to follow-up ,run-in period, withdrawals.

drug FDA: (1) substance recognized in the Official US Pharmacopoeia, Official

Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia, or Of ficial National F ormulary, or an y supple-
ment of them; (2) article intended for use in diagnosis, treatment or prevention
of disease, (3) article intended to affect the structure or any function of the body
of man or animals, (4) article intended for use as a component of an y article
75

specified in (1), (2), (3); the term “drug” is frequently preferred for describing
products with a single (acti ve) component, otherwise the term “product” is
used; in European re gulations, the term medicinal product or in vestigational
medicinal product is often used synon ymously to drug and co vers chemical
entities, pharmaceutical products bio-technology deri ved medicinal products
and vaccines; see also component, ethical drug, investigational medici-
nal product, new drug development plan, old substance .
drug abuse EC: “persistent or sporadic, excessive use of drugs inconsistent or
unrelated to the recommendation on the summary of product characteris-
tics or acceptable medicinal practice”; see also misuse .
drug accountability Written account of clinical supply use (i.e. receipt date
and quantity , date and quantity dispensed, identi fication of subject who
received it, date and quantity returned to sponsor or alternate disposition – in
this case a copy of authorization received from sponsor is necessary – who is
authorized to administer the drug, storage conditions etc.); in general detailed
calculations are avoided unless it is apparent that improprieties are in volved;
records may also be useful in case of product recall; see also
reconciliation.
drug channelling Selective or high prescription of a drug in a particular subset
of patients, e.g. with special prognostic characteristics or de grees of disease
severity; e xamples are: channelling of NSAIDs to patients with peptic ulcer
disease, preferential use of certain inhaled beta-2 agonists in patients with more
severe asthma a.s.o.; d.c. can cause serious bias (allocation bias) in case–
control studies; see also prescription-sequence analysis.
drug comparability study Study similar to bioequivalence study, e xcept
that the purpose is to demonstrate the lack of equi valence of tw o
formulations .
drug consumption The approximate number of drug packages per inhabitant
were in 2007 (1995): Austria 23 (19), Belgium 22 (23), Denmark 15 (11),
Finland 17 (18), France 52 (51), German y 18 (21), Greece 34 (22), Italy 29
(25), Ireland 23 (12), The Netherlands 14 (11), Portugal 25 (21), Spain 27 (25),
Sweden, 17 (15), United Kingdom 23 (14), see also costs, medical culture,
pharmaceutical expenditure .
drug delivery The process by which a formulated drug is administered to the
patient; traditional routes have been orally, intravenous perfusion or by inhala-
tion; new methods that are being developed are through the skin by application
of a transdermal patch, across the nasal membrane or b uccal mucosa or
by administration of a specially formulated aerosol spray ; see also
formulation.
76

drug delivery systems (DDS) Systems which are designed e.g. for impro v-
D ing poor absorption, non-compliance of patients, or inaccurate tar geting of
therapeutic agents, e.g. topical release systems such as transdermal patches
(having the advantage that they are not subject to first-pass metabolism) or
iontophoresis, parenteral drug deli very (depot injections, osmotic pumps,
pulse infusion pumps, bio-de gradable polymer carriers), inhalation therap y
(such as powder inhalers), carrier based delivery (e.g. lipid based systems,
liposomes, gene therapy, monoclonal antibodies), by size (micro- or nanopar-
ticles, also called microspheres or nanospheres) or photodynamic therap y to
treat cancer; see also first pass effect, formulation, medical device,
microparticles, nanoparticles, route of administration, transder-
mal patch.

drug dependence WHO: “a state, psychic and sometimes physical, resulting

from the interaction between a li ving organism and a drug, characterised by
behavioural and other responses that al ways include a compulsion to tak e the
drug in a continuous or periodic basis in order to experience its psychic effects,
and sometimes to avoid the discomfort of its absence”.

drug development see research & development .

drug error see medication error.

drug e valuation cost see new drug application; see also marketing
authorisation.

drug event combination (DEC) syn. drug-e vent association, drug-event pair,
“Adverse Drug Ev ent” (ADE) = a medication related to an adv erse event; an
Individual Case Safety Report may be a true, positi ve DEC (if the relation is
con fi rmed);see signal .

drug event monitoring see prescription event monitoring .

drug experience report Report on an adverse reaction; see also report.

druggable genome Gene (usually corresponding to a protein speci fic for a

disease) that can be modulated by a drug; about 3,000 genes are assumed to be
“druggable”; see also genome .

drug holiday Non-compliance; the patient interrupts a prescribed treatment for

a couple of days or longer without telling his physician; see compliance.

drug injury It is estimated that around 1 in 100 prescriptions leads to moder -

ate, 1 in 2,000 to severe side effects and 1 in 1,500,000 to fatalities; women are
77

more often affected than men and older patients more often than younger sub-
jects; see adverse reaction, pharmacovigilance.

drug interaction pr obability scale (DIPS) Scale to estimate the probability

that an adverse reaction was caused by an interaction (IA) of the drugs in ques-
tion; according to the total score of ten questions the relationship is doubtful
(<2), possible (2–4) or probable ( 5–8); (Horn JR, Hansten PD, Chan LN.
Proposal for a new tool to evaluate drug interaction cases. Ann Pharmacother .
2007;41:674–680); see also naranjo nomogram.
Determining the probability of interaction Yes No Score
Are there previous credible reports of this +1 −1
interaction (IA) in humans?
Isthe observed IA consistent with the +1 −1
known interactive properties of the
precipitant drug?
Is the observed IA consistent with the known +1 −1
interactive properties of the object drug?
Is the event consistent with the known +1 −1
or reasonable time course of the IA
(onset and/or offset)?
Did the IA remit upon dechallenge of the +1 −2
precipitant drug with no change in the object
drug?
Did the IA reappear when the precipitant drug +2 −1
was re-administered in the presence of
continuous use of the object drug?
Are there reasonable alternative causes for −1 +1
the event?
Was the object drug detected in the blood +1 0
or other fluids in concentrations consistent
with the proposed IA?
Was the IA confirmed by any objective +1 0
evidence consistent with the effects on the
object drug (other than drug concentrations
from question 8)?
Was the IA greater when the precipitant +1 −1
drug dose was increased or less when
it was decreased?
Total score: doubtful (<2), possible (2–4),
probable (5–8); highly probable >8

drug list Within the EC a “List of the names, pharmaceutical forms, strengths
of the medicinal products, routes of administration, mark eting authorization
78

holders in the member states” e xists; see community register, formulary,

D national drug list, positive list.
drug master file (DMF) Detailed information on a new substance submitted to
regulatory authorities for obtaining mark eting appro val; contains e.g. also
important kno w-how concerning the indi vidual steps of the manuf acturing
method such as reaction conditions, temperature, validation and evaluation data
for certain critical steps of the manuf acturing method, and on quality control
during manufacture. see also informed consent application.
drug monitoring (1) continuous measurements of drug concentrations in bio-
logical fluids or tissues for therapeutic or safety reasons; (2) re gistry enrolling
patients who are subject of a speci fic treatment (e.g. e very American treated
with thalidomide for leprosy is required to enrol in a go vernment/FDA-
monitored registry); (3) see post-marketing surveillance.

drug product Finished dosage form (e.g. tablet, capsule, solution, etc.) that
contains an active drug ingredient generally, but not necessarily, in association
with inactive ingredients; see also drug substance, formulation.

drug registration fees see marketing authorisation.

drug r epositioning syn. drug repro filing, therapeutic switching; process of

developing new indications for e xisting drugs; see also life cycle manage-
ment, research & development, serendipity.

drug safety monitoring (DSM) Active surveillance for drug safety (in contrast
to spontaneous report system); acti ve surv eillance systems usually ha ve
higher response rates than “passi ve” systems such as the yellow card pro-
gramme; see also pharmacovigilance, post-marketing, prescription-
event monitoring, surveillance.

drug sales Drug sales (in million US$) in the top seven European pharmaceuti-
cal markets were in 1995 as follows: Germany 16.4, France 14.3, Italy 7.5, UK
6.0, Spain 4.6, Netherlands 2.0, Belgium 1.9; US: 52.5, Canada: 3.4, Japan:
26.8; the five leading therapeutic cate gory in the se ven top European mark ets
are cardio vasculars (11.7), alimentary/metabolism (9.1), CNS (6.2), anti-
infectives (5.3), and respiratory agents (5.2); the pharmaceutical mark et value
(ex-factory prices) increased in Europe from 86,704 (year 2000) to 153,373
(2010), payment for pharmaceuticals by statutory health insurance systems
(ambulatory care only) from 76,909 to 120,650; ( http://www.efpia.eu/sites/
www.efpia.eu/f les/EFPIA%20Figures%202012%20Final.pdf).

drug safety unit (DSU) Department within a pharmaceutical compan y which

is responsible for collecting and processing of adverse reaction reports.
79

drug substance syn. active substance, active pharmaceutical ingredient ;

early-escape design see design .

EC birth date First date on which the first EC authority (national, EMA) has
authorised a new product for marketing within the EC; see also harmonised
birth date .
EC declaration of conf ormity Depending on the classi fication of a
medical device, the manufacturer must ensure application of a quality
assurance system; for class I de vices, with a lo w level of vulnerability,
conformity assessment procedures can be carried out under the sole
responsibility of the manufacturer; for class IIa devices, the intervention
of a noti fied body should be compulsory at the production stage; for
devices f alling within classes IIb and III which constitute a high risk
potential, inspection by a noti fied body is required with re gard to the
design and manufacture of the devices; whereas class III is set aside for
the most critical de vices for which e xplicit prior authorization with
regard to conformity is required for them to be placed on the mark et;
approved for the design, manuf acture and final inspection of the prod-
ucts concerned and is subject to audit as well as to Community surv eil-
lance; the declaration of conformity is the part of the procedure whereby
the manufacturer who ful fills the obligations mentioned abo ve ensures
and declares that the products concerned conform to the type described
in the ec type-examination certificate; the declaration must co ver
quality examination of each product or a representati ve sample of each
batch (product quality assurance), quality assurance techniques at the
manufacturing stage particularly as re gards sterilization (production
quality assurance) or quality assurance at every stage (full quality assur-
ance); among other things, the declaration contains a technical docu-
mentation (general description of the product, results of risk analysis,
description of ensuring sterile conditions – if applicable, results of

G. Nahler, Dictionary of Pharmaceutical Medicine, 80

DOI 10.1007/978-3-7091-1523-7_5, © Springer-Verlag Wien 2013
81

inspections, test reports, clinical data, label, instructions for use, etc.) in
order to allow assessment of conformity; see also EC type-examination ;
see also device, medical device.

EC law Differentiates between Directives and Regulations; d. need to be

implemented in the national law of each member state before having any force
of law (e.g. guidelines on good clinical practice are “directives”), whereas
r. have direct and immediate force of law in all member states. Notes for guid-
ance, guidelines, agreements, decisions, etc. ha ve no legally binding character
at all.

ECOG performance status see performance.

ecological fallacy Error in interpreting associations between ecological indi-

ces; it is committed by mistak enly assuming that because the majority of the
group has the characteristic, the characteristic is related to the health
state that is common in the group; see also bias, correlational study,
ecological studies.

ecological study Study comparing the extent of disease and exposure in differ-
ent populations; interpretation of associations between disease and e xposure
may result in ecological fallacy; see also epidemiology, large simple
design, record linkage .

economic analysis syn. pharmacoeconomic study; o verall term for analyses

such as cost/effectiveness a .,cost/utility a., and quality of life studies;
outcomes measured are e.g. direct medical costs such as payments for drugs,
treatments, laboratory and other medical services, direct non-medical costs
(related to illness) such as payments for transportation or housek eeper, indirect
costs such as lost of earnings due to morbidity and mortality , and intangible costs
such as those associated with pain and suf fering; e xamples for cost-ef fective
medical decisions are v accinations against viral infections or introduction of
inhaled steroids for asthma treatment which decreased overall treatment costs by
22 %; some health authorities require economic data to support product applica-
tion and reimbursement by the national formularies e.g. Australia (since January
1993) and Canada (“Ontario Guidelines”, since 1994), European re gulatory
authorities are e xpected to follo w (guidelines under de velopment e.g. in Italy ,
Spain, UK, US); in many countries (e.g., France), cost/effectiveness and quality
of life are decisive criteria for determining prices and reimbursement; economic
evaluations may be seen differently by authorities, (e.g. Australia favorises eval-
uations where indirect costs are e xcluded); in monetary terms, the contrib ution
of a subject living in a OECD country with a life e xpectancy of 25 years to the
gross national product was estimated by the world trade bank (1995) to amount
to 20,000$, contrary to 333$ of a subject of the third w orld with a life expectancy
82

of 15 years; see also health care costs, marginal costs, time trade-off,
E willingness to pay .
ecotoxicity Potential toxic ef fects of man-made chemicals upon the en viron-
ment; see also toxicity.
EC type-examination (of a medical device) Procedure “whereby a noti fied
body ascertains and certi fies that a representative sample of the production co v-
ered fulfils the relevant provisions of the Council Directive 93/42/EEC”; see also
EC declaration of conformity, EC type-examination certificate.
EC type-examination certi ficate (of a medical device) Document issued by
an authority summarizing the conclusions of an inspection, the conditions of
validity and the data needed for identi fication of the type of de vices approved.
The relevant parts of the documentation must be anne xed to the certi ficate. A
copy is kept by the notified body; see also EC type-examination .
EC veri fi catio Procedure whereby the manuf acturer or his authorized repre-
sentative established in the European Community ensures and declares that the
medical devices which ha ve been subject to conformity e xaminations and
tests (among other things, examination of every product or statistical control of
products by random sampling) conform to the type described in the EC type-
examination certificate.
effect Result of a drug or treatment on a specific pharmacological or biological
parameter; see also effectiveness, efficacy.
effectiveness Therapeutic utility of a drug or treatment when used by the pub-
lic at lar ge under uncontrolled, real w orld conditions, e.g. survi val in cancer;
see also cost-effectiveness, effect, efficacy.
effectiveness analysis see intent-to-treat analysis .
effect modi fi e Variable which increases or weak ens an effect, but – in contrast
to confounders – does not bias the overall estimate of exposure-outcome asso-
ciations (e.g. living/hygienic conditions, immune status for developing tuberculo-
sis in addition to e xposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis); see also adjuvant,
interaction of drugs, learning effect, placebo effect.
effect size Differences in outcome measurements between two or more groups,
e.g. in standard deviation units, which then are usually calculated by divid-
ing the differences in post-treatment scores between the groups by the standard
deviation of the control group scores; in “pre-post” e valuations the difference
between pre- and post-mean scores is di vided by the pretreatment standard
deviation; in broad terms, e.s. above placebo (or no treatment) of <0.5 are asso-
ciated with weak treatments, needing sample sizes of more than 50 to reach
83

statistical signi ficance; e.s. between 0.5 and 2.0 are associated with the usual
range of ef fective treatments and samples of about 20 subjects will generate
p-values of less than 0.05; e.s. >2.0 are associated with large treatment benefits
obvious to most of the observers; five to ten subjects will normally be sufficient
to generate signi ficant results; see also analysis, q -value, sample size esti-
mation, standardized response mean.
ef fi cac Indi vidual (in contrast to effectiveness) therapeutic or pharmaco-
logical result of a drug or treatment in a controlled clinical situation; assess-
ment of e. needs (EC): “speci fication of the ef fect parameters to be used,
description of how e. are measured and recorded, times and periods of e. record-
ing, description of special analyses and/or tests to be carried out (pharmacoki-
netic, clinical, laboratory, radiological, etc.)”; e. measurements should be done
by objective criteria, and subjective rating such as from “mark edly improved”
to “aggravated”, although still popular in Japan, are more and more abandoned;
see also effect, effectiveness, extrinsic factors.
EFPIA European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations;
represents the pharmaceutical industry operating in Europe ( http://www.e fi pia.eu/).
EFSA European Food Safety Authority ( http://www.efsa.europa.eu/ ).
ejection fraction V olume of blood ejected with each beat by the left
ventricle, in relation to end diastolic volume; normal: 50–80 %; see also car-
diac index.
elderly Subjects equal or older than 65 years (EC); there is e vidence of
a number of physiological changes in elderly subjects: lean muscle mass
decreases whereas f at increases by about 20 % compared with the second
decade of life; total body water decreases by 17 %, e xtracellular w ater
by 40 %, plasma v olume by 8 %, or gan blood flow decreases, as does the
cardiac index; renal plasma flow and glomerular filtration decrease
by about 50 % between ages 40 and 80 years; multimorbidity becomes
also more prominent: the mean number of diseases in patients o ver the
age of 65 years is estimated to be between 3 and 4 in industrialised coun-
tries; see also age groups , geriatric evaluations, health care costs,
prescription.
electronic case report form (eCRF) data may be recorded either from source
documents or the eCRF may be used as the primary source document; an
alternative may be the use of a digital pen that uses a pen with a tin
y camera that
tracks pen strokes relative to barely visible dots on a paper form and stores the
information electronically; in any case, data must always remain under the con-
trol of the in vestigator and systems as well as procedures must be in place to
guarantee that the data are not changed or manipulated; see also clinical
84

trial, data transfer, electronic CRF, electronic data, raw data,

E source data.
electronic data Electronic data can be recorded on a durable electronic medium
such as a hard disk, floppy disk, zip disk, CD-Rom, or tape b ut also on non-
durable media such as personal digital assistants; volatile data are lost when bat-
tery power expires; usually a print-out cannot fully substitute for electronic files
as metadata may be lost (e.g., author of the data); a certified copy may be accept-
able if it is created before the data lea ve the control of the in vestigator; see also
computerised systems, remote data entry, source data.
electronic data capture (e-DC) synonymously used with remote data entry ;
collecting data in (permanent) electronic form by systems that are modem-,
web-based or that involve optical character recognition, audio text, Interactive
Voice Response, graphical-clinical laboratory or other interfaces with or with-
out a human interface; any changes to such data must be subject of a complete
audit trail; see also computerised systems, remote data entry, source
data, web-based data entry.
electronic record FDA: “any combination of text, graphics, data, audio, picto-
rial, or other information representation in digital formthat is created, modi fi ed,
maintained, archived, retrieved, or distrib uted by a computer system” (21 CFR
11); see also computerised systems .
electronic signature OECD: “The entry in the form of magnetic impulses or
computer data compilation of an y symbol or series of symbols, e xecuted,
adapted or authorized by a person to be equi valent to the person’s handwrit-
ten signature” (i.e. physical signature); FD A “a computer data compilation
of any symbol or series of symbols e xecuted, adopted, or authorized by an
individual to be the le gally binding equivalent of the indi vidual’s signature”
(21 CFR 11); see also computerised systems, digital signature, open
system .
eligibility checklist Contains detailed questions which establish a patient’ s e.
for registration on a protocol; the checklist is created by the biometric depart-
ment; items included are e.g. demographic information, con firmation of dis-
ease (inclusion criteria), lab v alues, performance status, exclusion
criteria, date of signed informed consent, etc.
eligibility criteria syn. admission c., entry (entrance) c., selection c.; criteria
for de fining and selecting subjects suitable for a clinical trial; a “strict”
approach is used to reduce biological inter-patient variability, variance of out-
come variables and to select patients where maximal ef fects can be expected
(often a more pronounced disease state); a strict approach will therefore
increase homogeneity of a study population; a “broad” approach ho wever is
85

usually followed when only small treatment dif ferences between groups with
poor or good prognosis or a small percentage of patients less lik ely to respond
are expected and when speeding up ofrecruitment rates is essential; “loose”
e.c. are also often chosen in phase iv studies to see ho w drugs behave on the
market under conditions of daily practice; usually e.c. avry considerably accord-
ing to the indication and the phase of a clinical trial (tight during early
phases of development, loose in late phases, tight for indications which ha ve a
higher chance for spontaneous cure); protocols demanding rigid adherence may
yield un-interpretable results because of dropouts and noncompliance emanat-
ing from patients and in vestigator intolerance of the requirements; see also
exclusion c. ,inclusion c.
elimination see excretion, see also clearance, dialysis, half-life, kinetic .
emergency consent waiver see emergency use, informed consent .
emergency use Use of a test article on a humansubject in a life-threatening situ-
ation in which no standard acceptable treatment is available, and in which there is
not sufficient time to obtain informed consent from the patient or le gal repre-
sentative or institutional review board (IRB) appro val; FD A re gulations
require that e.u. is reported to the IRB within five working days; any subsequent
use of the test article at the institution is subject to IRB review.
emollient Substance used in topical formulations for increasing the hydration
of skin, therefore smoothing the surface; see also cosmetic, formulation.
empiric recurrence risk Risk for family members to develop the same disease/
trait as the index patient; risks based on observ ed data rather than theoretical
models; see also risk.
EN 29000 see ISO 9000.
enantiomer Stereoisomers which are similar to mirror images of each other
having identical physicochemical properties except that they rotate the plane of
polarised light in opposite directions by equal amounts; enantiomers which are
pharmacologically acti ve are called eutomers, those ha ving not the desired
effect (“inactive”) distomers; enantiomers often differ in their biologic activity
including metabolisation rate, ef ficacy and safety ( e.g., the racemate o floxacin
induces about twice as many haematologic adverse reactions as its enantiomer
levofloxacin whereas levofloxacin causes more musculoskeletal disorders); see
also amino acids, chirality, racemate, stereoisomer.
endocannabinoides Group of neuromodulators (arachidonate-based lipids,
e.g. anandamide) that bind to cannabinoid receptors (CB1, CB2 receptors being
the most prominent); these receptors are G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs
or GPRs) and mediate also the psychoactive effects of cannabis; E are involved
86

in a v ariety of physiological processes, including appetite, immune- and

E inflammatory processes, pain, motor neuron activity, etc. and resemble the can-
nabinoids (constituents of cannabis) in man y biological properties. The endo-
cannabinoid system is vital for the maintenance of homeostasis and can be
found in all higher organisms and organs.
endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) see alimentary risks, EFSA, pesticides.
endorphins E are endogenous opioid polypeptide compounds. The y are pro-
duced by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus in vertebrates during strenu-
ous exercise, excitement, and or gasm; and the y resemble the opiates in their
abilities to produce analgesia and a sense of well-being. E w ork as “natural
fever relievers”, whose effects may be enhanced by other medications.
endotoxin test see limulus amebocyte lysate test.
endpoint syn. outcome variable, outcome measurement; see primary end-
points, scale, score, surrogate endpoints.
enrolment log List to “document chronological enrolment of subjects by trial
number” (ICH E6, GCP); see also subject identification code list, sub-
ject screening log.
enteral administration Opposite: parenteral a.; see administration, delivery.
enteric coated tablet (ECT) see enteric coating ,formulation.
enteric coating Coating for oral formulations in order to prevent disintegra-
tion or inactivation of a drug in the acidic conditions of the stomach.
enterohepatic circulation Drugs which are excreted via bile can be reabsorbed
in the jejunum, which increases the bioavailability; see also first pass
effect.
entry criteria see eligibility criteria.
environmental risk assessment – consists of tw o phases. The first phase
(Phase I) assesses the exposure of the environment to the active substance and/
or its metabolites. In a second phase (Phase II), information about the physical/
chemical, pharmacological and/or toxicological properties are obtained and
assessed in relation to the e xtent of e xposure of the en vironment. Phase II is
divided in tw o parts: T ier A be gins with an e valuation of the possible fate and
effects of the active substance and/or its metabolites (What might go wrong? –
What is it’s probability? – What are the consequences?). If within T ier A, no
risk is detected, there is no need to proceed to Tier B. If a risk is detected, then
the fate and effects of the active substance and/or its metabolites in the relevant
compartment should be adequately in vestigated in T ier B. (EMEA 2005,
87

CPMP/SWP/4447/00); an example for potential environmental risks associated

with medicinal products comes from ß-agonists such as clenb uterol (used for
treatment of bronchiectasis/ to increase pulmonary v entilation): in amounts
5–10 fold the normal dosage it increases the muscle mass substantially and has
therefore been used in animals (now banned in the EC, USA, China). As clen-
buterol is stable and not destro yed by general heating it can cause toxicity
symptoms; see also agency for toxic substances & disease registry
(ATSDR), alimentary risks, lowed predicted environmental
concentration.
enzyme A protein catalyst that f acilitates specific chemical or metabolic reac-
tions necessary for cell growth and reproduction.
epidemic Occurrence of a disease on a higher rate than expected, based on past
experience; see also epidemiology.
epidemiology def.: study of the distribution of diseases or adverse events in
human populations, and of the f actors which in fluence this distrib ution; see
also case-control study, cohort study, correlational study, cross-
sectional study, design, ecological study, evaluation technique,
extra incidence rate of non-vaccinated groups, immortal time bias,
large simple trial design, matched pair, neighborhood control sub-
jects, odds ratio, post-approval research, registry, strengthening the
reporting of observational studies in epidemiology, yellow card
scheme.
EQUATOR Network International initiative that aims to enhance the reliability
and v alue of the published health research literature ( http://www. equator-
network.og); see publication guidelines.
equipoise Situation where a trialist is uncertain about which treatment in a
parallel design would be therapeutically superior; see blinding.
error Most frequent origin of unreliable data; if e.g. errors occur with a fre-
quency of 2 % at each of the following levels: misinterpretation, entry on case
record form , data entry in computers, processing, and presentation in
reports, only 88.56 % of them would be reliable; other types of e.: sampling e.
(improper sample processing, e.g. phlebotomy , non-fasting condition, sample
storage/transport); systematic e. (i.e. non-random unidirectional e., e.g. due to
sample deterioration, changes of the instrument response or measuring condi-
tions with time); random e. (v ariations affecting precision of methods at ran-
dom such as errors of measurement); clerical e. (k ey-punch e.) (conc. data
entry or transfer) systematic technologist/observ er e. (dif ferent technicians
never perform a manual procedure in e xactly the same w ay); laboratory bias
(e. which arise from basic dif ferences between laboratories that in volve
88

reagents, instrumentation, en vironment and methods); in clinical trials

E erroneous data arise most often from protocol-violations (wrong inclusion,
unauthorised co-therapy, dosing errors, broken blindness, multiple admission,
treatment discontinuation, wrong allocation, poor adherers a.s.o.), rarely also
from fraudulent practices; see also alpha e., beta e. , bug, clerical error,
clinical heterogeneity, data , ecological fallacy, fraud, gamma e.,
medication e., neyman fallacy, outliers , programmatic error, raw-
data, sampling error.
error of measurement (E of M) see error.
escape medication see rescue medication .
essential documents Documents absolutely necessary according to GCP for
the correct and complete documentation of a clinical trial and kept in the Trial
Master File.
essential drug list (EDL) (syn. essential medicines) List of pharmaceutical
products deemed absolutely necessary for treatment of patients; issued by
national go vernments (non-listed products may be banned!), b ut also by the
WHO; the EDL of the WHO (edition 2011) lists about 360 (for adults) and 270
(children) pharmaceutical products resp.; http://www.who.int/medicines/
publications/essentialmedicines/en/ .
essential medicines see essential drug list.
essential r equirements (ERs) Requirements to be ful filled by a medical
device before the CE-marking can be affixed.
essentially similar products (EC): “A proprietary medicinal product will
be regarded as essentially similar to another product if it has the same qualitati
ve
and quantitative composition in terms of active principles (substances), and the
pharmaceutical form is the same and, when necessary , bioequivalence with
the first product has been demonstrated by appropriate bioavailability studies
carried out”; this applies also to different oral forms for immediate release, e.g.
tablets and capsules (however there is no support for using indications, doses or
dosing schedules as additional criterion); see also pharmaceutical equiva-
lent, therapeutic equivalent; either the original manuf acturer has to gi ve
permission or the second applicant must be able to show that its “similar” prod-
uct makes a significant contribution to patient care; this other product must have
received marketing authorisation in the EU more than 6 or 10 years ago in the
concerned member states in the applied pharmaceutical forms, strengths and
route of administration; see also abriged application, market exclusivity .
establishment licence application (ELA) US term for application for market-
ing authorisation of well-characterised biotechnology products; see also new
drug application.
89

establishment inspection r eport (EIR) Result after a FD A-inspection ;

reports are classi fied as NAI (no action indicated) = the investigator is in com-
pliance, VAI-1 (voluntary action indicated) = objectionable condition or prac-
tice was corrected during the inspection and the conditions had minimal ef fect
on the inte grity (validity of data or rights of research subjects) of the study ,
VAI-2 = objectionable condition or practice has not been corrected during the
inspection and the conditions had minimal ef fect on the integrity of the study;
VAI-2C only de ficiency found w as related to an inadequate consent form;
VAI-3 = response to a letter of adverse findings requested or a follow-up inspec-
tion initiated; VAI-3R response to a letter of adverse findings has been received
and accepted; VAI-3F a follow-up “for cause” inspection initiated; OAI = official
action indicated; OAIC = official action taken and/or case closed; WASH = wash-
out, full inspection not conducted; CANC = cancellation, inspection not con-
ducted; see also audit, inspection.
ethical drug signified drugs advertised only to doctors; the expression refers to
the original 1847 code of ethics of the AMA, which deemed adv ertising directly
to the public to be unethical; o ver time, the term came to mean le gal drugs
(FDA Glossary); see prescription drug.

ethics committee (EC) Committee of independent (medical) professionals and

non-medical members to which a trial plan is submitted to ensure the rights,
safety and inte grity of the participants are protected thereby pro viding public
reassurance; according to the EC (III) the e.c. “should be constituted and oper-
ated so that the suitability of theinvestigators, facilities, protocols ,eligibil-
ity of trial subject groups, and adequacy of confidentiality safeguards may be
objectively and impartially assessed independently of the investigator, sponsor
and relevant authorities”. “The composition should be, and a description of its
working procedures including response times must be, publicly a vailable. The
legal status, constitution, and regulatory requirements may differ among coun-
tries”; see also annual progress report, institutional review board,
steering committee.

ethnic differences human populations can show differences with regard to dis-
ease susceptibility, rate of metabolism (extensive/slow/poor metabolism ),pre-
sentation and metabolism of drugs; e.g. sickle cell anemia is much more
frequent in people of african origin than kaukasians, chinese people are more
susceptible to haloperidol than white patients; a verage interethnic dif ferences
in pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic results ho wever are lo w; see also
cytochrom p450, genome, metabolism, pharmacogenetics.

etiologic fraction (EF) syn. population attributable risk; proportion of all cases
with a speci fic outcome and attrib utable to e xposure of a tar get population;
EF = (Rt – Re)/Rt whereby Rt = risk of outcome in the tar get population,
Re = risk in an unexposed population.
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EU birth date (EBD): “date of first marketing authorisation granted for the medici-
E nal product in an y EU member state to the Mark eting Authorisation Holder
(MAH)”; the MAH may use the IBD to determine the dates of the datalock points
for Periodic Safety Update Reports (PSUR) submission schedule, pro vided
that the first datalock point falls within 6 months following the EBD; (EUDRALEX
Vol 9A); see also harmonised birth date, international birth date.
EudraCT EMA’s reporting program for clinical trials; all clinical trials con-
ducted in the EC must be re gistered in the EudaCT data base ( http://eudract.
emea.europa.eu), where each CT receives a unique number (extensions used for
resubmission: A for first resubmission, B for the second a.s.o); the number of
trials registered varies but has declined from roughly 9,300 in 2008 to 5,900 in
2010, with more than 60 % sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry; up to
2011, 8 versions have been released between 2004 and 2011 (not counting mul-
tiple amendments of each v ersion); part of the database is open to the general
public (EudraPharm); the website pro vides also access to directives, guidelines
and user documentation; see also clinical trial register .
EudraPharm Stands for: European Union Drug Re gulating Authorities
Pharmaceutical Database; data base of all medicinal products with a marketing
authorisation in the European Community; the data base includes the Summary
of Product Characteristics; part of the database is open to the general public
(EudraPharm); http://eudrapharm.eu/eudrapharm/; see also clinical trial
register.
EudraVigilance EMA’s reporting program for adv erse reactions (EVWEB),
existing since December 2001 and mandatory since November 2005; the data set
is sent to the EudraV igilance electronically, at present only reports that ha ve
been confirmed by a healthcare professional; the EudraV igilance program con-
sists of two modules, (i) the EVPM –post mark eting/post authorisation module
related to ICSRs that need to be reported according to Re gulation (EC) No.
726/2004, Directive 2004/27/EC and taking into account Volume 9A and (ii) the
EVCT-clinical trial module, for all SUSARs that need to be reported (by
the compan y) in accordance with Directi ve 2001/20/EC and V olume 10; the
EudraVigilance Medicinal Product Dictionary ( EVMPD) is basically an exten-
sion and e xists since 2005; it w as replaced by Extended Medicinal Product
Dictionary ( XEVMPD) that is mandatory from 02 July 2012; MAH are also
requested to submit directly side ef fects of their products and must use the
eXtended EudraVigilance Medicinal Product Report Message ( XEVPRM ) as
format; registration with EudraVigilance is a prerequisite for both systems; the
person who should re gister is the Qualified Person for Pharmaco vigilance
(Article 103 of Dir 2001/83/EC, Regulation (EEC) No 2309/93); submission of
information by MAH is either electronically via a web portal (EVWEB,
Webtrader) or manually; programs similar to the EudraV igilance are the “Canada
Vigilance Program” and “ medwatch” (USA); the EurdaV igilance database
91

allows (restricted) access to the public; see also EU risk management plan,
individual case safety report, pharmacovigilance .
EudraVigilance data base EMA’s data base of adverse reactions ( http://www.
adrreports.eu/); it is e xpected that mark eting authorisation holders, national
competent authorities and EMA is continuously monitoring the data to deter -
mine whether there are ne w risks or whether risks ha ve changed and whether
this has an impact on the current benefit-risk balance of the respecti ve
medicinal product; health care professionals and the public ha ve restricted
access in 2010 the data base contained o ver 2,2 mio spontaneous reports and
some 400,000 SUSARs; see also eudravigilance, EU risk management
plan, pharmacovigilance .
EudraVigilance Medicinal Pr oduct Dictionary (EVMPD) The EVMPD is
basically a compilation of information to a specific medicinal product authorised
in the EC and exists since 2005; it was replaced by Extended Medicinal Product
Dictionary (XEVMPD) that is mandatory from 02 July 2012 (Re g 726/2004)
and creates – in contrast to the voluntary EVMPD – a list of all medicinal prod-
ucts authorised/registered within the European Community as well as on prod-
ucts under development for which a EVCODE must be obtained (the EV Code
is the unique reference for a product and the pertinent information in the EMA
database); each strength counts as one product; XEVMPD requests much more
additional information on medicinal products than just on safety , basically the
information given also in the SPC (e.g., ATC-code, MAH, marketing authorisa-
tion number, marketing authorisation procedure, therapeutic indications granted
as MedDRA codes, e xcipients, etc.) as well as the printed product information
(SPC, PIL, labelling) as a separate document; see also eudravigilance .
EU Risk Management Plan (EU-RMP); see risk management plan.
European Medicines Agency (EMA), former: EMEA – European Medicines
Evaluation Agency; Registration authority within the EC and coordinating centre
for the centralised procedure, sited in London; roughly 85 % of the annual
budget (estimation of 2011, increased from 76 % in 2010) is financed by the
pharmaceutical industry by re venues from services rendered such as fees for
application for marketing authorization, inspection, pharmacovigilance activi-
ties (e.g., up to € 80,300 for the assessment of each PSUR, € 80,300 for a market-
ing authorization application in the centralized procedure, € 80,300 for the
assessment of each final study report for Post-Authorisation Safety Studies ,
€ 80,300 for a type II variation procedure, etc.), scientific advice and the like; all
fees are adjusted annually to the in flation rate; (2010: total e xpenditures € 203
mio, revenues from services 154 mio); see also expert détaché .
European database of suspected adv erse reaction reports EMA operates a
public and searchable “European database of suspected adv erse reaction
reports” ( http://www.adrreports.eu/ ).
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European Medicines Ev aluation Agency (EMEA) renamed to European

E Medicines Agency (EMA); see european medicines agency .
European Pharmacopoeia (Eur Ph) Pharmacopoeia published by the Council
of Europe; see international non-proprietary name, pharmacopoeia .
European Public Assessment Report (EPAR) Report which summarizes the
regulatory decisions made by the European Commission (the legal authority for
EMA authorisations) concerning marketing authorisation of a new drug.
European Union Refer ence date syn: Union Reference Date; “ date of first
marketing authorization in the EU of a medicinal product containing that active
substance or that combination of acti ve substances”; see also harmonised
birth date, international birth date.
eutomer see chirality, enantiomer.
evaluation report see audit.
EVCODE see eudravigilance .
event timing see incidence.
evidence based medicine (EBM) Conscientious, explicit and judicious use of
current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients
(Brit Med J 1996:312:71–72); evidence-based medicine relies on wellconducted
studies as well as on empirical data; see disease management, framingham
study, outcomes research.
evidence based prescribing An approach to practising medicine whereby care
to patients is based on what research says is most ef
fective, rather than tradition,
instinct or other factors.
excess incidence def.: portion of subjects who, o ver a speci fic time, develop a
specific attribute (AR) when exposed to a treatment v ersus the portion of sub-
jects who de velop the same speci fic attrib ute when e xposed to placebo or
another comparator (e.g., in controlled clinical trials); the e.i. is most often used
to distinguish between ef fects of a medicinal product and the “normal” inci-
dence; differences in incidence rates may arise from bias due to the conditions
of observations (blinded or open label) or confounders such as dose, gender or
age; see also age-specific rate , attack rate , cumulative incidence ,
incidence rate ,prevalence rate .

excipient Substances used in powder formulations in order to improve physical

properties of the acti ve ingredient; e xcipients are diluents (pro viding plug-
forming properties, e.g. lactose, mannitol, sucrose, glucose, icing sugar), lubri-
cants (reducing powder/metal adhesion, e.g. stearats, dimethicone, hydrogenated
93

vegetable oils, liquid paraf fin, polyethylene glycol, sodium stearyl fumarate),
glidants (improving powder flow e.g. for capsule-filling machines, e.g. colloidal
silicon dioxide, Ca silicate), wetting agents (impro ving w ater penetration, e.g.
sodium lauryl sulf ate, lecithin, polysorbate, poly oxyethylene stearate, sorbitan
mono-oleate, polyethylene glycol 6000), disintegrants (producing disruption of
powder mass, e.g. sodium starch glycolate, alginic acid, croscarmellose,
crospovidone, carmellose calcium, sodium carboxyaminopectin) and stabiliz-
ers (improving product stability , e.g. ascorbic acid, ascorbyl palmitate, malic
acid, prop yl gallate, sodium metabisulphite); see adjuvant, antioxidants,
disintegrants, dosage form, eudravigilance medicinal product
dictionary, formulation, preservatives; see also www.ipec-europe.org .
exclusion criteria Criteria whereby an individual patient should not be eligible
for a speci fic treatment in a clinical trial; e.c. should be used mainly to
exclude patients likely to be harmed by one of the treatments or with conditions
that may in validate the results; see also eligibility checklist, inclusion
criteria.
excretion Elimination of a drug, either as metabolites or in unchanged form;
the kidneys are the most important route for water soluble substances (polar or
ionized); some drugs are excreted into bile and excreted via faeces, some how-
ever can be reabsorbed into the blood (enterohepatic circulation );volatile
substances (anaesthetics, toxic gases) can be e xcreted through the lungs; addi-
tional routes of excretion include sweat, saliva, tears, nasal secretions and milk;
see also adme, clearance, dialysis, first-pass effect, glomerular
filtration rate, half-life, kinetic.
exit interview syn. closing meeting, debriefing meeting , exit debrie fi ng;
meeting of an auditor or inspector with the auditees at the end of an audit/
inspection where findings and consequences are discussed before a more for -
mal presentation in the report; see also FDA 483 form, opening meeting .
expanded-access program Many health authorities regulate formally the con-
ditions under which a larger population of patients could gain expanded access
to promising, new investigational drugs, early in the development process, e.g.
for treatment of cancer or AIDS; programs as a vailable in the US are, e.g.
treatment ind for serious or life-threatening diseases ,compassionate use,
emergency/investigator IND, open-label protocol (under an IND, to collect
safety data); see also orphan drugs; accelerated registration procedures may
also exist.
expected (listed) adverse event see unexpected adverse event.
expedited drug de velopment Alternati ve to standard drug de velopment in
order to make promising therapies available sooner; especially for patients who
94

can neither tak e standard therap y nor participate in controlled clinical trials;
E e.d.d. is intended to speed up clinical de velopment, evaluation and mark eting
approval of new therapies for patients with life-threatening or se verely debili-
tating illnesses, especially where no satisf actory alternative exists; see also
community based trials, parallel track, treatment IND.
expedited reporting EU: All ARs received from Healthcare Professionals, either
spontaneously or through post-authorisation studies, should be reported, re gard-
less of whether or not the medicinal product (MP) was used in accordance with the
authorised Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC) and regardless whether they
have occurred in the European Union or in a third country by the MAH within
15 days; ICH E2A: “all adv erse drug reactions (ADRs) that are both serious and
unexpected are subject to expedited reporting … (FDA: “alert report”; the sponsor
should expedite the reporting to all concerned in vestigator(s)/institution(s), to the
IRB(s)/IEC(s), where required, and to the regulatory authority(ies) of all adverse
drug reactions (ADRs) that are both serious and unexpected …; e.r. of reactions
which are serious but expected will ordinarily be inappropriate …; e.r. is also inap-
propriate for serious e vents from clinical in vestigations that are considered not
related to study product, whether the e vent is e xpected or not”; “when a serious
adverse event is judged reportable on an e xpedited basis, it is recommended that
the blind be broken only for that specific patient by the sponsor even if the investi-
gator has not brok en the blind”; see also adverse drug reaction, blinding,
individual case safety report.

expedited review FDA allows e.r. for certain kinds of research in volving no
more than minimal risk (e.g. recording data from adults by non-invasive proce-
dures, blood sampling, study of e xisting data etc.), and for minor changes in
research already approved by an institutional review board (IRB); the e.r.
may be carried out by the IRB chairperson or by one or more e xperienced
reviewers designated by the chairperson among members of the IRB; all mem-
bers have to be kept informed about proposals approved under e.r.

experimental drug Drug which is under clinical development and therefore

not re gistered by an y health authority; see also investigational drug ,
research and development.

experimental trial see controlled clinical trial.

expert détaché e xpert who f acilitates cooperation between EMA and the
national authority.

expert report Each EC decentralised/multistate or high-tech application

for marketing authorization shall contain three e.r ., critically evaluating and pro-
viding an o verview on the chemical/biological/pharmaceutical part, the toxico-
logical/pharmacological and clinical part of the file; it consists of a critical
95

evaluation of the quality of the product and the in vestigations carried out and
enables the reader to obtain a good understanding of, inter alia, the properties,
safety, efficacy, advantages and disadvantages of the product; EC (!): “all impor -
tant data shall be summarized in an appendix to the e.r., whenever possible includ-
ing report formats in tab ular or in graphic form” (with cross references, signed,
normally less than 25 pages); these e.r. of the past have been replaced by the mod-
ule 2 of the Common Technical Document that is now standard.
expert system syn. kno wledge-based system; decision support program that
helps less experienced people to make decisions at or near the level of experts;
the basis of such decision-making processes is expertise or knowledge stored in
data structures called knowledge bases containing “if–then” rules; these rules
are then interpreted by another part of the system called an inference engine
that contains predefined logic.
expiration date syn. expiry date; FDA: “date placed on the immediate con-
tainer label of a drug product that designates the date through which the prod-
uct is expected to remain within speci fications; if the e.d. includes only month
and year, it is expected that the product will meet specifications through the last
day of the month”; for investigational products the original e.d. may be xtended,
e
even during a clinical trial, strictly follo wing the respecti ve standard
operating procedures; see also retest date, stability tests, sterility.
expiration dating period FDA: “interval that a drug product is e xpected to
remain within the approved specifications after manufacture”.
expiry date (EXP) syn. expiration date; NLN: “date given by the manufac-
turer in uncoded form, based on the stability of the pharmaceutical product,
beyond which it shall not be used”; see also retest date, stability .
explanatory trial Is the usual attempt to e xamine the magnitude of treatment
effects and to e xplain observations (either treatment may be superior; A > B,
A = B,A < B);see also pilot study, pragmatic/decision-making trial.
exposure data For periodic safety update reports it is necessary to include
data on the number of patients exposed post-marketing; usually these numbers
are calculated by the number of packages sold (or other units such as tablets)
divided by the a verage length of treatment time; patient e xposure data should
preferably be pro vided as patient-time of e xposure (patient-days, -months
-years); for the calculation it is important to consider the way a medicine is used
(e.g. for chronic treatments the calculation of patient years may be more appro-
priate); see also patient exposure.
expression In genetics, manifestation of a characteristic that is speci fied by a
gene; with hereditary diseases, for example, a person can carry the gene for the
disease but not actually have the disease in which case the gene is present b ut
96

not expressed; in molecular biology and industrial biotechnology , the term is

E often used to mean the production of a protein by a gene that has been inserted
into a new host organism.
Extended EudraVigilance Medicinal Pr oduct Dictionary (XEVMPD) see
eudravigilance medicinal product dictionary .
eXtended EudraVigilance Medicinal Product Report Message (XEVPRM)
see eudravigilance .
EVCODE see eudravigilance .
extended r elease f orm see prolonged release, see also controlled
release form.
extender analysis A. of data of drop -outs according to the intent-to-treat
principle; e.a. is done with data of the last time of observ ation (last-value-
carried-forward); see also analysis.
extension application extensions of marketing authorization may be related to
changes to the active substance (e.g., different salt, replacement by a dif ferent
isomer, different mixture of isomers) where characteristics are not significantly
different, or changes to the strength (such as a ne w one), form or route of
administration; other e xtensions may be changes to the e xtraction solvent or
changes to strength, pharmaceutical form and route of administration, or a
change of bioavailability; see life-cycle management , marketing autho-
rization, type ii variation.
extension protocol see continuation study.
external audit Independent audit by a third party; see audit.
extra incidence rate in non-v accinated gr oups (EIRnv) P arameter used in
vaccination studies in order to assess efficacy of a vaccine; usually compared
with the incidence rate in v accinated groups; see also epidemiology, extra
incidence rate in vaccinated groups, incidence rate.
extra incidence rate in vaccinated groups (EIRv) Increased rate of a disease
in a vaccinated population; see alsoextra incidence rate in non-vaccinated
groups, incidence rate.
extrinsic factors In the ICH E5 guideline on “Ethnic F actors in the Acceptance of
Foreign Data”, f actors that may result in dif ferent responses to a drug in dif ferent
populations are categorised as intrinsic ethnic f actors (e.g., e.g., age, gender, racial,
weight, height, disease, genetic polymorphism, and or gan dysfunction) or extrinsic
ethnic factors (e.g., drug-drug interactions, diet, smoking, and alcohol use).
F

factorial design D. where it is possible to answer two (or more) questions for
the “price” of one (two interventions are of interest and the application of one
does not interfere with the application of the other; i.e. dif ferent endpoints
are appropriate for the e valuation, intervention(s) are likely to be inef fective
a.s.o.); comparisons can be either between subjects or within subjects;
example: study-design with four parallel groups, each receiving one specific
treatment (A, B, A + B, placebo); this d. gives four estimates for four groups,
i.e. two estimates for each drug ef fect; a standard design w ould consist of
three groups (A, B, placebo) giving an estimate of the effect of A, as well as
of B; suitable for “economising” patient numbers and for studying treatment
interactions; as this design implicates multiple comparisons it is necessary to
perform corrections (Bonferroni) for the statistical testing.
falsi fi edmedicinal product Adverse reactions associated with a suspected
falsified m.p. are coded in addition with the MedDRA Lo wer Level Term
code 10071287 (“suspected product counterfeit”); for con firmed f alsified
m.p. the code 10063180 (“pharmaceutical product counterfeit”) is added to
the adv erse reaction; see also counterfeit medicine, quality defect.
Dir 2011/62/EU (“Falsif ed Medicines Directive”).
fast track procedure see accelerated access programme.
FDA 356h f orm Form used in the USA for application to mark et a ne w
drug for human use or an antibiotic drug for human use; see also food and
drug administration, new drug application.
FDA 482 form Form used in the USA notice of inspection; see inspection.
FDA 483 form Form used in the USA for describing inspectional observa-
tions at the close of an inspection; see debriefing meeting, exit inter-
view, inspection.

G. Nahler, Dictionary of Pharmaceutical Medicine, 97

DOI 10.1007/978-3-7091-1523-7_6, © Springer-Verlag Wien 2013
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FDA 484 form Form used in the USA for con firming receipt of samples; see
F inspection.
FDA 1571 form Form used in the USA for investigational new drug application
(cover sheet form); see also investigational new drug.
FDA 1572 form Form used in the USA for the statement ofinvestigator who
participates in a clinical trial with an investigational drug.
FDA 1639 form Form used in the USA for adverse reaction reporting of drugs
and biologics; almost identical to the CIOMS-form; see also CIOMS form.
FDA 3455 form Form used in the USA for disclosure of financial interests.
Fibonacci search scheme dose escalation strategy in phase I clinical trials in
oncology; the genuine F scheme is 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 a.s.o. whereby the
next dose is equal to the sum of the tw o doses before; v arious modi fications
exist that are also called “Fibonacci scheme” (e.g., starting dose D1, le vel two
D1 + 100 %, level three D1 + 100 + 67%, level four D1 + 100 + 67 + 50%, each
further level with additional +30 % of dose D1) with initially rapid, but smaller
dose increments at higher dose le vels which might sho w to be more toxic;
see also continuous reassessment method (CRM), dose escalation,
maximum tolerated systemic exposure (MTSE), pharmacokinetically
guided dose escalations (PGDE ).
fi eldstudy see marketing study.
fifteen days report see adverse reaction, expedited reporting.
FIGO-staging Staging classification system used to describe size and extent of
gynaecological cancers, using the FIGO nomenclature (International Federation
of Gynecology and Obstetrics); 0 – carcinoma in situ; I and II – growth limited
to the organ; III and IV – tumour in vades neighbour organs and lymph nodes;
see also classification of recurrence, disease free interval, tumor-
staging.
fi lmcoating Manufacturing process where tablets (the nucleus) are covered by
a thin (or ganic) film to impro ve some properties e.g., sw allowing
(non-functional coating) or the release pro file of the acti ve ingredient (func-
tional coating e.g., enteric coating to resist inactivation by gastric juice); tradi-
tional non-functional coatings consist of cellulosic derivatives, polymetacrylate
or modified pea starch; see also formulation.
fi nalreport Complete and comprehensive description of the trial after its com-
pletion; includes a description of e xperimental and statistical methods and
materials, presentation and evaluation of results, statistical analyses, and a criti-
cal statistical and clinical appraisal (inte grated statistical and medical report
99

of a study); EC guidelines request that f.r.s must be retained by the sponsor ,or
subsequent owner, for at least 5 years beyond the lifetime of his product; FDA
recommends a final report to be available within 3 months.

fi ndin (during an audit or inspection) see inspectional observations,

observation.

fi n see sanction .

fi nished product EC (IV): “ medicinal product which has under gone all
stages of production, including packaging in itsfinal container”; see also batch
documentation, bulk product, intermediate product, packaging, pro-
duction ,starting material.

fi rst-in-manstudy First administration of a test article to human subjects; see

phase i .

fi rst-orderkinetics see kinetic .

fi rst-passeffect syn. pre-systemic hepatic elimination; metabolism of a drug

before it can reach the systemic circulation, most often due to metabolism in the
liver (oral drug), but possibly also on other sites as e.g. the lung, or the gastro-
intestinal wall; f.-p. ef fects can be the reason for a non-linear kinetic with an
increasing bioavailability with increasing doses of a drug (e.g. propranolol,
verapamil, lidocaine); see also absorption, drug delivery, route of
administration .

fi xed-paymentsystem see price regulatory scheme, reference pricing.

fl exibledesign see adaptive design .

fl ooreffect opp. ceiling effect; effects, especially scores measured, cannot

go be yond a prede fined lowest level; therefore observ ations will accumulate
and form a rather inhomogeneous group; results will be hea vily skewed (see
skewness) .

fl w chart syn. time-event schedule; diagram summarizing the various actions

(lab tests, physical e xaminations a.s.o.) to be tak en during different visits of a
clinical trial.

follow-up protocol see continuation study.

Fontaine’s stages Describe peripheral arterial occlusi ve disease (P AOD);

I = asymptomatic, circulatory reserve is adequate, merely slight changes in the
vessel wall; II=circulatory reserve is compromised, IIa walking distance> 200 m
(5 km/h), IIb w alking distance < 200 m; III = rest pain due to inadequate com-
pensation; IV = necroses, typically in distal re gions as toe and foot, with or
100

without rest pain; Doppler ultrasound pressures over malleolar arteries are less
F than 50 mm Hg.
food FDA: article used for food or drink for man or animals, incl. che wing gum,
and article used as component of an y such article; see also alimentary risks,
functional food.
food supplement syn. dietary supplement; food containing concentrated
sources of nutrients such as vitamins, minerals or herbal products and pre-
sented for supplementing the intak e of those nutrients from the normal diet
(“fortified food”); ho wever, some products contain chemicals as potent as an y
drug; in addition, the purity of supplement ingredients may not al ways be guar -
anteed, and consumers may harm themselv es if the y belie ve “more is bet-
ter” and e xceed manuf acturer-recommended doses; this can cause side ef fects
(Dir 2006/46/EC); see also alimentary risks, drug, functional food, health
claims, nutrients, orthomolecular medicine, phytomedicines, recom-
mend dietary allowance, traditional herbal medicinal product.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) U.S. American re gulatory authority
responsible for investigational new drugs and for the marketing authorisa-
tion of them; see also FDA, new drug application.
forced licensing see compulsory licensing.
forest plot graphical presentation of individual results of each study included in
a meta-analysis and the combined result; results of individual studies are shown
as squares centered on the point estimate of each study whereby a horizontal
line trough the point estimate shows the confidence interval (most often 95 %);
see also funnel plot.
formulary (national) f.; syn drug list, positive list; list of drugs reimbursable under a
health insurance plan; see drug list, national drug list, positive list.
formulation Form under which a drug is presented as medicinal product; the f.
is influenced by a number of f actors such as the route of administration, chemical
and biopharmaceutical properties of the substance (API); liquid f.s (especially
aqueous solutions) can be administered by all routes but are bulky, more sensible to
contamination and de gradation and also more dif ficult to transport; if the drug is
poorly soluble, suspensions (solid phase, i.e. particles distributed in liquid phase) or
emulsions (two liquid phases, e.g. oil and water) may be produced; solid f.s appear
most frequently as tablets which frequently contain a number of excipients (e.g.
lactose, cellulose), follo wed by capsules, usually made by hard or soft gelatine;
capsules enclose the drug as powder or non-aqueous liquid within their two halves;
semi-solid f.s are e.g. creams (oil/w ater emulsions) or ointments (w ater/oil emul-
sions) used in topical preparations for treatment of skin or mucous membranes;
101

transdermal patches are applied lik e conventional sticking plasters and allo w sus-
tained drug release; coating is also a factor that influences the properties of a tab-
let; see also adjuvant, antioxidant, byproducts, component, controlled
release form, disintegrants, dosage form, drug delivery systems, film
coating, hot-melt extrusion, impurity, liposome ,nanoparticles, preserva-
tives, prodrug, tablet excipients.
forti fi edfood see functional food, food supplement.
forward-backward translation In order to ensure most accurate and compre-
hensive translation, e.g. for questionnaires, afirst translator translates the text in
the second language and a second translator back to the original language; dis-
crepancies are then clarified; see also test-retest.
Framingham study A cohort study that started in 1948 in a relati vely small
town (Framingham) in Massachusetts, U.S., and that is still ongoing, no w
including the third generation of subjects; the original objecti ve was to study
the development of cardio-v ascular diseases in a lar ge population (more than
5,000 men and women) that was not yet affected and to relate them to risk fac-
tors which have been identi fied as high blood pressure, smoking, high choles-
terol, obesity, diabetes and physical inacti vity being the most important; see
also biobank, cohort study, evidence-based medicine .
fraud Intentional f alsification of data in contrast to accidental error; in sci-
ence fraud occurs most often as trimming, (in volves discard of data of the
extremes so that the y look cleaner or incorrect changes), cooking (ignoring/
omitting certain data so that the rest will fit with the preconceived hypothesis)
or outright fraud (fabrication of data); all these data may appear spurious when
controlled by the monitor or data manager; see also black list, data
dredging.
freezing of data base see data lock-point.
frequency of adverse reaction see adverse reaction, incidence proportion.
functional food syn. nutraceutical; food, e.g., blueberry, broccoli, coffee, green tea,
nuts, olive oil, salmon, saw palmetto, tomato concentrates or food rich in minerals
such as whole grains (selen) or oysters (zinc) claimed to reduce the risk of cancer;
the claimed ef fect is related to food components (bioacti ve compounds), e.g., to
radical-scavengers such as polyphenols in fruits, genestein in soy extract, epigallo-
catechingallate in green and white tea, resv eratrol in red wine and nuts, ß-caryo-
phyllene as anti-in flammatory substance in origan, anti-in flammatory ef fects of
chicken soup in upper respiratory tract infections, etc. that are supposed to provide
a health benefit beyond basic nutrition (“ health claims”); it is generally claimed
that f f “recti fies” metabolic pathw ays and pre vents, delays onset or delays
102

progression or e ven re verses diseases thus e xtending life be yond its normal
F time span; ff includes conventional food, fortified, enriched, or enhanced food;
most differ functional food from dietary supplements; see also alimentary
risks, alternative medicine, bioactive compounds, food supplement, mac-
robiotics, nutrigenomics, orthomolecular medicine, phytomedicines,
self-medication, traditional herbal medicinal products.
funnel plot graphical presentation of some measure of study precision plotted
against effect size; a fp is used to investigate an eventual link between treatment
effect and study size; see also forest plot.
futility Def. Inadequac y to produce a results or bring about a required end;
etymology: futilis – that easily pours out, leaky, hence untrustworthy, vain, use-
less (Oxford Dictionary). Intervention has no pathophysiologic bene fit; uncer-
tain or contro versial bene fits; b urdens/harms/costs outweigh the bene fits;
intervention has already failed in the patient, maximal treatment is failing.
G

gamma error syn. type III error; statistical risk of declaring a treatment
better when in fact it is worse (truth: A > B, false judgment: A < B); usually
negligible (for a = b = 0.05,then g < 1/10,000,000).
Gantt chart syn. bar chart; named after Henry L. Gantt who de veloped a
graphic charting system to depict acti vities across a timescale; the chart
displays each task as a bar, which shows the task’s start and finish dates and
duration on a time scale; see project management.
Gaussian curve see distribution ,standard deviation.
Gehan’s design Useful for rejecting a drug (or hypotheses) from further study;
usually there is no control group and the design can be k ept unblinded when
treatment results are objecti ve resp. ob vious; e xample: if with an antitumor
drug no response occurs among the first 14 subjects, then the hypotheses of a
response rate ³20% can be rejected, accepting a f alse error rate of 5 %; g.d.
controls the probability of a f alse negative result by calculating the probability
that the first n patients do not respond to the treatment for a pre-specified rate of
response p to the drug; the initial sample size is determined as the smallest avlue
of n such that the probability of n consecuti ve failures is less than some gi ven
error rate b; similar designs are: ECOG d., one sample multiple testing d .
gene A segment of chromosome that encodes the necessary regulatory and
sequence information to direct the synthesis of a protein or RN A product;
(e.g. Operator; Re gulatory g.; Structural g.; Suppressor g; G. are instruc-
tions made of “base pairs” of nucleotides) that give organisms their charac-
teristics; these instructions are stored in each cell of or ganisms in a long,
string-like molecule, the DNA; within cells, the DNA is wound-up on them-
selves appearing as finite structures called chromosomes; each or ganism
has his characteristic number of chromosomes, for humans the number is 46
(23 pairs); see also genome, proteomics.

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gene expression The process through which a gene is activated at particular time
G and place so that its functional product is produced; see also microRNA.
gene mapping Determination of the relative locations of genes on a chromosome.
gene sequencing Determination of the sequence of nucleotide bases in a strand
of DNA.
gene silencing see RNA interference .
gene therapy syn. genomics therap y; the replacement of a defecti ve gene in an
organism suffering from a genetic disease; more general: techniques inducing
immunological reactions by the transfer of new genetic material into human cells
for the purpose of treating, preventing or diagnosing a disease; recombinant DNA
techniques are used to isolate the functioning gene and insert it into cells e.g. by
delivering genes via an artificially altered virus such as herpesviruses, lentiviruses
or retroviruses, the DISC virus (disabled infectious single c ycle viral vector),
or AAV (adeno-associated virus), e.g. in case of patients with c ystic fibrosis,
which functions as v ector, containing a functioning cop y of the gene to correct
that defect, or that stimulate the immune system to combat diseases such as can-
cer (defecti ve p53 gene in about 50 % of cancers) or chronic/persisting virus
infections; instead of adding a gene to a cell, inhibiting gene e xpression may be
an alternati ve; o ver 300 single gene genetic disorders ha ve been identi fied in
humans, a signi ficant percentage of these may be amenable to gene therap y; see
also advanced therapy, antisense oligonucleotides, biological medici-
nal product, biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, cloning, ethnic dif-
ferences, genomics, immunotherapy, metabolism, pharmacogenetics,
ribozyme, transgenic drug .
genetic disease Disease linked to a genetic variance or genetic defect such as a
mutated gene; there are about 4,000–5,000 genetic diseases kno wn to medical
science such as c ystic fibrosis, Down syndrome, sickle cell anaemia, haemo-
philia, Gilles de la T ourette syndrome or F abry’s disease; furthermore, some
240 cancer-related genes have been discovered so far; see also gene therapy,
genetic variance, orphan diseases .
genetic polymor phism Genetic di versity that causes inter -individual dif fer-
ences in susceptibility to clinical diseases, but also to drug treatments, e.g. due
to differences in the metabolism; see also gene, genome .
general sale list medicine (GSL) Drug which may be sold at any shop without
supervision from a pharmacist or a doctor (UK); see also controlled drug,
gras-list, pharmacy drug ,prescription only medicine.
generic Often used as short term for generic medicinal product; a drug
containing the same active ingredient as a drug already appro ved and which is
105

interchangeable with the original product which is no longer covered by patents

or other le gal re gulations; opp. proprietary medicinal product; see also
biosimilar, essentially similar product.

generic application EMA: “application for a product essentially similar to

a so called reference product ; the applicant is not requested to pro vide the
results of toxicological and pharmacological tests or of clinical trials”; can only
be placed on the mark et 10 (11) years after the authorization of the reference
medicinal product; a g.a. can also be submitted in a member state of the EC
where the reference medicinal product has ne ver been authorized; see also
abbreviated new drug application, accelerated approval program,
application, bibliographical application, informed consent applica-
tion ,mutual recognition procedure.

generic medicinal product A medicinal product which has (i) the same qualita-
tive and quantitative composition in active substance(s) as the reference product;
(ii) the same pharmaceutical form; (iii) whose bioequi valence with the reference
medicinal product has been demonstrated; different salts or derivates shall becon-
sidered to be the same acti ve substance; frequently it is mark eted under the
non-proprietary (generic) name of the drug; see also bioequivalence, generic
application .

generic name syn. international non-proprietary name; opp. (registered)

trade mark, trade name, brand name .

genetic code The mechanism by which genetic information is stored in li ving

organisms. The code uses sets of three nucleotide bases (codons) to mak e the
amino aids that, in turn, constitute proteins.
genetic engineering syn. recombinant DNA technology, biotechnology; a tech-
nology used to alter the genetic material of li ving cells in order to mak e them
capable of producing ne w substances or performing ne w functions; in the
“genetically modi fied or ganism” (GMO) the genetic information (DN A) is
changed such that it does not occur naturally; this procedure is highly “muta-
genic”; a number of health risks have been associated with GM food (immune
dysregulation, accelerated aging, infertility etc.); see alimentary risks, bio-
technology, plasmid .

genetic polymor phism Variability of the genetic information related to the

cytochrom P450 enzyme comple x of the li ver which is responsible for man y
forms of drug metabolisations; see also genetic disease, genetic variance,
genotype, interaction of drugs .

genetic variance Variability of the genetic information (alleles) due to different

genomic positions, single nucleotide polymorphisms, indels, cop y number
106

variants (CNVs) and in versions, allele frequencies (rare, lo w-frequency and

G common) and ef fect sizes; g.v. may for instance e xplain the indi vidual risk for
diseases or increased/decreased metabolisation of drugs (genetic polymorphism);
see also allele, gene, genetic disease, genome, genotype, interaction of
drugs, metabolism, personalised medicine, phenotype, proteomics .
genie score Score constructed with laboratory data which belong to a func-
tional group (i.e. values that are related to a particular body function, e.g. SGOT,
SGPT, LDH, alkaline phosphate, bilirubin are indicati ve of liver function); g.s.
are used to study laboratory abnormality pro files of drugs for assessments of
safety; g.s. from different body functions can also be combined to produce an
overall abnormality index; see also composite variable.
genome The total hereditary material of a cell, comprising the entire chromo-
somal set found in each nucleus of a gi ven species; the human g. has approxi-
mately 2.9 billion bases corresponding to approx. 25,500 genes, 20,500 of which
encode for proteins; the genomes of human and chimpanzees are 98.5 % identi-
cal, roundworms have only about 1,000 genes less; human individuals share on
average 99.7–99.9 % of their genetic identity; a large part in making one human
being genetically dif ferent from another is due to single nucleotide polymor -
phisms (SNPs); it is estimated that approximately 750,000 SNPs e xist; the y
account for variations such as height or eye colour but determine also the patients
response to pharmaceutical intervention; about 80 % of the human genome has
“regulatory” functions, only 2 % f codes for proteins; these human genes can
produce over 100,000 functionally different proteins whereby post-translational
modifications of proteins have an important role; see also allele, druggable
genome ,gene, genomics, personalised medicine, proteomics.
genomics Science that studies the genomes (i.e., the complete genetic informa-
tion) of living beings. This commonly entails the analysis of DN A sequence data
and the identification of genes; used for identifying genes which can be linked to a
particular disease; human cells ha ve approximately 25,000 genes of which more
than 60 have been linked to diseases up to now; see also gene therapy.
genomics therapy see gene therapy, proteomics.
genotoxicity Toxic effects upon genetic material (DNA) of cells, inducing per-
manent and transmissible damages in the amount and/or structure of the DN A
(chromosomes); changes can occur as: point mutations (with changes –
substitution, addition or deletion – in one or a few base pairs within a gene), as
chromosomal mutations (with microscopically detectable structural alterations)
or as genomic mutations (numerical aberrations with changes – gain or loss – of
chromosomes); see also aneugen, clastogen, micronucleus test, muta-
genicity test, toxicity tests.
107

genotype Entire genetic mak e-up (con figuration) of an indi vidual or group;
(the phenotype is the actual expressed traits or characteristics found within an
organism); the distinction between genotype and phenotype can be made based
on dominant and recessive genes; a dominant gene is an expressed character-
istic trait within an organism, where as a recessive trait is not (example: human
blood types, AB are co-dominant); see also allele, gene, genetic polymor-
phism, genome, metabolism, proteomics.

geriatric evaluations (GCP) Elderly people (above 65 years) are often classified
according to age: 66–75 “young-old”, 76–85 “middle-old” and > 85 “old-old”
or “oldest old”; re gulations concerning licensing of drugs for elderly people
frequently request specific pharmacokinetic testing, adequate labelling, mainte-
nance of a representative database, and reasonable numbers of patients included
in phase iii trials as a minimum; see also volume of distribution .
geriatric population ICH: “patients aged 65 years or older”; “… the geriatric
p. should be represented sufficiently to permit the comparison of drug response
in them to that of younger patients; for drugs used in diseases not unique to, but
present in, the elderly a minimum of 100 patients would usually allow detection
of clinically important dif ferences”; in 2003, the population 65+ represents
between 12.4 % (US) and 18.6 % of the o verall population in industrialized
countries and may progress to 18.2 and 28.0 % in 2025; annual pharmaceutical
expenditure for the population 65+ is about 2.5 times higher than for non-
seniors; see also compliance, prescription.

glidants see excipients.

global assessment v ariable Variable to measure o verall ef ficacy or tolerance

e.g., symptom se verity; it inte grates o verall impression about the state and
change of the state of a subject; usually a scale of ordered cate gorical ratings
that ha ve some subjecti ve component; e xample: CGI – Clinical Global
Impression scale; see also composite variable, genie score.

glomerular fi ltrationrate (GFR) Glomerular membranes of the kidney filtrate

about 130 ml of plasma/min or 190 L/day; about 1.8 L of thisolumev is excreted
as urine, the remainder reabsorbed in the renal tub ules; it can be calculated by
the formula of Jelliffe (Ann Int Med 79:604–605, 1973); GFR= (98 − 0.8 (age −
20)) × body surface area/(serum creatinine × 1.73); the result is to be multiplied
with 0.9 for females and 1.0 for males; see also creatinine clearance,
excretion .

good clinical practice (GCP) syn. good clinical regulatory practice, good clini-
cal research practice, good clinical trial practice; EC (III): A
“ standard by which
clinical trials are designed, implemented and reported so that there is public
108

assurance that the data are credible, and that the rights, inte grity and
G confidentiality of subjects are protected”; FD A does not gi ve an of ficial
definition of GCP; within the EC the guidelines for GCP came into force 1 July
1991 and are mandatory for the member states since 1 January 1992; the tw o
cornerstones of GCP are (i) protection of the subjects and (ii) reliability of data
and conclusions; the WHO has also issued “Guidelines for Good Clinical
Practice for T rials on Pharmaceutical Products” in February 1994; the y have
been superseded in May 1996 by the ICH E6 Guideline for Good Clinical
Practice, mandatory in the three ICH re gions (Japan, Europe, United States)
since January 1997; see also good clinical trial practice, international
conference on harmonisation (ICH).
good clinical r egulatory practice (GCRP) syn. good clinical practice;
term used by Australian health authorities.
good clinical research practice (GCRP) syn. good clinical practice; term
used in UK.
good clinical trial practice (GCTP) syn. good clinical practice, term used
by the Nordic Guidelines, prepared by the Nordic Council on Medicines in col-
laboration with the drug re gulatory authorities of Denmark, Finland, Iceland,
Norway and Sweden (first edition 1989).
good laboratory practice (GLP) Standards for laboratory investigations; GLP
principles are defined by the EC (I) as: “principles of good laboratory practice,
that are consistent with the OECD principles of good laboratory practice as
adopted in article one of directive 87/18/EEC”.
good manufacturing practice (GMP) EC (IV): “The part of the pharmaceuti-
cal quality assurance which ensures that products are consistently produced and
controlled to the quality standards appropriate for their intended use and as
required by the product specification”; the FDA had 269 recalls in 1994, 248 in
1993, and 339 in 1992 for quality problems; according to the FDA, a firm must
have the following records required by their GMP regulations: device master
records, device history records, maintenance schedules and records, complaint
files/failed device or component files, audit reports, distribution records, per-
sonnel training records; see also < www.recalls.gov >, hygiene program , ISO
9000 , product recall, qualified person, also product quality review,
reference sample, retention sample, site master file.
good pharmacovigilance practice (GVP or GPvP) see pharmacovigilance.
good postmark eting sur veillance practice (GPMSP) In some countries
(e.g. Japan) guidelines for monitoring prescription drugs,new chemical enti-
ties, new indications, combinations of drugs, routes of administration, dosages
a.s.o. e xist, which mak e it necessary for companies to establish a dedicated
109

postmarketing surveillance management department, appoint suitable

educated and trained staff, and designate a manager responsible for forwarding
relevant information to the national health authority; see also surveillance.

good regulatory practice (GRP) Standards for regulatory practices.

GP trial see medical office trial.

G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) proteins located at the interface between

the interior and exterior of cells that have a key role in signalling (second mes-
senger pathw ays); the y are potential drug tar gets as man y drugs act at least
partially via GPCRs, e.g., dronabinol via cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) and 2
(CB2); others are morphine, mescaline or adrenaline; up to no w, about 390
GPCRs have been identified; see also endocannabinoids.

G-grade see TNM-staging.

Graeco-Latin square Special cross-over design; employs both Latin and

Greek letters and allows, in comparison with the latin square d. , equalisa-
tion of variations for an additional source of variation, e.g. for the administra-
tion route; e.g. three groups recei ve sequentially three treatments A, B, C,
administered orally (alpha), intramuscularly (beta) and intra venously
(gamma); then group 1 receives Aa ,Bb ,Cg, group 2 Bg ,Ca ,Ab and group 3
Cb ,Ag ,Ba .

GRADE Guidelines for the synthesis and grading of e vidence and for the per -
formance of health technology assessments ( www.gradeworkinggroup.org/ ).

GRAS-list List of drugs “generally re garded as safe” by the FD A; these sub-

stances are permitted to be manufactured and sold over-the-counter without
prior FDA approval; see also controlled drug, general sale list medi-
cines ,pharmacy drug ,prescription only medicine.

Gross Domestic Pr oduct (GDP) Final consumption + gross capital forma-

tion + net exports; actual final consumption of households includes those goods
and services used by households or the community in order to satisfy their
individual w ants and social needs. (Actual final consumption e xpenditure
includes final consumption expenditure of households, general government and
non-profit institutions serving households.)

group-randomized contr olled clinical trial see cluster randomised

controlled clinical trial, design.

guidance syn. guideline, note for guidance; see EC law.

guide syn. guideline, note for guidance; see EC law.

110

guideline syn. guide, note for guidance; term used for documents which are not
G legally binding, in contrast to a directive; represents the agenc y’s
(e.g., EC, FDA) current thinking; an alternati ve approach may be used if such
approach satis fies the requirements of the applicable statutes, re gulations or
both; see directive, EC law, regulation.
GXP Acronym for commonly accepted quality standards for any practice (e.g.,
good clinical practice, good laboratory practice, good manufactur-
ing practice etc.).
H

half life (t1/2) T ime within which half of a substance has been eliminated
from the body (time tak en for plasma concentrations to f all by 50 %); see
clearance, elimination, kinetic, pharmacokinetic, treatment
schedule.
harm Damage to health, including the damage that can occur from loss of
product quality or availability; see also hazard .
harmonised standard European Norm (EN) that has been accepted by all
member states and published in the Official Journal of the EC.
handicap WHO: “a disadv antage for a gi ven individual resulting from an
impairment or a disability, that limits or prevents the ful filment of a role
that is normal for that indi vidual”; see also disability, disease , health,
illness, impairment.
Harmonised Birth Date (HBD) Virtual date of first marketing authorisa-
tion in a EC member state (“birth date”) aimed to harmonise the Periodic
Safety Update Report (PSUR) submission schedules of medicinal prod-
ucts containing the same acti ve substance; see also data lock point,
european union reference date ,international birth date .
Havard style of citation Style of citations in scienti fic journals; refer -
ences should be listed in alphabetical order and then by year . For example:
(i) Fazekas, F., Deisenhammer, F., Strasser-Fuchs, S., Nahler, G., Mamoli,
B. for the Austrian Immunoglob ulin in Multiple Sclerosis Study Group.
(1997) Randomised Placebo-Controlled T rial of Monthly Intra venous
Immunoglobulin Therap y in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis,
Lancet 349: 589–593. (ii) Nahler , G. (1994) Dictionary of Pharmaceutical
Medicine, Springer Publishing Co., Wien, New York, Austria. (iii) Nahler,
G. (1996) “International Medical De vice Re gistration. Austria” Dona wa
M.E., eds., pp. 33–58, Interpharm Press, Buf falo Grove, IL. (iv) USP XVI

G. Nahler, Dictionary of Pharmaceutical Medicine, 111

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112

(1960) The United States Pharmacopoeia, pp. 817–819, Mack Publishing Co.,
H Easton, P.A. See also vancouver style .
Hawthorne effect Study participation per se af fects the outcome (it mak es
patients to feel “important”, thus producing a psychological stimulus and a bet-
ter outcome); especially beha vioural measures are subject to this ef fect (e.g.,
Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale – AD AS). The Ha wthorne Effect was
first reported following a research programme investigating methods of increas-
ing producti vity in the W estern Electrical Compan y’s Ha wthorne W orks in
Chicago during the 1920s and 1930s. The finding of enduring interest was that
no matter what change w as introduced to w orking conditions, the result w as
increased productivity. For example, improving or reducing the lighting in the
production areas under test produced similar effects. Subsequently the definition
has been broadened; in clinical research it refers to treatment response; see also
bias, labelling phenomenon, placebo effect, white-coat
hypertension .
hazard The potential source of harm (ISO/IEC Guide 51); see also harm .
hazard ratio Ratio of e xpected medians of time-to-e vent distributions in the
two treatment arms when these data follow an exponential distribution.
healing Elimination of an abnormal condition either with or without (medical)
intervention; see also cure.
health WHO: “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and
not merely the absence of disease or in firmity”; see also disability ,disease ,
handicap ,illness, impairments.
health care expenditure The total e xpenditure on health measures, the final
consumption of health goods and services (i.e. current health expenditure) plus
capital investment in health care infrastructure. This includes spending by both
public and pri vate sources (including households) on medical services and
goods, public health and prevention programmes and administration. Excluded
are health-related e xpenditure such as training, research and en vironmental
health. The tw o major components of total current health e xpenditure are:
expenditure on personal health care and expenditure on collective services. The
health e xpenditure per capita, public and pri vate, increases
(US $, OECD, Health at a glance, http://www.oecd.org) 2007 vs 2009: Austria
3,519 vs 4,289, France 3,374 vs 3,978, Germany 3,287 vs 4,218, Italy 2,532 vs
3,137, Japan 2,358 vs 2,878, Norw ay 4,364 vs 5,352, Spain 2,331 vs 3,067,
Switzerland 4,177 vs 5,144, UK 2,724 vs 3,487, US 6,401 vs 7,960; the health
expenditure as a share of the gross domestic product, was (in % of GDP ,
OECD, Health at a glance 2007): Austria 10.2 %, France 11.1, German y 10.7,
Italy 8.9, Japan 8.0, Norw ay 9.1, Spain 8.2, Switzerland 11.6, UK 8.3, US
113

15.3 %; in western countries about 35–50 % of these costs are expended for the
elderly; in 2000, about 1.4 % of the GDP of the EU ha ve been expended for
pharmaceutical, and costs for pharmaceuticals have represented about 16 % of
overall costs for health care; see alsodrug consumption, economic analyses ,
health care services, medical culture, pharmaceutical expenditure,
price regulatory scheme, prescription.

health car e ser vices Densities of doctors per inhabitants v ary widely , e.g.
1/248 in Austria, 1/293 in Germany, 1/299 in Belgium, 1/328 in France, 1/420
in The Netherlands and 1/472 in the US ( figures of 1995–1996); densities of
beds per population of 1,000 inhabitants v ary between 3.8 (USA), 4.1
(Netherlands, Sweden), 5.3 (France), 6.3 (Switzerland), 6.8 (Austria) and 7.3
(Germany; figures of 1989); see also medical culture.

health claims Claims made in commercial communications concerning foods

as ha ving a nutritional, physiological or other health adv antage o ver similar
or other products to which such nutrients and other substances are not added;
claims are authorised only after harmonised scientific assessment of such claims
by the European Food Safety Authority (Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006); see
food supplement, functional food .

health emergency see public health emergency .

health expenditures see health care costs.

health pro fi l Instrument for measuring quality of life, often overlapping
with quality of life scale ,well-being scale; health profiles are designed
for a wide v ariety of conditions and can be used to compare the ef fects of
interventions in dif ferent diseases; examples for h.p.s are: Sickness Impact
Profile, McMaster Health Inde x, Nottingham Health Pro file, Hamilton’s rat-
ing scale for anxiety states, T aylor’s Manifest Anxiety Scale, Eysenck
Personality Inventory (measuring whether or not a subject has a neurotic
personality), a.s.o.
health-related quality of life (HRQOL) Narrower term than quality of life;
it includes that well being of a patient is influenced also by factors unrelated to
disease or treatment e.g. education, environment a.s.o.
Health Technology Assessment (HTA) bodies – Bodies that assess innovations
in medical care in terms of their clinical performance and cost- effectiveness and
provide decision-mak ers with e vidence-based tools for prioritising healthcare
treatments in terms of their utility, efficiency and cost-effectiveness; some can be
regulatory: they are accountable to health ministers and are responsible for listing
and pricing drugs, medical de vices and other related services (e.g. Finland,
France, Sweden, UK); examples for national HTA bodies: National Institute for
114

Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), UK or the Institute for Quality and
H Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG), Germany.
health utilities index (HUI) Index for classi fication of the health status of an
individual; attributes to this index are: seeing, hearing, speaking, w alking, use
of fingers and hands, feelings, memory and thinking, and pain and discomfort;
see also quality of life .
healthy-year equivalent (HYE) see quality adjusted life year.
Heaton–Ward effect Subjective assessments can be se verely biased by viola-
tion of blinding or the expectation of the observer: in a supposed cross-over trial
the observ er is lik ely to report a deterioration after cross-o ver if he initially
assumed an impro vement and an impro vement in those he first imagined had
not occurred; see also bias, blinding, design.
heart insuf fi ciencyscore see new york heart association.
Helsinki declaration see declaration of helsinki.
herbal drug see herbal substance; see also herbal medicines, herbal
medicinal product, herbal preparations, phytochemical, phytomedi-
cine, phytonutrient, traditional herbal medicinal product .
herbal medicinal product “Any medicinal product, exclusively containing as
active ingredients one or more herbal substances or one or more herbal prepara-
tions, or one or more such herbal substances in combination with one or more
such herbal preparations” (Dir 2001/83/EC); within the EC, (non-binding)
“Community Herbal Monographs” and a (binding) “Community List of Herbal
Substances, Preparations and Combinations” exist; for herbal medicines listed
in the Community List the applicant is not required to pro vide evidence of the
safe and traditional use, and authorities cannot request additional data; see also
herbal medicines.
herbal medicines syn. natural remedies, phytomedicine; see herbal medici-
nal product, herbal preparations, herbal substances, naming conven-
tion, phytomedicines, traditional herbal medicinal product,
well-established medicinal use.
herbal substances syn. herbal drug; “ Any mainly whole, fragmented or cut
plants, plant parts, algae, fungi, lichen in an unprocessed, usually dried, form,
but sometimes fresh. Certain exudates that have not been subjected to a specific
treatment are also considered to be herbal substances. Herbal substances are
precisely defined by the plant part used and the botanical name according to the
binomial system (genus, species, v ariety and author)” (Dir 2001/83/EC);
see herbal medicines.
115

herbal preparations “Preparations obtained by subjecting herbal substances to

treatment such as extraction, distillation, expression, fractionation, purification,
concentration or fermentation. These include comminuted or po wdered herbal
substances, tinctures, e xtracts, essential oils, e xpressed juices and processed
exudates” (Dir 2001/83/EC); see herbal medicines.

hereditary disease see genetic diseases, orphan diseases .

heterocygote Dif ferent alleles for a speci fic gene; see also allele, domi-
nante ,homocygote, recessive .

high level term (HLT) see medDRA, WHO adverse reaction terminology.

high-tech medicinal pr oducts EC (I): “ A): medicinal products de veloped by

means of the follo wing biotechnological processes: (1) recombinant DN A tech-
nology, (2) controlled expression of genes coding for biologically active proteins
in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, including transformed mammalian cells,
(3) hybridoma and monoclonal antibody methods; B): other high-technology
medicinal products: (1) other biotechnological processes which, in the opinion of
the competent authority concerned, constitute a significant innovation, (2) medic-
inal products ad-ministered by means of new delivery systems which, in the opin-
ion of the competent authority concerned, constitute a signi ficant inno vation,
(3) medicinal products containing a new substance or an entirely new indication
which, in the opinion of the competent authority concerned, is of significant ther-
apeutic interest, (4) new medicinal products based on radio-isotopes which, in the
opinion of the competent authority concerned, are of significant therapeutic inter-
est, (5) medicinal products the manuf acture of which emplo ys processes which,
in the opinion of the competent authority concerned, demonstrate a signi ficant
technical advance such as two-dimensional electrophoresis under micro-gravity”;
see also centralised procedure.

high-tech procedure see centralised procedure.

historical control Group of patients who had recei ved – often within the same
organisation – a standard treatment in the past and with which a ne w treatment
is compared; in literature controls this group is made up of patients treated
elsewhere and pre viously reported in the medical literature; conclusions made
from comparisons with h.c. however may be subject to severe bias due to differ-
ences in patient selection, diagnostic techniques, en vironmental conditions
a.s.o.; see also bias ,control, matched pairs, minimization.

Hochberg correction In order to avoid errors by repeated significance testing

the significance level is di vided by the number of comparisons; see also
bonferroni correction.
116

home based CRA see clinical research associate.

H homeopathy Def. (WHO) “A therapeutic system which works on the principle
that ‘like treats like’. An illness is treated with a medicine which could produce
similar symptoms in a healthy person. The active ingredients are given in highly
diluted form to avoid toxicity”; homeopathic remedies are virtually 100 % safe;
see also allopathy .
homocygote Identical alleles for a gi ven gene; see also allele, dominante ,
heterocygote, recessive .
hospital fi l see patient file.
hot-melt extrusion (HME) Technological process whereby a new material (the
extrudate) is formed by forcing it through an ori fice under controlled condi-
tions; applied to pharmaceutical manufacturing it improves dissolution rates of
poorly water-soluble drugs by making a solid dispersion in a polymer matrix
whereby a lar ge variety of dosage forms and formulations such as granules,
pellets, tablets, controlled-release de vices, implants, transdermal systems and
ophthalmic inserts can be produced; widely used in food, rubber and plastic
industry; see also formulation.
Huriet see loi huriet.
hybrid procedure Submission of additional documentation in the form of cer-
tain pharmacological or toxicological tests or clinical trials by an applicant in
order to demonstrate that his product is “essentially similar” to the reference
product does not preclude anabridged application procedure; see also appli-
cation, bibliographic application.
Hygiene program Procedures relating to health, hygiene and clothing of personnel
during manufacturing; see good manufacturing practice ,loi huriet.
I

ICD-9 code International Classification of Diseases, 9th edition; see code.

ICD-10 code International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition; (free access:
http://www.dimdi.de); see code.
ideal body weight see lorentz formula.
identi fi e see code.
idiosyncratic reaction Non-immunological hypersensiti vity reaction to a
substance, also called reacti ve metabolite syndrome; adv erse reaction
to a drug that is not dose-dependent, has a variable time of onset and is usu-
ally unpredictable (type B-reaction); e xample: malignant hyperthermia
after anaesthesia; it is assumed that idiosyncratic reactions result from the
imbalance between the formation of a toxic metabolite and it’ s detoxification
that may be genetically determined; see also adverse reaction, immuno-
logic reaction, pharmacogenetics.
IEEE Standard 1062–1993 Standard on the “Recommended practice for soft-
ware acquisition”, published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic
Engineers; see also international organization for standardization,
ISO standard 9000–3.
IFAPP see international federation of pharmaceutical physicians.
IFPMA see international federation of pharmaceutical manufac-
turers association.
IFPMA code of pharmaceutical marketing practices Voluntary and self-
limiting regulations of the IFPMA member companies; principles of this
code are e.g. that “no public communication shall be made with the intent
of promoting a pharmaceutical product as safe and ef fective for an y use
before the required appro val of the pharmaceutical product for mark eting

G. Nahler, Dictionary of Pharmaceutical Medicine, 117

DOI 10.1007/978-3-7091-1523-7_9, © Springer-Verlag Wien 2013
118

for such use is obtained”; “statements in promotional communications should

I be based upon substantial scientific evidence or other responsible medical opin-
ion”; “promotional communications should ha ve medical clearance or , where
appropriate, clearance by the responsible pharmacist, before their release”; see
also code of practice.
illness Subjective feeling of not feeling well or normal; i. can be considered at
four different levels: disability , impairment , handicap and pathology; see
also disease, health.
immediate release form (IR) opposite: delayed release form; see also con-
trolled release form, formulation, prolonged release.
Immediately r eportable adv erse e vent see adverse event of special
interest.
immortal time bias Bias that may arise particularly in pharmacoepidemiologi-
cal studies when the period between entry in the cohort and date of first expo-
sure (e.g., to a drug) during which death has not occurred, is not accounted for
in the analysis or excluded; see bias.
immunologic reaction Examples of i.reactions.: T ype I (IgE-mediated, min-
utes to hours after e xposure): anaphylaxis, urticaria, bronchospasm; type II
(cytotoxic): haemolytic anaemia, neutropenia; type III (immune complex reac-
tion, 1–3 weeks after exposure): serum sickness, fever, urticaria, vasculitis; type
IV (cell-mediated, delayed type, 2–7 days after cutaneous e xposure): contact
dermatitis, maculopapular rash; other forms of immunologic reactions are
specific T-cell activation: morbiliform rash or F as/Fas ligand-induced apopto-
sis: Stevens-Johnson syndrome; non-immunologic reactions are e.g., idiosyn-
cratic reactions or drug-drug interactions; see also adverse drug reaction,
drug injury, idiosyncratic reaction, spontaneous adverse drug reac-
tion report.
immune system The aggregation of cells, biological substances (such as antibod-
ies), and cellular activities that work together to provide resistance to disease; see
also biological medicinal product, biopharmaceutical, biotechnology,
gene therapy .
immunity Non-susceptibility to a disease or to the toxic ef fects of antigenic
material; active immunity is when the or ganism produces antibodies against a
specific agent e.g. by exposition (natural acquired a.i.) or vaccination (artificially
acquired a.i.); a.i. is long lasting or even permanent in contrast to passive immu-
nity is short-term immunization usually by the injection of antibodies, such as
gamma glob ulin, that are not produced by the recipient’ s cells. Naturally
acquired passive immunity occurs during pregnancy, in which certain antibodies
119

are passed from the maternal into the foetal bloodstream; cell-mediated immu-
nity is an immune response that does not involve antibodies or complement but
rather involves the activation of macrophages, natural killer cells (NK), antigen-
specific c ytotoxic T -lymphocytes, and the release of v arious c ytokines in
response to an antigen; humoral immunity is mediated by secreted antibodies
(as opposed to cell-mediated immunity which in volves T lymphoc ytes) pro-
duced in the cells of the B lymphoc yte lineage (B cell). Secreted antibodies
bind to antigens on the surfaces of invading microbes (such as viruses or bacte-
ria), which flags them for destruction.
immunology Study of all phenomena related the body’ s response to antigenic
challenge (i.e., immunity, sensitivity, and allergy).
immunmodulators A diverse class of proteins that boost the immune system .
Many are cell growth factors that accelerate the production of specific cells that
are important in mounting an immune response in the body. These proteins are
being investigated for use in possible cures for cancer.
immunotherapy Techniques inducing immunological reactions for therapeutic
purposes; (e.g. by deli vering genes via an arti ficially altered virus such as the
disabled infectious single c ycle viral v ector or DISC virus) that stimulate the
immune system to combat diseases such as cancer or chronic/persisting virus
infections; see also biological medicinal product, biopharmaceutical,
biotechnology, gene therapy .

immunotoxicity Substances can have untoward effects on the immune system;

experimental models used to in vestigate such ef fects are e.g. macrophagic
cytolytic acti vity, occluded batch tests, lymphoc yte proliferati ve response to
mitogens, mixed lymphocyte reaction, delayed type hypersensitivity, a.s.o.; see
also toxicity.

impact factor of jour nals The journal impact f actor is the most widely cited
bibliometric tool used to characterise journals. It w as originally proposed
50 years ago as a measure of the impact that indi vidual articles ha ve on the
research community, but it is now more commonly used across all articles pub-
lished by a journal to pro vide a measure of a journal’ s impact on the research
community rather than the impact of an indi vidual article. The journal impact
factor is thus calculated as the number of citations a journal has received in the
last complete year for articles published in the two preceding years, divided by
the total number of articles the journal published in the two preceding years. So
it gives an average number of citations of published articles, without giving any
unfair advantage to the larger or more frequently published journals. Such jour-
nal citation reports are used widely as the basis for assessing research output.
They are used by funding bodies to gauge the quality of publications, by
120

researchers to assess which journals they choose to submit manuscripts to, and
I as a basis for journals to attract new subscriptions and advertising.
impairments WHO: “abnormalities of body structure and appearance and
organ or system function, resulting from any cause”; includes e.g. loss of limbs,
limitations in range of motion, mental i. a.s.o.; see also disability , disease ,
handicap ,health, illness.
impurity I. in drug products can be classified as degradation products of the
active ingredient, reaction products of the active ingredient with an excipient
and/or immediate container/closure system; all I. present belo w £0.1 % do not
need to be quali fied except if the y are particularly toxic (metal impurities are
dealed with in ICH Q3D); i. may be, among others, related to directly to the
synthesis (e.g. residues from pre vious steps of synthesis, originating from ra w
materials or solv ents), to the formulation (e.g. excipients) or to the en viron-
ment (light, temperature, humidity) or container system (e.g., glass particles); I.
that appear only sporadically have to be included in the profile as well; see also
climatic zones, contamination, formulation, stability test.
imputabilty see causality.
IMRAD Common structure for reports (introduction, material/methods,
results, analysis of results, discussion).
incapacitated subjects see vulnerable subject .
incidence proportion syn. relative incidence; def.: number of subjects who,
over a specific time, develop a specific attribute (adverse reaction)/total number
of subjects exposed; definitions based on ICH: very common >10 %, common
1–10 %, uncommon 0.1–1 %, rare 0.01–0.1 %, v ery rare <0.01 %; acute < 1 h,
sub-acute <1 day , latent > 1 day; see also age-specific rate, attack rate,
clusters ,cumulative incidence, excess incidence, prevalence rate.
incidence rate def.: number of subjects who, over a speci fic time, develop a
specific attribute/ total number of subjects at risk (person-years), or patient-time
or equivalent units (courses of treatment, prescriptions, patient-months, etc.)
e.g. number of ne w cases of a disease per year; see also age-specific rate,
attack rate, clusters , cumulative incidence, excess incidence, inci-
dence proportion, prevalence rate.
incident see medical device reporting.
included term see WHO adverse reaction terminology.
inclusion criteria Criteria defining a disease (stage, group of subjects) as close
as possible; i.c. and exclusion c. form the entry criteria ( eligibility c.) of a
clinical trial.
121

inclusion period see recruitment period .

incubation period Time between exposure to an infectious agent and develop-

ment of clinical signs and symptoms of infection; see also latent period,
secondary attack rate.
IND safety report FDA: “The sponsor shall notify FDA and all participating
investigators in a written investigational new drug (IND) s.r . of an y
adverse experience associated with use of the drug that is both serious and
unexpected. Such notification shall be made as soon as possible and in no event
later than ten w orking days after the sponsor’ s initial receipt of the informa-
tion… The sponsor shall also notify the FD A by telephone of an y unexpected
fatal or life threatening experience associated with the use of the drug in the
clinical studies conducted under the IND no later than three working days (five
for trials conducted outside the US) after receipt of the information …”; see
also investigational drug.

indemni fi catio Insurance provided by a sponsor to an investigator to cover

the costs which may arise from a law suit carried on by a patient; acts of negli-
gence however would only be covered by the medical insurance of the investi-
gator; see also compensation for drug induced injury, insurance,
product liability.
independent ethics committee (IEC) see ethics committee.

index In ventory pro viding a single number to characterise a set of item

responses by a simple cumulative score; see also scale.
index patient The first affected family member through whom the family was
fi rstidenti fi ed;see also empiric recurrence risk, incidence rate.
indirect tr eatment comparisons (ITC) In the absence of trials in volving a
direct comparison of treatments of interest, an indirect comparison can be pro-
vide useful e vidence of the dif ference in treatment ef fects among competing
interventions (which otherwise would be lacking) and for judiciously selecting
the best choice(s) of treatment; example: if two particular treatments have never
been compared against each other, head to head, but these two treatments have
been compared to a common comparator , then an indirect treatment compari-
son can use the relative effects of the two treatments versus the common com-
parator; see also bridging .
individual case safety report (ICSR) a notification from a health professional
regarding a patient with a disorder that is suspected to be drug-related;
medically
unconfirmed ICSRs are pro vided as a line listing anne xed to the PSUR; an
ICSR may origin from a clinical trial or spontaneously from a marketed drug
(equivalent to: e xpedited adv erse reaction report); for centrally authorised
122

medicinal products periodic ICSRs should be transmitted; since 2012, EMA

I operates a public and searchable “European database of suspected adverse
reaction reports ” ( http://www.adrreports.eu/); see also adverse reaction,
consumer report, drug-event combination, eudra vigilance, expedited
reporting, ISO country code, master case, periodic safety update
report .
inevaluability rate syn. disqualification rate; as a rule of thumb, the percentage
of patients considered ine valuable for response or other primary endpoint due
to missing data , protocol violations, loss to follo w-up a.s.o. should not
exceed 15–20 %; higher figures re flect poor monitoring, poor study conduct
and/or inappropriate patient selection or e valuation criteria; results are in gen-
eral not sufficiently reliable, when the i.r. approaches the magnitude of the dif-
ference in outcomes being tested; see also drop-out, intent-to-treat
analysis, withdrawal.
infants Children aged 0–28 days; see age groups .
inference statistics Exploratory or con firmatory statistical tests; see also
descriptive statistics.
informed consent EC (III): “the voluntary confirmation of a subject ’s will-
ingness to participate in a particular trial and the documentation thereof; this
information should only be sought after information has been given about the
trial including an explanation of its objectives, potential benefits and risks and
inconveniences, and of the subject’s rights and responsibilities in accordance
with the declaration of helsinki”; the possibility of third party re view
(monitor, health authority , insurance companies, contract houses ) of
patient records should also be disclosed; doctor’ s failure to obtain i.c. may
result at least in a finding of liability for negligence when injury occurs; i.c. is
an absolute requirement except in an emergency situation or in a situation in
which the patient is a child (in older children, that are able to read and write,
both parents and the child may give their consent in writing) or incompetent,
in which case consent is either implied or sought from a legal guardian; infor-
mation and consent forms must be in a language that subjects understand and
approved by an institutional review board (IRB); the consent form
should be signed by the subject or its legally representative; a copy should be
given to the person signing; oral consent is possible if testified by signature of
the witness; forms ho wever represent only one part of the entire consent
process and do not preclude detailed oral explanations; GCP requires the fol-
lowing basic elements: statement that study in volves research, identi fication
of e xperimental procedures amongst other procedures, e xpected duration,
risks or discomforts, bene fits, extent of confidentiality of records, compensa-
tion and medical treatments if injury occurs, whom to contact for questions,
123

statement that participation is voluntary and that participation can be discon-

tinued at any time without loss of bene fits; the following additional elements
apply when appropriate: unforeseeable risks (to foetus, embryo), participa-
tion terminated by in vestigator, additional costs to the subject, pro vision of
significant new findings, approximate number of subjects in volved, no pre-
emption of other rele vant la ws, no limitation of other emer gency medical
care; FDA permits an IRB to waive the requirement to sign a written i.c. if: the
research presents not more than minimal risk of harm to subjects, or involves
only procedures for which written consent is not normally required outside
the research conte xt; see also emergency consent waiver, legally
acceptable representative, patient information sheet , randomized
consent design.

informed consent application EMA: “(abriged) application for a product

essentially similar to an authorised product where consent has been gi ven by
the existing marketing authorisation holder to use their data in support of this
application; complete administrative and quality data should be pro vided with
consent to preclinical and clinical data”; see also bibliographical applica-
tion, drug master file, generic application , mutual recognition
procedure.

ingredients see additives.

initiation visit This visit finalises preparatory activities at a centre; the moni-
tor or clinical research associate discusses with the investigator and his
coworkers details of the study conduct, e xplains the use of the dif ferent forms
(case record forms, drug accountability forms, informed consent forms a.s.o.),
and leaves all necessary materials so that recruitment can be started right after-
wards; see also prestudy visit.

innovative chemical extension (ICE) Chemical variant of an already e xisting

drug, usually with some e xtra therapeutic bene fit; sometimes misleadingly
called mee-too.

innovative new drug (IND) see new chemical entity.

inpatient Patient requiring hospitalisation for treatment (opp. outpatient ).
in-process control EC (IV): “checks performed during production in order to
monitor and if necessary to adjust the process to ensure that the product
conforms to its specification; the control of the environment or equipment may
also be regarded as a part of the i.-p. control”.

inspection Basically, the purpose of an i. is the same as of anaudit: To ensure

that activities are performed in accordance with commonly accepted standards
124

(GXP) and la ws; audits are performed by independent internal or e xternal

I groups, inspections by regulatory authorities; relevant authorities may conduct
official inspections e.g., of clinical investigator s,sponsor s,institutional
review boards and laboratories in order to v erify adherence to re gulations
and GxP incl. good clinical practice and whether data submitted to author-
ities are substantiated by records; see audit; types of i. are (FD A): “for
cause” = as result of prior kno wledge or suspicion (e.g. study outside the spe-
ciality of the investigator, results inconsistent with those of other studies, study
has been publicized, sponsor alerts the agenc y, etc.) of alle ged violations of
regulations or when studies which are truly pi votal before the FD A are con-
ducted outside the US; “expedited data audit” = directed at those studies under
current review in the Division of Biopharmaceutics, b ut no decision has been
made on the appro vability of the applications the study support; “routine sur -
veillance and assessment”= directed at those facilities not previously inspected;
the result of the inspection is the establishment inspection report; in the
European area, pharmaco vigilance-i. may be triggered mainly by circum-
stances concerning the MAH ( first product placed on the mark et, never been
inspected, merger, non-compliance with reporting requirements …), significant
changes of the pharmaco vigilance system or a speci fic product; fees and
inspector’s expenses are charged per inspector and day; see also audit, cor-
rective and preventive actions, data quality, FDA 483 form, FDA 484
form, memorandum of understanding, quality assurance profile,
self inspection.

inspectional obser vations Observ ations during an inspection are usually

classified into three cate gories: (i) “critical o. ” – i.e. Conditions, practices or
processes that adv ersely affect the rights, safety or well being of the subjects
and/or the quality and inte grity of data, or that poses a risk to public health or
that represents a serious violation of applicable le gislation and guidelines. (ii)
“major o.” – i.e. Conditions, practices or processes that might adv ersely affect
the rights, safety or well-being of the subjects and/or the quality and inte grity of
data or a deficiency in PV systems, practices or processes that could potentially
adversely affects the rights, safety or well-being of patients or that could poten-
tially pose a risk to public health or that represents a violation of applicable
legislation and guidelines; (iii) “other or minor o. ” – i.e. Conditions, practices
or processes that would not be expected to adversely affect the rights, safety or
well being of the subjects and/or the quality and inte grity of data; see also
audit, inspection .
instant delivery see delayed release .
institution Any public or private entity or agency.
125

institutional review board (IRB) Sometimes also institutional review commit-

tee; American term for ethics committee; any board or other group formally
designated by an institution to review biomedical research involving humans as
subject, to appro ve the initiation of and conduct periodic re view of such
research (investigators have also to report all changes in research activity and
all unanticipated problems in volving risks to subjects) ; to meet FD A require-
ments an IRB shall have at least five members, with varying backgrounds, pos-
sessing the necessary professional competence, including at least one member
from a non-scienti fic area (la wyer, ethicist, cler gy) and who is not otherwise
affiliated with the institution; the IRB must consist of both se xes and no mem-
ber may re view a project in which it has con flicting interests; see also expe-
dited review .
insurance EC (III): it is the responsibility of the sponsor to “provide adequate
compensation/treatment for subjects in the e vent of trial related injury or
death, and provide indemnity (legal and financial cover) for the investigator ,
except for claims resulting from malpractice and/or ne gligence”; clinical trial
insurance is internationally not harmonized; at present usual limits for indem-
nity are in German y € 500,000 for each research subject (e xamples for max.
amount of coverage: Germany: € 1,000,000/event, UK: £ 5,000,000.00); liability
can be on a “fault-based system” (an injured subject must prove that the inves-
tigator and/or drug manuf acturer was at f ault during the study) or based on a
“no-fault system” or on a strict liability system (in vestigator or drug manu-
facturer must compensate an injured subject without re gard whether either
of party w as at f ault); see also clinical trial compensation guidelines,
compensation for drug induced injury, indemnification, product
liability.
intangible costs Costs for pain and suffering; see economic analysis.
integrated care WHO: “a concept bringing together inputs, delivery, manage-
ment and organization of services related to diagnosis, treatment, care, rehabili-
tation and health promotion”.
integrated report Report of a clinical trial which inte grates clinical and statistical
descriptions, presentations, and analyses as well as information of the in vestigational
plan and ethical procedures into a single report; the f nal study report should be
submitted to the health authority(ies) within 1 year; see also report.
integrative medicine Synthesis of con ventional and uncon ventional ( alter-
native , complementary) medicine in a holistic approach to the health of an
individual; see also complementary medicine, functional food, orthomo-
lecular medicine, phytomedicine .
126

intensive research design see single case study; see also sample size.
I intensive monitoring System of record collation in designed areas such as hos-
pitals or physicians in community practice (V ol. 9A); see also additional
monitoring, black triangle, pharmacovigilance, prescription-event
monitoring, solicited reports.
intent-to-treat analysis (ITT-analysis) syn. intention-to-treat a., pragmatic a.,
management a., effectiveness a.; opp. actual-treated a./observ ed cases a., as-
treated a; on (randomised) treatment a.; statistical analysis of data from all
randomised patients, whether they were in full compliance with the studypro-
tocol or not, that is without omitting defaulters; the last values available from
all patients are pooled for analysis (Last V isit Carried Forward – technique);
ITT analysis ignores, in contrast to “as-treated” a., drop-outs (e.g. for inef-
fectiveness), missed doses, erroneous doses, wrong diagnosis a.s.o. and may
lead therefore to inaccurate estimates of ef ficacy and toxicity; usually both
types of analyses are pro vided for randomised clinical trials; a common
approach for dealing with missing data is the “last observation carried forward”
(LOCF) method; per -protocol a. are more lik ely to be subject to bias; other
possibilities for analysis of results are a. of all dosed subjects or all
eligible patients; see also analysis of study results, explanatory
trial ,inevaluability rate, per-protocol a .
intent-to-treat list syn. patient or subject screening log; continuous list of
patients which seem to be – at least theoretically and at first glance – suitable
for inclusion in a trial (although, in fact, only part of the subjects will give their
consent or meet all inclusion and exclusion criteria); comments, why
they were not eligible should be included in such a list; helpful for judgments
concerning generalization of results (= external validity – degree to which the
results valid in one patient population can be generalized to another) and for
adjusting selection criteria in case recruitment is too slow; see also enrolment
log, sampling error .
interaction of drugs If two or more drugs are given at the same time the result-
ing effect(s) can either be the sum of the individual effects (additive e., no inter-
action), greater than the expected sum (multiplicative e., positive e., synergism)
or less then expected (negative e., antagonism); designs suitable to detect inter-
actions or to study tw o or more treatments simultaneously are e.g. factorial
designs , cross-over designs, a.s.o.; the risk of drug interactions can be
in fl uencedby genetic polymorphism; see also biopharmaceutical, cyto-
chroms P450, effect modifiers .
interaction study Clinical (pharmacokinetic, pharmacologic) study e xploring
the effects of one drug on the activity or properties of another drug.
127

interactive voice response system (IVRS) Computerised method of randomisa-

tion, tracking drug assignment to patients, drug use, and maintenance of drug
inventory at clinical sites as well as at distrib ution centres; when a site needs to
enrol a patient, the IVRS is contacted by public phone; the IVRS (which has a
record of drug packages at the site) instructs the site to assign pack number NN
and patient number MM to the patient; see also computerised systems, elec-
tronic data capture, remote data entry, source data.
interfering variable see confounder.

interim analysis Statistical analysis which is performed before the planned,

total number of patients is recruited; for practical reasons i.a. should not be
done before at least 50 (−75)% of the total number of planned cases are a vail-
able; i.a. should al ways be planned in adv ance, since the lik elihood of a f alse
positive result (alpha error) increases with the number of repeated tests (e.g.
ten repeated tests on accumulating data at the 1 % level of significance during a
trial will be about the same as an overall test for the trial at the 5 % level or three
tests at the 5 % le vel will change the o verall signi ficance level to 11 %); i.a.
demands therefore higher numbers of subjects; see also bonferroni correc-
tion ,multiple comparisons.

inter-individual comparison see between-patient comparison.

intermediate product EC (IV): “partly processed material which must undergo
further manuf acturing steps before it becomes a bulk product”; see also
finished product, medicinal product.
internal audit see audit.
international birth date (IBD) ICH: “The date of first marketing authori-
sation for a compan y’s new medicinal product in an y country in the w orld”;
date on which the first regulatory authority granted marketing authorisation of
a new drug; the “EU birth date” is the date it was first was authorised in the EU
(these may be the same date); the “birth date” triggers the submission schedule
for Periodic Safety Update Reports; see also development interna-
tional birth date, european union reference date, harmonised birth
date, marketing exclusivity.

International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9, ICD-10 – 9th, 10th edition of)

the four digit WHO code for diseases; see also MEDDRA .

International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) ICH was organised to

provide an opportunity for tripartite harmonisation initiati ves to be de vel-
oped with input from both re gulatory and industry representati ves; ICH is
concerned with harmonisation of technical requirements for the re gistration
128

of pharmaceutical products among three regions: The European Union, Japan

I and the United States; the six ICH sponsors are: The European Commission,
the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries Association, the
Japanese Ministry of Health and W elfare, the Japanese Pharmaceutical
Manufacturers Association, the Centers for Drug Ev aluation and Research
and Biologics Ev aluation and Research, FD A, and the Pharmaceutical
Research and Manufacturers of America; the ICH Secretariat, which coordi-
nates the preparation of documentation, is pro vided by the International
Federation of Pharmaceutical Manuf acturers Associations (IFPMA); the
ICH Steering Committee includes representati ves from each of the ICH
sponsors and the IFPMA, as well as observ ers from the W orld Health
Organisation, the Canadian Health Protection Branch, and the European Free
Trade Area.

International F ederation of Pharmaceutical Manufactur ers Association

(IFPMA) Federation founded 1968; it counts at present members from about 50
countries; one of the objects of the federation is to “promote and support con-
tinuous development throughout the pharmaceutical industry of ethical princi-
ples and practices v oluntarily agreed on”; see also IFPMA code of
pharmaceutical marketing practices.

International Federation of Pharmaceutical Physicians (IFAPP) The federa-

tion acts among other things as forum for cooperation between member asso-
ciations and for dissemination of information on the specialty of pharmaceutical
medicine as well as on the de velopment and use of medicines; from its be gin-
nings in 1972 to now over 30 national associations from countries all o ver the
world have become members of IFAPP.

international non-pr oprietary name (INN) Name for a gi ven drug (syn.
generic name, opp. Brand-/ trade name); recommended by the WHO; initi-
ated in 1950, the WHO-list contained 5,520 INNs in 1988 and 6,085 INNs in
1991; at present about 8,000 INNs ha ve been published and this number is
growing e very year by some 120–150 ne w INN; INNs are, with some rare
exceptions, identical to national names, e.g. local of ficial names as British
Approved Names (B AN), British Appro ved Name Modi fied (B ANM),
Dénominations Communes Françaises (DCF), Japanese Adopted Names (J AN),
United States Accepted Names (USAN), etc.; according to a naming con ven-
tion, the following priority should be considered for the ranking of the name of
a substance (chemical): INN, European Pharmacopoea (EU Ph.), B AN,
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUP AC), Summary of
Product Characteristics (SPC); for herbal medicinal products/respective prepa-
rations the botanical Latin name should be used in accordance with the
International Botanical Nomenclatural Code.
129

International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Worldwide federation

of national standards bodies (ISO members), whereby members (governmental
and non-governmental organizations) have the right to be represented on such
committees; approval of ISO procedures requires at least 75 % approval by the
members voting; standards are prepared by technical committees; appropriate
standard to apply depends on acti vities of the compan y; see therefore ISO
9000, ISO 9000–3, ISO 9001, ISO 9002, ISO 9003, ISO 10011–2.

international prescribing information see core data sheet.

International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) see interna-

tional non-proprietary name .

inter-observer reliability Degree to which one observ er classified observations

in the same w ay as other observ ers; see also inter-observer reliability ,
k statistic.

interval estimation see confidence interval, point estimation .

interval scale Scale with measurements in definite units e.g. liters or ml, kg, etc.;
see also data.

intervention trial syn. prevention trial, interventional t.; clinical trial studying
prevention of disease, either primary or secondary (e.g. reinf arction after infarction);
see also large simple trial design, non-interventional trial .

intra-individual comparison see k statistic, within-patient comparison.

intra-observer r eliability De gree to which one observ er classi fied observ a-

tions in the same w ay at dif ferent points in time; see also inter-observer
reliability ,k statistic.

intrinsic factors see extrinsic factors.

introductory meeting see opening meeting .

invented name of a medicinal product, see trade name.

inventory see drug accountability.

investigational device exemption (IDE) Allows manufacturers to ship and use

imported devices intended solely for in vestigational use in human subjects ,
without having to first meet some FD A requirements; the IDE applies to all
clinical studies that are undertak en to gather safety and effectiveness data
about a medical device; only sponsors of studies in volving de vices with a
signi fi cantrisk (as determined by the local institutional re view board) are
required to submit an IDE application to the FDA (CDRH) for approval.
130

investigational drug syn. investigational product; any active ingredient, medic-

I inal product or placebo being tested or used in a clinical study; see alsoexper-
imental drug ,FDA 356h form.
investigational drug brochure see investigator’s brochure.
investigational drug labelling The package of an in vestigational ne w drug
intended for human use has to bear a label with a statement speci fic for the
national regulations; EC: name and address of the compan y, identi fication of
the substance or code, date of e xpiry/retest, lot number, name of the respon-
sible physician, to be used for clinical trials; US: “caution: new drug – lim-
ited by federal law to investigational use”.
investigational new drug (IND) syn. notice-of-claimed investigational exemp-
tion for a new drug; FDA: “An IND application is an application to start clini-
cal trials with a ne w active ingredient”; see also clinical trial
certificate, clinical trial exemption, FDA 1571 form.
investigational medicinal pr oduct (IMP) EC: “a pharmaceutical form of an
active substance or placebo being tested or used as a reference in a clinical
trial, including products already with a mark eting authorisation b ut used or
assembled (formulated or packaged) in a w ay dif ferent from the authorised
form, or when used for an unauthorised indication, or when used to gain further
information about the authorised form”; a pharmaceutical product or v accine
used for a clinical trial; the term co vers both, the (new) chemical entity or
product of interest as well as the comparator b ut not a challenge agent ,
background therapy provided to all subjects or escape-/ rescue medication ;
see also drug.
investigational medicinal pr oduct dossier (IMPD) The IMPD (full or
simplified) gives information to justify the quality of any IMP to be used in the
clinical trial, including reference products/comparators and placebos and
includes summaries of information related to the quality, manufacture and con-
trol of the investigational medicinal product, data from non-clinical studies and
from its clinical use; it is the basis for approval of clinical trials by the compe-
tent authorities in the EU; see also investigator’s brochure.
investigational plan see protocol.
investigator syn. trialist; clinician(s) responsible for the practical performance
of a clinical trial and for the integrity, health and welfare of the subjects during
the trial; he must be le gally allo wed to practice, trained and e xperienced in
research/performing clinical trials (in some countries a minimum e xperi-
ence with trials of 2 years is required, e.g. German y), familiar with the back-
ground of the drug and the requirements of the study , reputated to ha ve high
131

ethical standards and professional inte grity; the le gal status of persons autho-
rised to act as in vestigators differs between states; coordinating i.: of a multi-
centre study, one single person who supervises or coordinates a trial and who is
responsible for the medical and scientific conduct; primary (or principal) i.: one
single person who supervises the medical conduct at an investigational site; the
p.i. might not actually also conduct the in vestigation (see co-investigator,
sub-investigator) or dispense the test article in the event of an investiga-
tion conducted by a team of individuals; the p.i. is the responsible leader of that
team, only one p.i. should be listed in item 1 F orm FDA 1572 ;co-investigator
means equal and shared responsibility for the conduct, control, and completion
of a study; each coi. completes his own Form FDA 1572, item 1; sub-investigator
means individuals assisting the investigator in conduct of the clinical investigation;
examples: research fellows, residents, and associates; any physician who assists in
a study should be listed as a subi. in item 6 on Form FDA 1572; responsibilities EC
(III): “to be f amiliar with the product, to ensure that he has suf ficient time, ade-
quate staff and appropriate f acilities, to pro vide retrospective data, to submit a
curriculum vitae, noti fication/application to rele vant bodies and to the ethics
committee, to obtain informed consent, to record of drug deli veries ( drug
accountability), to ensure dispensing of drugs only to trial subjects, to w ork
according to the protocol and good clinical practice, to accept control proce-
dures (monitoring ,audit) to ensure con fidentiality, to follow-up of subjects, to
comment upon laboratory values outside a clinically accepted reference range …”;
personal data of investigators are kept in the EU database; see alsoconfidential-
ity, data protection act, physician investigator, statement of investi-
gator, study coordinator.

investigator’s brochure (IB) syn. investigational drug brochure, clinical inves-

tigator’s manual, investigator’s drug brochure, in vestigator’s manual; summary
of all rele vant information of an in vestigational product prior to the onset of a
clinical trial by a clinician (preclinical data as chemical-, pharmaceutical-,
toxicological-, pharmacokinetic-, pharmacodynamic data in animals and results
of earlier clinical trials); the information must be updated in yearly intervals dur-
ing the course of the trial and if new important data arise; the safety part overlaps
with the safety information in the annual safety update report and the
development safety update report; the IB can define those serious adverse
reactions that do not request immediate reporting; there is considerable o ver-
lapping with the Investigational Medicinal Product Dossier; see also
development safety update report , pre-trial data; for other types of
documents see annual progress report, annual safety update report
(ASUR), reference safety information.

investigator’s drug brochure see investigator’s brochure.

132

investigator initiated trial (IIT) see non-commercial clinical trial,

I sponsor -investigator.

investigator’s manual see investigator’s brochure.

investigator’s meeting see prestudy meeting.
investigator’s site f le (ISF) File of study documents kept at the investigational
site, the y strongly o verlap with the trial master f le, e xcept a fe w essential
documents such as the source documents, signed informed consent forms,
“Subject Identif cation Code List” or the “Subject Enrolment Log” that are kept
exclusively by the investigator.
investigator sponsored trial see non-commercial clinical trial; see also
in vitro toxicity testing.
In vitro toxicity testing As part of the safety evaluation process of new chemi-
cal entities (NCE) a battery of tests e xists for screening on general parame-
ters such as cytotoxicity [e.g. Chinese Hamster Ov ary cells (CHO), Ames test
in bacterial cells], genotoxicity, phospholipidosis, steatosis and cholestasis; see
also stem cells, toxicity test.
ion trapping weak bases (e.g. alkaloids such as cocaine, amphetamine, narcotics)
accumulate in the stomach even when given by parenteral route; at equilibrium
across a membrane the concentration of the non-ionised moiety is the same on
both sides (blood, gastric fluid) but more total drug is on the side on which the
degree of ionisation is greater; see partition coefficient, pKa.
ISO 9000/EN 29000 Specifies a worldwide quality management system (iden-
tical to the European EN 29000 and the British BS 5750); compliance with
increases competition and decreases risk of professional liability; the ISO 9000
series consists of five parts of standards pro viding a generalised model for an
organizational structure, responsibilities, procedures, and resources for imple-
menting quality intentions concerning the production of pharmaceuticals, med-
ical devices etc. or pro vision of services; EN 29000 is the identical European
copy of the international standard ISO 9000; ISO 9000 standards must be fol-
lowed in order to trade freely within the EC nations; companies that are not ISO
9000 accredited may need to under go quality audits by e very other compan y
with which they trade; both ISO 9000 and FDA’s good manufacturing practice
regulations follow the same general guidelines; re gistration to ISO 9000 fol-
lows from satisfactory audit by certification bodies (e.g. BSI Quality Assurance,
Lloyds Register Quality Assurance) with an initial total assessment (repeated
every third year), followed by six monthly partial assessments; see also audit,
good manufacturing practice, international organization for stan-
dardization, quality assurance, total quality management .
133

ISO 9000–3 Standard on quality management and quality assurance for the
development, supply, and maintenance of computer software, published by the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in Geneva 1991; see also
IEEE standard 1062–1993, international organization for
standardization.
ISO 9001 Quality systems – model for quality assurance in design de velopment,
production, installation and servicing; for use when conformance to speci fied
requirements is to be assured by the supplier during se veral stages which may
include design/development, production, installation and servicing; first edition
1987; see also international organization for standardization.
ISO 9002 Quality systems – Model for quality assurance in production and
installation; for use when conformance to speci fied requirements is to be
assured by the supplier during production and installation; see also interna-
tional organization for standardization.
ISO 9003 Quality systems – Model for quality assurance infinal inspection and
test; for use when conformance to specified requirements is to be assured by the
supplier solely at final inspection and test; see also international organiza-
tion for standardization.
ISO/DIS 10011–2 Guidelines for auditing quality systems – quali fication
criteria for auditors (1989); see also international organization for stan-
dardization, audit.
ISO country codes One to three letter code that may be used to replace the full
name of the country heading. ISO 3166 codes together with the respecti ve
names of EU/EEA countries can be found at the follo wing web site: http://
publications.eu.int/code/en/en-370101.htm; ISO country codes are part of the
“Worldwide unique case identification number” of ICSRs; see also individual
case safety report.
J

joint-marketing One product is sold by tw o companies under tw o

trademarks; see also competition law, co-promotion.
joint-venture see: strategic alliance.

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Kaplan–Meier method syn. product-limit method; see survival analysis.

Karch and Lasagna classification see causality; see also standardised
assessment of causality.
Karnofsky performance status scale which was devised for use in trials
of chemotherapeutic agents for carcinoma; 100 % = normal, no complaints,
no evidence of disease; 90 % = able to carry on normal activity, minor signs
or symptoms of disease; 80 % = normal activity with effort, some signs or
symptoms of disease; 70 % = cares for self, unable to carry on normal activ-
ity or to do active work; 60 % = requires occasional assistance but is able to
care for most of his needs; 50 % = requires considerable assistance and fre-
quent medical care; 40 % = disabled, requires special care and assistance;
30 % = severely disabled, hospitalisation is indicated although death is not
imminent; 20 % = very sick, hospitalisation necessary , acti ve supporti ve
treatment necessary; 10 % = moribund, fatal processes progressing rapidly;
0 % = dead; this scale ho wever has never been validated; see also perfor-
mance status.
Keith–Wagener classi fi catio Describes the de gree of retinopathy in
hypertensive and arteriosclerotic patients (I–IV).
key ef fi cacycriteria see primary endpoints.
key-punch error see clerical error.
kick-off symposium Marketing expression for a symposium arranged for
launching of a new product.
kinetic Drugs are usually eliminated in one of three ways: zero order kinet-
ics, first order kinetics, or a combination of both (Michaelis-Menten k.);
zero order k. is a process whereby the rate of elimination is independent

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of the concentration of the drug, a fixed amount is eliminated o ver a period of

K time (capacity limited, dose dependent decrease), therefore small increments in
dose may produce large increases in plasma concentration; frequently seen with
drugs where liver enzymes are responsible for metabolism and which become
saturated (examples: ethanol, acetylsalicylic acid, phenytoin); first order k.: the
rate of drug elimination depends on the amount (concentration) of a drug pres-
ent at a speci fic time; as the concentration f alls, the process proceeds with a
slower rate; the half-life of elimination ho wever remains constant; most
drugs follow this process within their therapeutic ranges; Michaelis-Menten k.:
refers to a mixed drug elimination pattern of both, zero- and first order k.
knowledge detection see data mining.
Korotkoff sound first sound during auscultatory blood pressure measurement:
first appearance of faint clear tapping sounds which gradually increase in inten-
sity (the systolic pressure is heard for two consecutive beats and this correlates
well with intra-arterial pressures; also the pressure at which pulse of arteria
radialis/brachialis reappears); fourth sound: point of muf fling of sounds, i.e.
when the sounds stop to have a tapping character; fifth sound: complete disap-
pearance of the sound (recorded as diastolic pressure).
Koseisho Japanese health ministry.
k statistic Statistic used to measure interobserver or intraobserver agreement.
L

labelling FDA: “all labels and other written, printed or graphic matter upon
any article or an y of its containers or wrappers – or accompan ying such
article”; see also misbranded drug; labelling of investigational drug sam-
ples for clinical trials requires, according to EC guidelines of good clini-
cal practice (III), the follo wing minimal amount of information: “F or
clinical trial”, name of the responsible physician ( investigator ),
identification-code of the trial, substance or patient code, dosage form,
quantity, directions for use, storage conditions, expiry/retest date, producer,
contact details (importer if manuf acturer is outside the EU), “k eep out of
reach of children” (if taken home); for clinical trials of medicinal products
for use before and during pregnancy: within the EC the following categories
for labelling are used: A – product has been assessed, no harmful effects are
known; B1 – safety not established, animal studies do not indicate harmful
effects; B2 – safety not established, animal studies are insufficient to assess
safety; B3 – safety not established, animal studies have shown reproductive
toxicity; C – product does not increase spontaneous incidence of birth
defects, but has potential hazardous pharmacological effects with respect to
the course of pre gnancy; D – product is kno wn or suspect to cause birth
defects and/or irre versible adv erse effects on pre gnancy outcome; it may
also have potential hazardous pharmacological ef fects with respect to the
course of pre gnancy; see also adverse drug experience, blue box
requirements, investigational drug labelling, label text.
labelling phenomenon Means that the patient e xperiences an increased
number of subjecti ve symptoms (depression of mood, tiredness, anxiety
etc.) after being informed of his/her diagnosis of e.g. hypertension or carci-
noma; in general, the number of days of absence from w ork will also
increase after being “labelled”; l.p. may be a considerable confounder in
clinical trials; see also hawthorne effect, placebo effect, white-coat
hypertension.

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label text Requirements for label texts of a investigational medicinal products

L differ somewhat between countries; the following information has to be given
routinely or may be requested in addition: name of drug or code, dosage, dos-
age form, route of administration, directions for use, quantity/volume, special
storage conditions, special statements as: “keep out of reach of children”, “for
clinical trial only”, caution statements etc., lot no., expiry or retest date, bottle
no., study no., patient no., name of in vestigator, name of manuf acturer,
address of manufacturer; texts must be in the local language if the medication
is handed out to the patient; for medicinal product (MP) that are placed on the
market the follo wing particulars must appear on the outer package (Dir
2001/83/EC): name of the MP (also in Braille format) and generic name,
form and strength, quantity of active substance per dose unit, excipients, route
of administration, warning to keep out of reach of children, special warnings
if necessary, expiry date, storage precautions, precautions for disposal of MP
or waste material if appropriate, name+ address of MAH, MA number, manu-
facturer’s batch number , in case of self-medication instructions on the use;
see also labelling.

label use American term for use of a drug for its approved indications.

laboratory normal range syn. reference range (preferred term), each labora-
tory has its own ranges within which v alues or results of a speci fic test can be
considered as “normal”, i.e. not pathologic; it is particularly important to ha ve
these ranges of each laboratory for the final interpretation of data ; see also
pooling of lab data.

La Fontaine stages see fontaine’s stages.

large simple (trial) design Study design which is characterized by lar ge sam-
ple sizes (data on population le vel rather than indi vidual subject level), broad
entry criteria consistent with the current, appro ved labelling, randomization
based on equipoise (neither physician nor patient assumes one treatment being
superior), minimal data collection requirements/k ey data normally a vailable,
hard, objective endpoints (death, stroke, hospitalization, etc.), follow-up mini-
mizing interference with normal medical practice an whether or not a patient
discontinued medication, minimal interv entions consistent with current medi-
cal practice, intent-to-treat analysis; LSTD is often used in v accine
research; see also design, ecological study, epidemiology, non-interven-
tional study, post-approval research, registry .

Lasagna’s law The incidence of patient a vailability sharply decreases when a

study begins and returns to its original le vel as soon as a study is completed
(because most trialists overestimate the number of eligible patients); similar to
muench’s law ,murphy’s law, Pareto’s principle.
139

last observation carried forward (LOCF) see last value carried forward
(LVCF).
last value carried f orward (LVCF) syn. last observ ation/visit carried forw ard
(eventually “baseline observation carried forward”); biometric technique whereby
all data of all patients a vailable are used for analysis; missing data are filled-up
with the respecti ve last v alue available and an “arti ficial” complete data base is
created (single imputation); the opposite w ould be “complete case analysis”
where incomplete cases/data sets are deleted. The alternati ve to both approaches
would be is the multiple imputation approach or mixed model of repeated
measures (MMRM); LOCF tend to overestimate the treatment effect when there
is a higher dropout-/withdrawal rate in the inferior group (e.g., placebo); see also
analysis of study results, extender analysis, intent-to-treat analysis.
last visit carried forward (LVCF) see last-value-carried-forward.
latent period Time between e xposure and de velopment of clinical signs and
symptoms; see also incubation period.
Latin square Cross-over design, where each of n patients (or of n groups of
subjects) receives n treatments in a randomised order (represented by n × n
squares); e.g. for three groups and three treatments: group 1: A, B, C; group 2:
B, C, A; group 3: C, A, B; this design allows three different sources of variation
to be equalised (three treatments, three groups of subjects, three orders); such a
design can balance out any sequence (or site) effects as well as between-sub-
ject variances; frequently used e.g. in phase i, iia or bioequivalence trials,
but also for assessing observer variations; see also graeco-latin square.
Lead Ethics Committee see central ethics committee.
learning effect syn. practice e.; see sequence effect; see also bias, con-
founder, labelling phenomenon, placebo effect.
legally acceptable representative Individual, juridical or other person authorised
under applicable la w to consent on behalf of a subject (e.g., of a child, uncon-
scious person) to it’s participation in a clinical trial; see informed consent.
legal status Status of a medicinal product with respect to it’s marketing autho-
rization and conditions (e.g., dosage forms, indications, restrictions such as
prescription by specialists only, limitation of the treatment duration/number of
units, conditional approval etc.); see also conditional approval, mar-
keting authorisation, restricted marketing authorisation .
lethality Number of subjects dying from a speci fic disease di vided by the
number of subjects suf fering from this disease; see also case fatality rate,
morbidity ,mortality.
140

LD-10 Dose (e.g. in mg/m2) that is lethal in 10 % of the animals of the species
L treated; LD-50 tests of the past ha ve no w been replaced by increasing dose
tolerance studies (see maximum non-lethal dose ).
liability see product liability.
licence holder Pharmaceutical company that holds a mark eting and/or manu-
facturing licence; see also marketing authorisation holder .
licensed medicine see off-label use, unlicensed medicine.
life-cycle management The classic life c ycle phases of a pharmaceutical
product are: introduction in major markets, expansion, maturity and decline as
a result of competitive drugs and loss of patent protection; since risks concern-
ing safety, costs of launching and establishing a ne w product are usually f ar
greater than the costs of maintaining one already on the mark et there is a
strong case for consciously extending the life of a product for as long as pos-
sible e.g., by new formulations, new indications (“reprofiling” of a drug) or
even “recycling” (after withdrawal from the mark et); increasing costs for
R&D and budget pressure on public health systems tend also to f avour well-
established drugs for standard therap y; potenc y and side ef fects are often
acceptable, whereas deli very and bioa vailability may be less satisf actory;
reformulation, including functional coating to impro ve pharmacological and
or pharmacokinetic properties is often a strategy in l-c.m.; other major exten-
sion strategies are: acceptance s. The customer/doctor is encouraged to use the
product (important: scienti fic and medical e vidence); use e xpansion s.
Broadening indications, pro viding e vidence for safe use in other patient
groups/higher dosages, line extension a.s.o.; pro file enhancement s.
Enhancement of the product-image; competitor response s. Prediction of and
counteraction on competitor responses; cost-ef fectiveness s. Optimisation of
effectiveness, minimisation of costs; see alsocoating, controlled-release
form, drug repositioning, excipient, extension application, formula-
tion, innovative chemical entity, new chemical entity, research and
development, type II variation.
life event Major life events (such as illness, marriage, pregnancy, death of rela-
tives, children, ne w job, quarrels with superiors, mo ve to a ne w home, v aca-
tions, loans taken, private bankruptcy etc.), can have effects on clinical outcomes
and can bias results, esp. in quality of life studies; see also bias.
life-table analysis see survival analysis.
life-threatening FD A: “The patient w as, in the vie w of the in vestigator, at
immediate (emphasis added) risk of death from the reaction as it occurred, i.e.,
it does not include a reaction that, had if occurred in a more serious form, might
have caused death.”
141

Likert scale Usually a 3 or 5 point scale for categorical data (e.g. mild-
moderate-sever); see also visual analogue scale.
limits of impurity see impurity.
Limulus Amebocyte lysate test (LAL) Test on the presence of bacterial endo-
toxins in drugs or de vices in order to sho w ef fectiveness of dep yrogenation
techniques.
linear analogue self assessment (LASA) see visual analogue scale.
linear correlation coefficient see correlation coefficient.
linear no thr eshold (LNT) Hypothesis stating that a linear radiation dose –
biological ef fect relationship e xists with no lo wer limit, and leading to the
conclusion that any dose, no matter how small, has harmful effects.
linear regression Process of fitting a straight line to two continuous variables;
mathematically: y = a + bx; b = regression coef ficient; predicts, in contrast to
correlation coef ficient r, value of y from a v alue of x; see also correlation
coefficient.
line extension New commercial form of a mark eted product, e.g. ne w dosage
or application form, ne w galenical formulation a.s.o.; strate gy used for
life cycle management of a pharmaceutical product; see extension
application.
liposome Vesicle constructed of phospholipid bilayers that allo w the vesicles to
mimic biological membranes; the y contain aqueous phases between their bilay-
ers; single-layered liposomes are generally <0.1–0.2 mm in size and good carriers
of water-soluble drugs; their small size generally reduces their rate of elimina-
tion; multi-layered vesicles range from about 1–5 mm; with a higher proportion of
lipid to aqueous phases due to multiple lipid bilayers, the y are suitable for trans-
porting lipophilic drugs; they are more rapidly cleared from the body than single-
layered l.; see also drug delivery systems, formulation.
listed adverse drug reaction ICH: “An adverse reaction whose nature and
severity are consistent with the information included in the Company Core
Safety Information”; see also unlisted adverse drug reaction .
literature controls see historical control.
literature search Marketing Authorisation Holders are obliged to conduct in at
least weekly intervals a l. search for adverse reactions reported with substances/
products they have placed on the mark et, irrespective of their commercial sta-
tus; it is essential to document the search strate gy (search terms, languages,
national/poorly inde xed journals, k ey w ords, …) and databases used (e.g.,
Embase, Excerpta Medica, Medline, LILA CS, etc.); search engines for
142

internet-based search of medical literature include Google, Google scholar ,

L Yahoo search engine, etc., see also master case, periodic safety update
report, pharmacovigilance.
loading dose syn. priming dose; initial dose of a drug which is higher than the
maintenance dose; the concept being to achie ve a therapeutic concentration
more rapidly in case of drugs with a slo w elimination rate (e.g. therap y with
tetracyclins, amiodarone, digitalis glycosides).
local CRA see clinical research associate.
local delivery see route of administration.
log sheet Record of documents such as e.g. case record form, test article
accountability form.
loi DMOS abbr. “Diverses Mesures d’Ordre Social”; French la w concerning
financial bene fits offered by the pharmaceutical industry to physicians and all
other members of medical professions.
loi Huriet syn. Loi Huriet-Serusclat; French Medicines Act which came into
operation in December 1988.
long-term use EC: “where the medicine is lik ely to be administered re gularly
over a substantial period of life, i.e. continuously during a minimum period of
6 months or frequently in an intermittent manner so that the total e xposure is
similar”.
Lorentz-formula For calculating the ideal body-weight (w) of a subject; for
men: w = (height [cm] − 100) − ((height − 150)/4);for women: w = (height − 100)–
((height − 150)/2); see also anthropometry, body-mass-index.
loss to follow-up Patients lost to a clinical trial without kno wing the reasons;
sometimes also used to describe the total number of patients lost, i.e. not
finishing a particular clinical trial ( premature termination); the FD A (Clinical
Guidance Document, 1994) suggests that loss to follow-up should be less than
20 %; see also drop-out, withdrawal.
lot FDA: “ batch, or a speci fic identi fied portion of a batch, ha ving uniform
character and quality within speci fied limits; or, in case of a drug product pro-
duced by continuous process, it is a speci fic identi fied amount produced in a
unit of time or quantity in a manner that assures its ha ving uniform character
and quality within speci fic limits”; for stability information, a further charac-
terisation as research-, pilot-, or production-lot, together with the lot number
and the manufacturing date is generally requested.
lubricants see excipients.
M

macrobiotics unprocessed food such as whole grains; see functional

food, orthomolecular medicine.
magistral (magisterial) f ormula EC (I): “an y medicinal product pre-
pared in a pharmac y in accordance with a prescription for an indi vidual
patient”; see also officinal formula.
maintenance dose Dose which should achie ve an almost constant effect
without marked fluctuations in plasma concentrations; see loading dose.
Managed Care Organisation (MCO) Middleman in the insurance-based
US health system; acts lik e a loss-adjuster on behalf of the insurance
company or employer, to control and optimise the healthcare expenditure of
the insured.
manufacture EC (IV): “all operations of purchase of materials and prod-
ucts, production, quality control, release, storage, distribution of medic-
inal products and the related controls”.
manufacturer EC (IV): “holder of a manuf acturing authorisation as
described in article 16 of directive 75/319/EEC”.
marginal costs Costs for one extra unit of product or service delivered; see
economic analysis.
marker see biomarker, prognostic/predictive marker .
market see pharmaceutical market.
marketing application syn. product license application; see new
drug application.
marketing authorisation (MA) Standard fees for obtaining m.a. (1 sub-
stance, 1 strength, 1 pharmaceutical form, 1996) are steadily increasing and

G. Nahler, Dictionary of Pharmaceutical Medicine, 143

DOI 10.1007/978-3-7091-1523-7_13, © Springer-Verlag Wien 2013
144

were in USA: US$ 896,200 (2007); between 1990 and 2004 the FDA approved
M 1,284 new drugs including 431 new molecular entities (35 innovative new drugs
in 2011); see also complete review letter, drug evaluation cost, legal
status, medicinal product, new drug application, pharmacovigilance,
placing on the market, product licence application, renewal, sunset
clause.
marketing authorisation holder (MAH) pharmaceutical company entitled to
market a pharmaceutical product; in many cases this will be the same compan y as
the marketing authorization applicant (MAA).
marketing authorisation under exceptional cir cumstances see conditional
approval.
marketing exclusivity Within the EC products registered by the centralised
procedure will automatically bene fit from a 10 year period of protection of
innovation against use of the submitted data by second parties; an extension to
11 years is granted if one or more ne w indications have received authorisation
(“significant clinical bene fit” is demonstrated) during this period; in the e vent
of there being no effective patent cover; a company’s market share may decrease
by 35 % in the first and by 50 % in the second year after the introduction of a
competitive generic product; see also essentially similar medicinal prod-
uct, high-tech medicinal products , international birth date, joint-
marketing, orphan drug, parallel import.
marketing study Studies which are conducted in order to promote a product;
such studies are de f acto no longer allo wed (Dir 2010/84/EC); the y are also
subject of regulations or codes of practice; esp. studies of phase iiib and
iv are frequently under the responsibility of mark eting departments; see also
ifpma code of pharmaceutical marketing practices, medical office
trial, non-interventional study, post-authorisation safety study,
post-marketing study.
masking see blinding.
master case Individual Case Safety Report (ICSR) concerning the same subject
that has been transmitted by dif ferent reporters/sources and that e xists in one or
more duplicates (an issue particularly for literature-based cases); see also
adverse
reaction, consumer report, duplicate report, eudravigilance, individ-
ual case safety report .

master fi l see drug master file, trial master file.

master plan see study list.
master record see device master record.
145

matched pairs see minimization ,randomisation.

maximum acceptable deviation (active ingredient content) see active ingre-
dient ,radiopharmaceutical .
maximum acceptable difference (MD) Largest true difference between treat-
ments that a subject in the trial should be expected to accept and yet continue
in the trial.
maximum admissible/allowed limit (MAL) see alimentary risks.
maximum non-lethal dose (MNLD) Highest single dose which does not
induce death in animals; has replaced calculation of LD-50 values.
maximum r ecommended starting dose (MRSD) approach to calculate the
starting dose of a new drug in first-in-human clinical trials; see phase i .
maximum r epeatable dose (MRD) Dose which pro vides the first e vidence of
significant toxicity whereby the substance is administered in increasingly larger dos-
ages – each 3–4 days – to the same group of animals; see also toxicity tests.
maximum residue limit (MRL) regulatory maximum limit of some chemicals
in food; currently there are no such limits for acrylamide (in food such as bread
or other bak ed products) or bisphenol A (in plastic containers) both of which
are toxic.
maximum tolerated dose (MTD) Dose which pro vides the first e vidence
of treatment limiting toxicity; refers to: (1) moderate decrease in weight gain of
animals, not exceeding 10 %, and usually determined on the base of results of
90 day studies; (2) anticancer drug evaluated in phase i patient trials in oncol-
ogy; see dose escalation study ,noel, toxicity tests.
maximum tolerated systemic exposur e (MTSE) Dose escalation strate gy in
phase I clinical trials for drugs likely to have a clear concentration-effect rela-
tionship; see also continuous reassessment method (CRM), dose escala-
tion, fibonacci search scheme, pharmacokinetically guided dose
escalations (PGDE ).
mean Arithmetic mean: average of a number of values (the sum of the values
divided by the number of observations, X = (x1 + x2 + … xn)/n); the geometric
mean is de fined as the n-root of the product of the v alues, lg X = (lg x1 + lg
x2 + … lg xn)/n; if the data are normally distrib uted the mean and median
coincide; see also mode , distribution, point estimation, standard
error.
mean blood pr essure (MBP) see mean arterial blood pressure; see also
korotkoff sound, vital signs.
146

mean arterial blood pr essure (MAP) de fined as: diastolic BP + 1/3 × (systolic −
M diastolic BP); see also pulse pressure, vital signs.

measurement properties Accuracy, consistency, precision, reliability,

reproducibility, validity, variability.

medDRA see code used for adverse events, medical dictionary for drug
regulatory activities; see also WHO-adverse reaction terminology.

median Midmost v alue of a distrib ution; 50 % of n observ ations ha ve

higher, and 50 % lo wer v alues, therefore = (n + 1)/2; see also distribution ,
mean ,mode.

medical audit Systematic, critical analysis of the quality of medical care,

including the procedures used for diagnosis and treatment, the use of resources,
the resulting outcome and the quality of life for the patients; see also audit,
drug utilisation study .

medical culture Differences in medical culture and traditions can induce clini-
cal heterogeneity of data and are especially important when runningmultina-
tional trials or when comparing their results; examples for such differences
and in fluence f actors: pre valence of diseases, pharmaceutical e xpenditures,
drug utilisation and self medication (OTC, herbal products), diagnostics, nutri-
tion etc.; see also bias, confidence interval, health care services,
meta-analysis, prescription, variability.

medical device def. (EC): “an y instrument, apparatus, appliance, material or

other article, including softw are, whether used alone or in combination,
intended by the manufacturer to be used for human beings solely or princi-
pally for the purposes of: diagnosis, prevention, monitoring, treatment or alle-
viation of disease, injury or handicap, in vestigation, replacement or
modification of the anatomy or of a physiological process, control of concep-
tion, and which does not achieve its principal intended action in or on the human
body by pharmacological, immunological or metabolic means, b ut which may
be assisted in its function by such means”; active m.d. means “any m.d. relying
for its functioning on a source of electrical energy or any source of power other
than that directly generated by the human body or gra vity”; active implantable
m.d. means “any active medical device which is intended to be totally or par -
tially introduced, sur gically or medically, into the human body or by medical
intervention into a natural ori fice, and which is intended to remain after the
procedure”; depending on the le vel of vulnerability, m.ds. are di vided in four
classes, class I, IIa, IIb and III (with increasing risk potential), for which differ-
ent conformity and quality assessment procedures are requested; see CE mark-
ing, device, drug delivery systems, EC declaration of conformity, EC
147

type-examination, EC type-examination certificate, investigational

device exemption, medical device reporting, unique device
identification.
medical device reporting (MDR) Most regulations require that manufacturers,
distributors or importers of devices report to regulatory authorities when they
become a ware of information that one of their de vices may ha ve caused or
contributed to a death or serious injury , or when a recurrent malfunction is
likely to cause death or serious injury; EC: as “incidents” are considered “an y
malfunction or deterioration in the characteristics and/or performance of a
device, as well as any inadequacy in the labelling or the instructions for the use”
as well as “any technical or medical reason in relation to the characteristics or
performance of a device … leading to systematic recall of devices of the same
type”; reporting of death or serious injury has to be done to the FD A/health
authority by phone as soon as possible, b ut not later than 5 calendar days, fol-
lowed by a written report within 15 w orking days after initial receipt of infor -
mation; see also device, investigational device exemption.

medical dictionary f or drug r egulatory acti vity (MedDRA) International

standard for use in the entry , retrieval, analysis, presentation and communica-
tion of medical data in the regulatory context, for recording medical history and
adverse events in clinical trials, registration dossiers, labelling and summaries
of product characteristics, post-mark eting safety surv eillance/pharma-
covigilance, the expedited reporting of adverse reactions and periodic safety
update reports; to be used in all phases of the lifec ycle of a medicinal prod-
uct; terms are grouped in a hierarchical classification system consisting of four
primary levels of specificity; the “preferred term” (PT) is the most specific, the
“system organ class” (SOC) the most general with 26 SOCs; “high level terms”
(HLT) are contained within the system or gan class; e xamples: tunnel vision
(PT) – visual field disorders – e ye disorders (SOC); rhabdomyolysis (PT) –
muscular disorders (HL T) – musculosk eletal and connecti ve tissue disorders
(SOC); actually, the MedDRA (v ersion 12.0) contains o ver 18,000 preferred
terms; see also code, data mining, WHO-adverse reaction terminology .

medical management see disease management.

medical of fi cetrial syn. GP trial, usually a multicentre trial, done in gen-
eral practice or other non-hospital units.

medical registry see registry .

medication error Patients can receive either the wrong drug, the wrong dose,
the wrong route of administration or the right drug at the wrong time; in addi-
tion there can be simply omissions and e xtra doses as well as documentation
148

errors in the medical records; it is estimated that this occurs in at least 5–15 to
M 20 % of the cases; see also error.

medication guide (US) see patient information leaflet.

medicinal gas EC: medicinal gases are classi fied as medicinal products; see
also drug.
medicinal product EC (I): “an y substance or combination of substances pre-
sented for treating or preventing disease in human beings or animals”; syn. to
the term drug (drug product) preferred by US re gulations; in the EC, market-
ing authorization holders are obliged to submit basic information on their
m.p. to a database maintained by the EMA according to Re g 726/2004 Art.57(2),
e.g., on the mark eting authorization status, country, renewal date(s), excipi-
ents, indications and further key elements of the summary of product char-
acteristics; see also bulk product, drug, eudravigilance medicinal
product dictionary, finished product, intermediate product, packag-
ing material, procedures, production.
Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency Former Medicines
Control Agenc y, MCA; part of the Department of Health; UK’ s licensing
authority, responsible for safeguarding public health by ensuring that all medi-
cines meet acceptable standards; responsible also for clinical trial exemp-
tion or clinical trial certificate and inspections; supported by other
committees as the CSM, SEAR.
Medicines Control Agency (MCA) see medicines and healthcare prod-
ucts regulatory agency (MHRA).
medwatch (US) The FDA safety information and adverse event reporting pro-
gram of marketed medicinal products ( http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/); in con-
trast to the “ EudraVigilance” system of the European Medicines Agenc y,
medwatch accepts reports also directly from consumers (patients); see also
adverse events, pharmacovigilance, yellow card system .
mee-too syn. non-new molecular entities; see innovative chemical extension.
mega-trial Controlled clinical trial enrolling v ery large numbers of subjects,
usually over 10,000; see also clinical trial.
memorandum of understanding (MOU) FDA: allows mutual recognition of
inspections.
meta-analysis syn. pooled analysis, o verview analysis; statistical analysis
combining or integrating data from two or more independent trials of the same
treatment, with similar selection criteria, and measuring identical parameters
149

by comparable methods; in general m.a. are performed for drawing global con-
clusions concerning safety and efficacy; when selecting studies from the litera-
ture, m.a. can be subject to se vere publication bias; selection for inclusion in
this kind of analysis should therefore proceed according to preset standards; a
list of all included as well as e xcluded studies should always be presented and
the sensitivity of the results of the m.a. against inclusion or xe clusion of specific
studies demonstrated; dangers: m.a. may invite false confidence in results where
data dif fering in quality and patient groups dif fering in properties are com-
bined; relationship between frequencies can be presented either as difference or
as ratio (odds ratio); see also box-score review ,forest plot, medical cul-
ture, narrative review .

metabolism All biochemical activities carried out by an organism to maintain

life; biochemical transformation of a drug; usually the body mak es a drug
more water soluble so the drug can be eliminated more rapidly via kidney and
urine; common reactions of biotransformation include oxidation/hydroxyla-
tion, reduction and hydrolysis, or synthetic processes such as conjugation; for
some enzymes genetic polymorphism has been described; e.g. for 4 out of
approximately 8 isoenzymes of cytochrome P-450 (among African-Americans,
1.9 % lack debrisoquine hydroxylase CYP2D6 and 18.5 % mephen ytoin
hydroxylase CYPmp, essential for metabolisation of psychotropics) com-
pared with 0–2.4 % (17.4–22 %) Asians and 3–8.9 % (2.5–6.7 %) Caucasians;
important differences have also been reported for N-acetytransferase acti vity
(NAT-2): 62 % of African-Americans lack the enzyme and are poor metabolis-
ers compared to 5–21 % Asians and 49–74 % Caucasians; in these subjects
for example isoniazid, a drug used in treating tuberculosis, causes a high inci-
dence of peripheral neuropathy; see adme, cytochrome P450, enantiomer,
ethnic differences, genetic polymorphism, pharmacogenetics, poor
metaboliser.

metabolite A substance produced during or taking part in metabolism.

meta-data data about data; see also derived variable .

Michaelis-Menten kinetics see kinetic .

microbiology Study of li ving organisms and viruses, which can be seen only
under a microscope; see also bacterium.

microbiome Overall term for the number and v ariety of microbes that li ve in
various habitats such as the intestines, oropharynx, skin, vagina etc.

microdose a dose that is less than 1/100th of the dose calculated to yield a
pharmacological effect of the test substance; see phase 0 .
150

microdose study see phase 0 .

M micro-enterprise; Smallest cate gory of “ Small and Medium sized Enter-
prises” (EC) with <10 employees and a turnover or balance sheet of £ 2million
Euro; such enterprises are exempt of a number of fees payable to EMA; see also
european medicines agency .
micronucleus test Short term in vivo assay in rodent bone marrow in order to
detect chromosomal damage to the mitotic apparatus by chemicals; see also
aneugen ,clastogen ,genotoxicity ,toxicity tests.
microparticles Short term for particles between 0.1 and 100 mm in size; see
also drug delivery systems, formulation, nanoparticles.
microRNA (miRN A) Short, noncoding re gulatory RN As of about 22 nucle-
otides; miRN As ne gatively re gulate tar get gene e xpression at the post-
transcriptional level through base pairing to complementary sequences in the 3’
untranslated region (3’UTR) of tar geted transcripts, inducing a combination of
inhibition of translation and mRN A destabilisation; the y are implicated in the
regulation of biological processes such as cell growth, differentiation and apop-
tosis; deregulation is in volved in a number of diseases such as cancer , some
types of viral infections, cardio vascular, in flammatory diseases and psychiatric
disorders; see also nucleotides, RNA interference.
microspheres see drug delivery systems, microparticles.
middleware Software that connects different parts of an application and allows
other software to interact.
migration study Study design in which disease occurrence in indi viduals
who migrate to or from an area is compared with disease occurrence in indi-
viduals who do not migrate, in an attempt to separate genetic susceptibility
from an en vironmental risk f actor; since migrants are frequently dif ferent
from those who stay in an area, and the number of individuals migrating who
develop the disease is usually small, such studies are rarely informati ve; see
also risk.
minimal clinically important difference (MCID) see delta value.
minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) Minimal concentration (usually in
mg/l) of an antibiotic which kills an or ganism; see also minimal inhibitory
concentration.
minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) Minimal concentration (usually in
mg/l) of an antibiotic inhibiting growth of an organism; see also minimal bac-
tericidal concentration.
151

minimal risk Risks or harm anticipated in the proposed research that are not
greater, considering probability and magnitude, than those ordinarily encoun-
tered in daily life or during the performance of routine physical or psychologi-
cal examinations or tests.
minimal toxic dose (MTD) Dose which just sho ws toxic ef fects; see noel,
toxicity tests.
minimization Method in which patients are assigned to treatment groups so
that the differences in known prognostic variables are minimized (“matched
pairs”); e.g. in m. for the f actors age ( £50 or >50), duration of disease ( £ 1 or
>1 year) and pretreatment (yes or no) each patient appears once for each f ac-
tor; then one adds together the number of patients in the corresponding three
rows for treatment A as well as for B and assigns a new patient so that the dif-
ference between A and B is minimized; sometimes, e.g. in single centre
trials, it may ho wever be useful to introduce some element of chance by
assigning the treatment with the smallest total sum with a probability <1 (e.g. ¾);
used in comparisons to (historic) controls, rarely also as alternati ve to
randomization.
minimum anticipated biological effect (MABEL); approach to calculate the
starting dose of a new drug in first-in-human clinical trials; see phase i, see also
dose escalation study .
minimum effective dosage (MED) Finding the MED by indi vidual titration
reduces costs and minimises adverse events; dosage however should not be
reduced to subtherapeutic levels as this has a detrimental ef fect on therapeutic
effectiveness and cost effectiveness.

minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) lo west concentration of an anti-

bacterial agent that inhibits visible gro wth of a speci fic microorganism; see also
antiseptic.
minimum relevant difference (MIREDIF) see delta value.
minorities see women.

Minnesota code Code which can be up to three digits long and which is used
for classifying electrocardiograms; published by the WHO.
misbranded drug Drug or device with false or misleading labelling.
missing v alues Data may be missing at random or not (e.g., when drop-out
rates between groups dif fer). In an y case the y are a challenge for statistical
analyses especially in long-term clinical trials; as a rule of thumb, major
problems can be e xpected if m.v . e xceed about 30%; see also drop-outs,
152

last value (observation) carried forward (LVCF, LOCF ), mixed

M models repeated measures (MMRM) multiple imputation approach,
withdrawals .
misuse syn. off-label use, unlicensed use; EC: “use of a medicinal product in a
way which is not recommended (as authorized) in the summary of product
characteristics”; cases of misuse without an adv erse reaction are to be
reported in the PSUR; see also drug abuse .
mixed model f or repeated measures (MMRM) Lik elihood-based model for
accounting for missing v alues, usually focusing on repeated (continuous
response) measures (observations at all time points) in contrast to the last value
(observation) carried forw ard (LVCF, LOCF) approach that uses only the last
(vs. f rst) value; see also multiple imputation approach .

mode Most frequent single value of a range of data; distribution of data can be
unimodal, bimodal a.s.o.; seldom used to describe frequenc y distributions ,
because it is not readily manipulated; see also mean ,median.
modi fi edFibonacci scheme see fibonacci search scheme .

modi fi edrelease modification of the rate or place at which the acti ve substance
is released; principal types includecontrolled release, delayed release and
prolonged release products (European Pharmacopoeia, EudraLe x 3AQ19a:
Quality of prolonged release oral solid dosage forms, Nov. 1992).
monitor Appropriately trained person appointed by the sponsor or a contract
research organisation (CRO) to be responsible to the sponsor or CRO for the
performance, supervision and reporting on the progress of a clinical trial and
for the verification of data; EC: “the m. must have qualifications and experience
to enable a kno wledgeable supervision of a particular trial”; trained technical
assistants may help the m. in collection of documentation and subsequent pro-
cessing; see also clinical research associate; responsibilities EC: “to control
adherence to protocol, record of data and receipt of informed consent , to
ensure information and communication, to check case report form entries with
source documents, to check the f acilities of investigator, documentation of
supply of product(s) ( drug accountability), to assist the in vestigator in an y
necessary noti fication/application procedure and reporting, to submit written
reports to the sponsor after each contact (monitoring report, audit paper trail ,
data trail) …”; roughly estimated a monitor may have the capacity to run about
6–12 centres in parallel or 6 studies or 200 case report forms per year according
to good clinical practice.
monitoring log list see monitor’s visit log list .
153

monitoring plan Document that describes the type of monitoring (e.g., on site
vs. remote), frequency and extent of monitoring (e.g., 100% source document
verif cation vs. random re view of selected data, f actors triggering an escala-
tion); it may include details on the documentation of m. acti vities (such as m.
reports, adaptive m., additional virtual m., deviation log) and m. responsibilities
in addition.

monitoring report see initiation visit, monitoring plan .

monitor’s visit log list syn. appointment log book, site visit log, monitoring log
list; list kept by the in vestigator in which each visit by the monitor or clinical
research associate is entered and usually also signed of f by a member of the
investigational staff; not an “essential document ”.

monoclonal antibody Highly speci fic, puri fied antibody that is deri ved from
only one clone of cells and recognizes only one antigen; such antibodies are
also produced naturally during haematological malignancies (e.g., B-cell
malignancies).

MOOSE Standards for reporting of Meta-analyses Of Observ ational Studies in

Epidemiology, http://www.equator-network.og; see also publication guidelines .

morbidity Number of subjects suf fering from a speci fic disease di vided by
total number of the population; usually gi ven in number of cases/100,000; see
also lethality ,mortality.

mortality Number of subjects dying from a speci fic disease di vided by the
overall number of the population; usually gi ven in number of cases/100,000;
see also lethality ,morbidity.

mortality rate syn. death rate; number of subjects in a speci fic group who die
within a given number of person-years of follow-up.

Mosteller formula F ormula to calculate the body surf ace area (BSA); BSA
(m2) = square root of {[weight (kg) × height (cm)]/3,600}; as the BSA is less
affected by the body mass it is a better measure than body weight to adjustdos-
age of substances with a narro w therapeutic index; see also anthropometry,
body composition, body surface.

Muench’s law see münch’s law.

multidrug resistance (MDR) ability of cells to de velop resistance to a broad

range of structurally and functionally unrelated drugs after exposure to a single
drug; see also chemosensitizer .
154

multicentre trial (MCT) syn. multi-investigator study; opp. single centre trial,
M single-site trial ;clinical trial conducted according to one single proto-
col in which the trial is identi fied as taking place at dif ferent investigational
sites, therefore carried out by more than one investigator, but following the
same practical details; usually one of the in vestigators is nominated as “ coor-
dinating investigator” who signs also the final report on behalf of all inves-
tigators; advantages versus single c.t.: better access to necessary sample size ,
shorter duration, research errors are less lik ely, better generalizability of
results; a single centralised re view of the scienti fic design is al ways
recommended; risks of m.c.t. concern bias caused especially by site differences
(in training, medical tradition, patient population, a.s.o.); m.c.t.s generally
require a lar ger total number of subjects per treatment group to achie ve the
same power as that obtained in a single c.t. because of additional sources of
variation; m.c.t.s are more complex concerning organization of meetings, elab-
oration of the protocol, standardization of methods for e valuation, e.g. rating
scales, randomization , data collection, laboratory analyses, standardization
(or transformation) of lab v alues with different reference ranges (or or ganiza-
tion of a centralised analysis), drafting of thefinal report, a.s.o.; care must also
be given, that disproportions in the number of recruited subjects do not lead to
statistical imbalances; see also genie score, medical office trial, multi-
national trial.
multi-investigator study see multicentre trial.

multinational trial multicentre trial conducted in different countries at the

same time, often because only moderate or difficult to quantify treatment effects
are to be e xpected, demanding therefore lar ger patient numbers; problems
(apart from that which are speci fic for multicentre trials) which might be
encountered concern differences in medical culture (classi fi cation,epidemi-
ology, treatment of the disease, dif ferent treatment f acilities, diet, a.s.o.) as
well as re gulatory problems (e xport/import rules, re gulation of supply of
product(s), different legislation concerning preclinical requirements, informed
consent, approvals, social welfare systems, a.s.o.).

multiple comparisons Statistical in vestigation comparing multiple groups

with a control or with each other; see also bonferroni correction, interim
analysis, subgroup analysis.
multiple imputation appr oach Missing or de ficient v alues are replaced
with two or more acceptable values that represent a distribution of possibilities
(e.g., hypothetical result assuming the “best” resp. “w orst” scenario); this
statistical analysis requests to set up multiple data bases that contain some
hypothetical data but have the advantage of being complete instead of the usual
single, b ut incomplete database; see also extender analysis, intent-
155

to-treat analysis, last value carried forward, mixed models repeated

measures (MMRM).
multi-state procedure see decentralised procedure.
Münch’s law First law: “In order to be realistic, the number of cases promised
in any clinical trial must be di vided by a f actor of at least ten”; similar to
lasagna’s law, sometimes also attrib uted to murphy (see murphy’s law ;
recruitment rate); second law: “results can always be improved by omitting
controls ”.
Murphy’s law “if anything can go wrong it will”; often applied to describe prob-
lems concerning recruitment rate (the number of a vailable patients drops as
soon as the trial starts, which is similar tomuench’s law and lasagna’s law); see
also pareto’s principle, parouzzi principle, perussel’s law.
mutagenicity tests MT reveal if a substance can change the genetic material of
individuals or cells by gene mutations or chromosomal damage; the mutagenic
potential of a substance can be tested by in vi vo techniques (e.g. c ytogenetic
micronucleus test), or in vitro (e.g. Ames-test, HPRT, chromosomal aberration
in human lymphoc ytes or Chinese hamster o vary (CHO) cells, V79 cells,
unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) in human or animal cell lines); see also
genotoxicity, toxicity tests.
mutual recognition procedure (MRP) multistate procedure for a medicinal
product that has already recei ved a MA in at least one MS; to mak e it easier
for obtaining marketing authorization in at least two further EC member states
(concerned MS) by a common application after first having obtained marketing
authorization in one member state (afterwards “rapporteur”); this country has
a maximum of 210 days for appro ving the product; the initiating national
authority creates an assessment report (for which it has additional 90 days),
certifies the dossier and the SPC and submits it to other member states which
have 90 days to recognise the decision; the maximum period is e xpected to be
390 days; the committee for proprietary medicinal products (CPMP) acts as
arbiter if another member state will not recognise the first country’s licensing
decision; this multi-state procedure relates only to medicinal products autho-
rised in accordance with the criteria laid down by the directives of the EC. It is
possible to use the MRP more than once for subsequent applications to other
Member States in relation to the same medicinal product (so called repeat use);
see also decentralised procedure.
N

NAFTA see north american free trade agreement.

Nairobi principles Define rational drug use as “to ensure that the right drug
is given to the right patient, at the right dose, and at af
fordable costs” (WHO-
meeting in Nairobi, 1985); see also disease management, nairobi prin-
ciples, personalised medicine.
named patient use Prescription of a medication that has no (national)
marketing authorisation for a single (named) patient in contrast to compas-
sionate use that refers to a unspecif ed group of patients and not to an indi-
vidual (Dir 2001/83/EC); usually the treating physician must care for the
preparation and/or importation of the medication; see also expanded-
access program, treatment ind .
naming convention for substances (chemicals) see international non-
proprietary name .
nanoparticles Nanoparticles are ultra fine particles sized between 1 and
100 nm thus similar to biological molecules such as proteins; the y are able
to pass through cell membranes and interact with proteins and other biopo-
lymers; they are considered to be bio-persistent; their interactions with bio-
logical systems present possible dangers, both medically and vironmentally
en
which are relati vely unknown; e.g., titanium dioxide (T iO2) or zinc oxide
(ZnO) found in sunscreens has been sho wn to be toxic to DN A or colon
cells resp. in small amounts, and food additi ves in processed meats ha ve
been linked to increased risk of diabetes type II and autoimmune diseases;
TiO2 is also used by the pharmaceutical industry for coating/dying e.g.
tablets; np are widely used e.g. in the cosmetic, food and te xtile industry;
see also alimentary risks, drug delivery systems, formulation,
microparticles .

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nanospheres see drug delivery systems, nanoparticles.

Naranjo nomogram Scale to estimate the probability that an adverse reaction
was caused by the drug in question; according to the total score of 10 questions
the relationship is doubtful (<2), possible (2–4) or probable (5–8; Naranjo CA,
Busto U, Sellers EM, et al. A method for estimating the probability of adverse
drug reactions. Clin Pharmacol Ther 1981;30:239–245); see also drug inter-
action probability scale, standardised assessment of causality.

Determiningcausality Yes No Score

Are there previous conclusive reports of this +1 0
reaction?
Did the ADR appear after the suspected drug +2 −1
was administered?
Did the ADR improve when the drug was +1 0
discontinued?
Did the ADR reappear when the drug was +2 −1
readministered?
Are there alternative causes that could, on their −1 +2
own, have caused the ADR?
Did the ADR reappear when a placebo was given? −1 +1
Was the drug detected in the blood or other fluids in +1 0
known toxic concentrations?
Was the ADR more severe with increased doses/less +1 0
severe with decreased doses?
Did the patient have a similar reaction to the same/ +1 0
similar drugs in previous exposures?
Was the ADR confirmed by any objective evidence? +1 0
Total score: doubtful (<2), possible (2–4),
probable (5–8)

narrative review A review without an explicit systematic approach concerning

the synthesis of the results of the primary studies that are included; see also
box-score review, meta-analysis .
national drug list Compendium of drugs a vailable in a speci fic country; such
lists contain not only the names ubt also the ATC codes (Anatomical Therapeutic
Chemical Classification) and DDD values (Defined Daily Dose) of the respec-
tive medicinal product, e.g. Arzneimittelk ompendium der Schweiz, Austria
Codex (Austria), Dictionnaire V idal (France), FASS (Sweden), L’Informatore
Farmaceutico (Italy), Rote Liste (German y); some countries such as Austria
maintain public lists of specialities ( https://pharmaweb.ages.at/index.jsf ); see
also community register, drug list, positive list.
national formulary see national drug list, formulary.
158

national register of medicinal products see national drug list.

N natural r emedy syn. herbal remedies; see phytomedicines, traditional
herbal medicinal product.
negative list syn. black list (UK), opposite: positive List; list of medicines
which are excluded from reimbursement by national healthcare or insurance
systems resp, e xisting in a number of countries such as France, German y,
Ireland, Italy , The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and UK; see price
control .
neighbourhood control subjects Control subjects who are not hospitalised but
live in the proximity to the hospital (“community controls”); such subjects may
be found by door -to-door searches in close proximity to the residence of the
case patient; see control, epidemiology, evaluation technique, matched
pair.
neoadjuvant chemotherapy Systemic chemotherapy administered before the
use of de finitive locore gional treatment; this allo ws, if successful, tumour
shrinking and reduces the risk of seeding of metastases by sur gery; see also
adjuvant chemotherapy.
nested case–control studies Case–control studies that are “nested” within a
cohort study compare exposures in case patients (patients in the cohort who
develop disease) and a sample of indi viduals in the cohort who ha ve not
developed disease; n.c.c. studies retain man y of the adv antages of cohort
studies o ver case–control studies and are more cost-ef fective than cohort
studies; see case-control studies, control, design, epidemiology,
evaluation technique, matched pair.

network chart see program evaluation technique.

networking see strategic alliance.
new active substance (NAS) see new chemical entity.

new chemical entity (NCE) syn. new active substance, new molecular entity;
in 1990, it was estimated that the average NCE takes 12 years from synthesis to
marketing approval, costs $231 million (DiMasi JA et al., J Health Econ 1991;
10:107–142), and needs 19 years of worldwide sales to recover research and
development investment; according to estimates of 2004, de velopment costs
were around 1,150 million US$ and may increase to around 2 (4)billion US$ in
2009 (2012); 75 % of NCEs ho wever fail to recoup their break-e ven point; in
1990, truly innovative NCEs accounted for roughly 10–30 % of all ne w regis-
tered drugs, the rest were “mee-toos”; between 1975 and 1986 (12 years) more
than 600 NCEs ha ve been launched in Europe and the US; the proportion of
159

compounds synthesized to one NCE mark eted is about 2,000:1–6,000:1; from

over 50 NCE-approvals by the FDA in 1996 the number has steadily decreased
to 24 in 2002 and fluctuates around 20 per year; see alsoinnovative chemical
extension, life cycle management, research and development, toxic-
ity testing.

new drug application (NDA) Application for marketing approval (US); FDA
requests at least tw o independent, well-controlled clinical trials pro viding
“substantial evidence” to gain approval, but approval has also been granted on
the basis of one well-controlled clinical trial and con firmatory evidence form
preclinical and clinical trials; the typical ND A appro ved in the mid-1990s
came in with data from more than 80 clinical trials, b ut only 3–14 of them
providing substantial evidence, and with 9–65 % being “failed” studies; review
for NDA by the FD A takes about 20 months and costs which are char ged by
the FDA may be in the order of ~900,000.00 $ (~500,000 in 1994); between
2005 and 2009 pharmaceutical companies in the US spent >3 billion US$ on
R & D but only 34 new products received marketing authorization by the FDA;
see also establishment licence application, fda 356h form, product
licence application, more and more electronic submission schemes are also
coming in use such as SMAR T (Submission Management and Re view
Tracking) of the FD A and the CAND A (Computer Assisted Ne w Drug
Application); the basic fee for a NDA is € 242,600 (EMA 2008, single strength,
one pharmaceutical form, one presentation); see also marketing
authorisation.

new drug de velopment plan (NDDP) De fines k ey elements and acti vities
(requirements) for ne w drug de velopment as well as speci fications that are in
effect during the product development (US); see also drug.

new molecular entity (NME) see new chemical entity .

New York Heart Association classi fication (NYHA) Classi fication of heart
failure; I = no limitation of physical acti vity; II = slight limitation of physical
activity; III = marked limitation of physical acti vity; IV = inability to carry out
any physical activity without discomfort.
Neyman fallacy Error committed by using prevalent cases rather than newly
diagnosed cases; this may lead to e valuation of e xposures that are associated
with survival rather than cause of disease; see also bias .
NLN see nordic council of medicines.
NOAEL abbr. no-observe adverse event level in repeated dose toxicity studies
with animals, i.e. highest tested dose without toxic ef fects; see noel, phase i,
see also dose escalation study .
160

N of 1 study see single case experiment.

N no carbon r equired paper (NCR) P aper that automatically mak es copies;
often used for case record forms and adverse experience reports.
no-effect level see noel.
NOEL syn. NO AEL; abbr. no-ef fect le vel in chronic toxicity studies with
animals, i.e. highest tested dose without toxic effects.
no-fault insurance syn.: no-fault compensation (opposite: fault system); guar-
antees compensation for persons injured, distressed or subjected to unnecessary
pain or suffering as a result of acti vities comprising the clinical trial inde-
pendently of the legal liability of the person or body making payment and with-
out regard to a causal relationship to the investigational drug; the patient or
non-patient volunteer would thus not have to seek recompense through proving
negligence b ut w ould only ha ve to sho w that the trial protocol w as being
adhered to; compensation for death or injury which arise from a departure from
the protocol or is attrib utable to the fault of negligence of a third party or of a
patient will be e xcluded from such policies; see also indemnity , insurance,
liability.
nominal data syn. categorical d., dichotomous d.; data fitting into one of two
(or more) categories, whereby categories of the responses are assumed not to be
overlapping for the analysis, e.g. ali ve or dead or responses to multiple choice
questions; suitable statistical tests for unpaired samples can be Fischer’ s exact
test or chi-square test with Y ate’s correction, for paired samples Sign or
McNemar’s test; other non-parametric methods of analysis which may be suit-
able are e.g. Wilcoxon test, Friedmans or chi-squared goodness of fit tests; see
data.
non-alpha site syn. non-academic site; clinical trial site which is e.g. a GP or a
specialist outside of a teaching or university hospital; involving of such sites in
clinical trials increases a study findings’ applicability to the entire population
because of dif ferences in the patient population; see postmarketing
surveillance.
non-commercial clinical trial (EC) syn. “Sponsor -Investigator study” (ICH),
investigator-initiated trial (IIT), In vestigator Dri ven Clinical T rial (IDCT),
investigator sponsored trial, “academic study” (in contrast to a “commercial”
study sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry); EC: Clinical trials conducted
by researchers without the participation of the pharmaceutical industry; non-c.
CTs are designed, conducted and reported under the control of thevestigator(s),
in
data and results are also owned by them; such trials cannot be used for market-
ing authorization; non-c CTs seem to be less likely to report positive outcomes
161

(61 % vs 85 %, www.annals.og/content/153/3/158.abstract); actually less then

20 % of the clinical trials notified to EUDRACT are non-c. CTs with a decreas-
ing trend; see non-interventional study, physician-investigator, spon-
sor-investigator .
non-comparative study Unblinded (open) study without control group;
although lack of controls will most often lead to the problem of confounding
by the indication, comparati ve studies are not al ways necessary//ethically
justified to e valuate drug ef ficacy esp. in the follo wing e xamples: (1) drug
effect is v ery dramatic (e.g. prompt a wakening of a patient who is comatose
from an overdose of methadone when naloxone is administered), (2) predict-
able, invariable, progressive disease without therapy (e.g. scurvy, if vitamin C
is not administered), (3) disease with no spontaneous cure (e.g. gonorrhoea,
treatment with suitable antibiotic); see also clinical trial, effect size,
q-value.
non-compliance Failure to take prescription drugs properly; see compliance.
non-conventional medicine syn. alternati ve or complementary or traditional
medicine; see alternative medicine.
non-evaluable patient At the end of clinical trials there are almost re gularly
good arguments to exclude data of some patients for parts of the efficacy analy-
ses, e.g. for the following reasons: early drop -out, non-responder with progres-
sion of disease, violation of inclusion or exclusion criteria, lack of
compliance, intercurrent illness, comedication which w as not allo wed by the
protocol, a.s.o.; see also intent-to-treat analysis, protocol deviation.

non-experimental trial see non-interventional trial.

non-interventional trial syn. non-interventional study (NIS), non-experimental

trial (study), observational study (EC); EU: “a clinical trial where the selec-
tion of subjects or the attrib ution of medicinal products or the e xaminations
carried out or medical and biological follow-up of subjects falls within current
medical practice”; rele vant findings have to be summarized in the respecti ve
Periodic Safety Update Report; see also intervention trial ,large sim-
ple trial design, low-intervention clinical trial, post-authorisation
study, post marketing surveillance.
non-investigational medicinal pr oduct (NIMP) A medicinal product with a
marketing authorisation (MA) valid throughout the European Community
or in one or more Member States; in clinical studies, NIMPs should be supplied
in the commercial a vailable package and must be used according to the MA
(otherwise it is a IMP); product liability applies; see auxiliary medicinal
product (AMP), investigational medicinal product.
162

non-new molecular entities (non-NME), see mee-too.

N non-prescription drug see over-the-counter.

non-renewal see withdrawal.

non-serious adv erse r eactions of mark eted medicinal products are to be

reported to the authority within 90 days at the latest (Dir 2010/84/EC; before,
the had to be reported only in the PSUR); see adverse reaction.

non-therapeutic study Study without an y therapeutic bene fit for the subject;
see also phase i.

Nordic Council on Medicines (NLN) Forum of cooperation on drug af faires

between Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden which was set up in
1975 and produced the Nordic Guidelines on good clinical practice; see also
good clinical trial practice.

Nordic Guidelines Guidelines on good clinical practice produced by the NLN

and published first in 1989 1 year before the EC guidelines, follo wed by GCP
Guidelines of the WHO; see good clinical trial practice.

normal distribution see distribution .

normal range see laboratory normal range.

North American Fr ee Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Agreement between the

US, Canada and Mexico for a free trade area with approx. 360 million people
and an annual economy of around 6,000,000 million US $.

note for guidance syn. guide, guideline; see ec law.

notice-of-change form see data resolution form.

notice-of-claimed investigational exemption for a new drug see investiga-

tional new drug.

no-treatment-control Design comparing acti ve treatment vs. no-treatment;

can be subject to severe bias due to the placebo- or hawthorne effect.

nucleotides Molecules that are units b uilding up much molecules lik e ribonu-
cleic acid (RN A) and desoxyribonucleic acid (DN A); the y are commonly
abbreviated (IUP AC nomenclature) by symbols such as A (adenine),
C (cytosine), G (guanine), T (thymine), U (uracil).

nuisance variable see confounder.

163

null-hypothesis (Ho) Statistical term for assuming no difference between treat-

ments; when rejecting Ho there is still a risk of committing an alpha error ,
when accepting Ho a beta error can occur.

nulli fi catio Message informing the recei ver organization that a case (ICSR)
should be nullified (inactivated) in the database; for audit trail reasons it can-
not be completely eliminated.
Number Needed to Harm (NNH) Number of patients that need to be treated
in order to observe one withdrawal due to adverse reactions; sometimes used to
compare the tolerance of treatments; see also number needed to treat.
Number Needed to Treat (NNT) Number of patients that need to be treated in
order to observe one case with the desired treatment effect (e.g., complete cure,
reduction of pain intensity by 50 %); see sample size estimation .
number of observations (n) The sample size n of normally distributed data can
be small, about 2–3 (e.g. measurements of blood pressure for one subject at one
time), in case of symmetric b ut not bell-shaped data about 10–15, for sk ewed
data 50–100.
number of patients see sample size estimation.
numerical pain scale (NPS) see visual analogue scale .
Nuremberg Code (German: Nürnber g) Code on ethical considerations for
conducting research on human beings; most re gulatory codes and medical
research policies throughout the w orld are based on these 10 conditions set
forth in the N.C. in 1947 (voluntary consent of subjects, fruitful results for the
good of society, experiment justified on results in animals, avoiding injury, risk
never e xceeding humanitarian importance, protection of the subject,
scientifically quali fied investigators, liberty to withdra w consent, termination
of the experiment if subjects are lik ely to be harmed); see also declaration
of helsinki.
Nutley system glossary see code.
nutraceutical Nutritional product with rele vant health effects; syn. used with
functional food; see also food supplement, nutritional/dietary
supplement .
nutrients are vitamins and minerals such as from the normal diet; they may be
used as food supplements; see also drug, functional food, nutraceuti-
cal, phytomedicines, recommended dietary allowance, traditional
herbal medicinal product.
164

nutrigenomics Functional food individually adapted to genetic predisposition(s);

N in the EC, health-related information is authorized in form of comments that the
respective functional food can improve or increase specific body function(s)
or decrease risks (e.g., improved mineralization of bones by increased calcium
supply); see also food supplements.
nutritional status see body composition.
nutritional supplement syn. dietary supplement; see food supplement,
nutraceutical.
O

obesity see anthropometric measurements, body composition, body-

mass-index (quetelet’s index) , lorentz formula, rohrer index,
waist circumference, weight.
objective endpoint see primary endpoint.
O’Brian pr ocedure (modi fied) Statistical test procedure, based on the
t-test, that allo ws to use multiple endpoints; see also primary endpoint,
wei-lachin procedure .
observation syn. finding; an observ ation (during an audit, inspection) is
defined as deviation from Sponsor’s/CRO’s SOPs, protocol, accepted stan-
dards, appropriate guidelines (ICH), and/or re gulatory requirement incl.
applicable la ws; o. are usually graded in three cate gories: “critical” – a
deviation that poses a potential risk to public health or that represents a
serious violation of applicable le gislation and guidelines or that is suspi-
cious to fraud; “major” – a de ficiency that represents a violation of appli-
cable legislation and guidelines or a deviation from accepted standards that
could potentially pose a risk to public health; “minor” – a de viation that is
neither critical nor major; see also inspectional observation.
observational study (ICH), Non-e xperimental, open label, uncontrolled
study, usually done in phase i v (post-marketing observational study); the y
may be useful to study ho w doctors actually practice, and ho w drugs actu-
ally perform because patient selection in controlled clinical trials often lim-
its generalisation of results; such o.s. are indicated when practical or ethical
considerations render randomized clinical trials infeasible, e.g. in sur gery;
objections made frequently are that results pro vided by such a design can
easily be manipulated; o. studies can be comparative (e.g., cross-sectional
studies ,case–control studies, and cohort studies, both retrospective

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and prospecti ve); see also case series , design , non-comparative study,
O non-interventional study (NIS), pharmacovigilance, registry .
observed cases analysis see intent-to-treat analysis.
odds The o. of a speci fic event is the ratio of the probability of its occurrence
divided by its probability of non-occurrence; see meta-analysis.
odds ratio (OR) Ratio of two odds i.e. of probabilities of occurrences; o.r. is a
good estimate of the true relative risk of exposure in the target population, pro-
vided outcome is rare; OR is commonly used in cross-sectional or cohort stud-
ies; see meta-analysis.
of fi cinalformula EC (I): “an y medicinal product which is prepared in a
pharmacy in accordance with the prescriptions of a pharmacopoeia and is
intended to be supplied directly to the patients served by the pharmacy in ques-
tion”; see also magistral formula.
off-label use syn. off-license or unlicensed or misuse; term for use of a drug in
other than appro ved indications (opp. label use); most national la ws allow
physicians the o.l.u. as “ultima ratio”, if no other appro ved treatments will be
effective; the marketing authorization holder is responsible for “reporting an y
use of the medicinal product which is outside the terms of the marketing autho-
rization” (Dir 2010/84/EC); a use “contra-label” ho wever is a medical error
with possibly legal consequences; see also misuse, unlicensed use.
off-license see off-label use .
ointment see formulation.
old see elderly, geriatric evaluations.
oldest old indi viduals >85 years; see age groups , elderly, geriatric
evaluations.
old substance For substances with a long-term marketing experience, e.g. peni-
cillin or acetylsalicylic acid, the CPMP has recommended that requirements for
toxicological and clinical testing can be limited to areas of ne w scienti fic
developments.
oncogene Any of a family of cellular DNA sequences which possess the poten-
tial to become malignant by undergoing alteration. There are 4 groups of viral
and non-viral oncogenes: protein kinases, GTP ases, nuclear proteins, and
growth factors.
oncogenicity studies syn. carcinogenicity tests; lifetime studies conducted in
animals to detect whether a compound can cause neoplastic changes in tissues
167

or not; such tests are usually required as part of the clinical de velopment of a
drug when: (1) the substance will be used continuously for long periods (USA:
over 6 weeks) or ha ve a frequent intermittent use, (2) the chemical structure
suggests carcinogenic potential, (3) special findings with other compounds of
this class or with metabolites indicate such a potential; see also genotoxicity,
toxicity tests.

oncology Science on tumours.

one sample multiple testing design D. controlling rejection of a drug or

hypothesis from further study similar to gehan’s design; example: 15 patients
are treated – if no response occurred, the probability of a success is <20 %,
accepting an error rate of 5 %; if at least 4 responses occurred, the hypothesis
of a success rate >20 % is accepted; in a second stage the number of treated
individuals can be raised to 25, where the drug can be rejected when 3 or fewer
responses have been observed.

one-sided test see one-tailed test.

one-tailed test syn. one-sided test; opp. two -tailed test; sometimes used in
studies in which the difference in outcome is said to be of interest in one direc-
tion only, e.g. when the e xperimental treatment entails greater risks or costs
than the standard treatment and would therefore be recommended only in case
of a proven advantage; one-tailed tests are often appropriate when comparisons
of sur gical vs. medical treatments are made, because in general the medical
treatment would be preferred.

onset-adjusted incidence rate Number of new disease onsets (defined by date

of onset of symptoms, not diagnosis) in a fixed population; see incidence
rate, onset-adjusted prevalence.

onset adjusted pr evalence Number of indi viduals with disease (de fined by
date of onset of symptoms, not diagnosis) in a population on a specific date; see
incidence rate, onset-adjusted incidence rate, prevalence rate.

on-site audit see audit.

opening meeting syn. introductory meeting; meeting of an auditor or inspector

with the auditees before starting an audit/inspection where purposes of the audit
and organizational aspects concerning the activities are discussed; see also exit
interview/closing/close out meeting.

open study Any study where subjects and in vestigators are not blind to treat-
ment assignment; see bias, design, non-comparative study ,observational
study, unblinded study, uncontrolled study.
168

open system Opposite to closed system; FDA: “computerized system whereby

O access is not controlled by persons responsible for the content of electronic
records that are on the system”; see also closed systems, computerised
system, electronic signature .
optical activity see chirality.
optical character recognition see electronic data capture.
optical mark recognition see bare code.
order effect see sequence effect.
ordinal data Data which have finite boundaries, e.g. quasi-quantitative data or
data which include subjective measurements such as visual analogue scales
or which can be rank ed into three or more cate gories, e.g. mild, moderate,
severe; suitable statistical tests are e.g. for tw o groups, unpaired samples the
Mann–Whitney U or median test, for tw o groups, paired samples W ilcoxon
signed-ranks test, for multiple groups, unpaired samples Kruskal–W allis one
way analysis of v ariance and for multiple groups, paired samples Friedman
two-way analysis of variance; see data.
ordinal scale Scales frequently used in clinical trials to quantify phenom-
ena or outcomes which are non-dimensional, either as a “single state” s. (scale
is designed to measure patients at a single point in time), e.g. patients state at
entry and at the trial’s conclusion, such as the WHO-performance status ,the
keith –wagener classification for hypertensive retinopathy, the Kurtzke score
in multiple sclerosis or the ritchie index in rheumatology, or as “transition” s.
(measuring magnitude and direction of changes directly and symmetrically ,
without baseline – time 1 assessment – e.g. −2 much w orse, −1 w orse, 0 the
same, +1 better , +2 much better); when using o.s. a fe w rules should be fol-
lowed: (1) indi vidual elements of the s. should be clearly de fined, and must
assess the same phenomena; (2) ranks should be discrete, non-o verlapping
(mutually exclusive) and in a reasonable, hierarchical order; (3) scale scores
should be placed in a clinical context and should detect both improvement and
deterioration without clustering subjects at one e xtreme on the s.; (4) correct
analyses should be concentrated on within-patient changes, concordance (simi-
lar, correlating trends) with other outcome measures should be sho wn; finally,
increments from one rank to the next are usually far from linear and (++) does
not mean twice as good or w orse than (+); although scales can be made more
sensitive by increasing the number of levels of severity this is usually accompa-
nied by reduced reliability; see also quality of life scale, scale, score,
validity, visual analog scale.
original medical record see source data.
169

orphan diseases The estimated number of “rare” (orphan) diseases (ROD) is

about 5,000–7,000; WHO: pathological conditions af fecting 65–100/100,000
of the general population; FD A: incidence <20/100,000; EC: £ 50/100,000
(Reg. 141/2000/EC); Japan; 50,000 Japanese patients, Australia: 2,000
Australian patients; about 6,000–8,000 of the estimated 30,000 disease entities
known are o.d., about 80 % o.d. ha ve a genetic origin and most of them af fect
patients already during childhood; only about 5 % have a licensed medication;
see also http://www.orpha.net/censor/cgi-bin/index.php , autoimmune dis-
ease , fast-track procedure, genetic diseases, genetic variance,
licensed medicine, orphan drug .
orphan drug Drug or medical equipment for a narro w indication (rare dis-
ease, orphan disease); in US a drug may be designated and re gistered as
o.d., receiving a 7 years mark eting exclusivity if the number of patients will
not exceed an estimated maximum of 200,000 cases in a year , i.e. a pre va-
lence <1/1,250; EC: 10 years marketing exclusivity if the prevalence does not
exceed 5/10,000 of the EU population, (i.e.. 188,800 persons of an estimated
population of 377.6 million in the Community as per 1 January 2001); similar
incentives have been introduced in Japan (limit: Japan: 50,000 cases/year),
Singapore and Australia; in Japan regulations will facilitate also development
of o.d.s and medical de vices if the tar get population is estimated to be less
than 50,000 cases and de velopment medically necessary (special tax incen-
tives, preferential regulatory review, re-examination period for post-market-
ing surveillance and adverse reaction data extended from up to 6 years
to up to 10 years therefore gi ving a longer period of marketing exclusiv-
ity). It is estimated that more than 1,000 drugs had already been designated
as o.d., with about 70 ha ving a mark eting authorization. In US, drugs for
diseases affecting more than 200,000 subjects may receive orphan drug status
if there is no reasonable expectation that the costs of developing and making
available in the US a drug for such disease or condition will be reco vered in
the US; in most countries, application fees can be waived or are consider-
ably reduced for o.d.; in some countries, there are also tax reductions as
incentives. It is often possible to obtain o.d. designation also for diseases with
a prevalence greater than that de fined by the respecti ve legislation if medi-
cally justifiable subgroups of patients (e.g. paediatric subsets) can be defined
that ful fil the cut-off limit; usually, only one single drug recei ves o.d. status
for a given market; see also expanded-access program, marketing autho-
risation, prevalence rate.
orthomolecular medicine Form of medicine that seeks to prevent diseases by
balancing nutritional components andfood supplements (“the right molecules
in the right amount”); see also alternative medicine, complementary med-
icine, functional food, integrative medicine, phytomedicines.
170

outcome measur ement syn. outcome variable; see age-specific rate,

O endpoint, pharmacoeconomics.
outcomes research Research into health behaviour that reveals best medical
practice based on e vidence ( evidence based medicine); see also disease
management, outcome measurement, quality of life, registry,
surrogate.
outliers Data that have been incorrectly recorded (in contrast to out-of-range
values); usually all data which are out of a range of twice thestandard devia-
tion are carefully look ed at; care must be tak en that only true errors in mea-
surement are removed in order to rectify any data; as a rule of thumb only one
o. may be excluded for each group of 40 samples, otherwise the method should
be suspect; data are check ed by e xamining the frequenc y distribution for
impossible or outlying v alues; doubtful o. should be subject of a blind re view
process; see also data, errors, fraud, raw-data.
out-of-range values Data that have been correctly recorded but are outside of
the expected (or normal) range; see also data, errors, fraud, raw-data .
outpatient Patient who is not hospitalized for treatment (opp.inpatient );con-
siderable ingenuity is necessary in the design and execution of outpatient stud-
ies to circumv ent typical dif ficulties as e.g. observ ations at less frequent
intervals requiring substantial retrospection on the part of the patient, less tight
control for intak e of interfering medications or compliance with prescription,
higher rates of drop-outs, a.s.o.; some of the dif ficulties may be overcome by
utilisation of patient report forms.
overdose see adverse reaction, defined daily dose, significant
overdose.
overhead Regular expenses needed to operate a business, including the costs of
rent, utilities, up-keep,, and taxes.
over-the-counter (O TC) syn. non-prescription drug; according to the EC,
drugs are a vailable without an y prescription unless the y are lik ely to present a
risk if used without medical supervision, are frequently and to a wide e xtent
used incorrectly, contain substances requiring further in vestigation, or are nor -
mally prescribed by a doctor to be administered parenterally; O TC drugs are
generally recognized as safe and ef fective; they are often used for self-medica-
tion; see also controlled drug, general sale list medicines, gras-list ,
pharmacy drug, prescription only medicine, self-medication.
overweight see weight.
P

package insert see patient information leaflet; see also

development safety update report , summary of product
characteristics.
packaging EC (IV): “all operations, including filling and labelling, which a
bulk product has to under go in order to become a finished product ”;
see also quarantine.
packaging material EC (IV): “any material employed in the packaging of
a medicinal product, excluding any outer packaging used for transporta-
tion or shipment; packaging materials are referred to as primary or second-
ary according to whether or not they are intended to be in direct contact with
the product”.
packaging system syyn. Container closure system, (US): “sum of packaging
components that together contain and protect the drug substance”.
package lea fl esee patient information leaflet.
pairing see matched pairs, randomisation.
paper trail Integrity of the documentation record which allows a monitor or
inspector to follow the process of events and confirm that the correct proce-
dures were followed.
paradox see peto’s paradox, regression paradox, simpson’s paradox .
parallel design see design.
parallel import Patented substances are supplied by the holder of the pat-
ent to lo w priced countries for their domestic needs, sometimes manuf ac-
tured locally, and then reimported to the high price country of the originator
,

G. Nahler, Dictionary of Pharmaceutical Medicine, 171

DOI 10.1007/978-3-7091-1523-7_16, © Springer-Verlag Wien 2013
172

thus lowering it’s revenues; see also falsified medicinal product, market-
P ing exclusivity, parallel trade, patent protection.
parallel track policy As part of an expedited drug development program
trials without concurrent control group may be conducted in parallel with con-
trolled clinical trials for collection of additional safety and toxicity
data; see also non-comparative trial.
parallel trade Cross-border trade in parallel to the of ficial supply chain of the
manufacturer; parallel traders purchase the product in a lo w price country and
resell it at higher prices in a high price country; the principle of free trade and
the strictly regulated prices of medicinal products mak es this legally possible;
however there are quality concerns because products do not follow the intended
supply chain; see parallel import.
parametric test Statistical test assuming a defined distribution of the data ,e.g.
a normal distribution.
parent–child/foetus report ICH: “Report in which the administration of medi-
cines to a parent results in a suspected reaction/event in a child/foetus”.
parenteral administration Opposite: enteral a.; see administration.
Pareto’s principle Also known as the “80:20 rule”; end of the nineteenth cen-
tury, the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto observed that 80 % of the land was
owned by 20 % of the population; 20 % of the peapods in his garden produced
80 % of the peas, etc. and led to f ar-reaching theories; this principle has been
applied to management as well, e.g., 80 % of the time of meetings is de voted
to 20 % of the business, 80 % of the pro fit comes from 20 % of the sales; see
also muench’s law, Murphy’s law, and lasagna’s law; see also muench’s
law, murphy’s law, and lasagna’s law, parouzzi principle, perussel’s
law.
Parouzzi principle “Given a bad start, trouble will increase at an e xponential
rate”; see also murphy’s law, pareto’s principle, perussel’s law.
partition coef fi cienRatio of concentration of a substance in the lipid phase to
the concentration in the aqueous phase when the substance is allo wed to come
to equilibrium in a two phase system; is a measure of lipid solubility of adrug ;
determines the uptake under un-ionised conditions; see alsoabsorption, phar-
macokinetic, pKa.
password aging FDA 21CFR11 requests that “identi fication code and pass-
word issuances are periodically checked, recalled, or revised”.
past medical history Especially important for chronic diseases; see also
patient file.
173

patent protection Most nations of the western hemisphere permit protection of

patent for a period of 20 years after the date of filing; a complete description of
the matter for which a patent is thought is required; the responsible agenc y in
the US is the United States P atent and Trademark Of fice/USPTO (any person
who “invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manuf acture,
or composition of matter , or an y ne w and useful impro vement thereof, may
obtain a patent”), in the EC, the European Patent Office/EPO; see also centra-
lised procedure, marketing exclusivity, international birth date,
parallel import, trademark.

pathogen Disease-causing organism.

patient see subject.

patient diary syn. patient report form; form on which patients record their
subjective observations concerning a treatment; sometimes used inoutpatient
studies; as many as 89 % of all paper diaries may be either back- or forw ard-
filled by patients; see also case record form.

patient entry card Card which is sent by the in vestigator to the sponsor
or contract research organisation as soon as a new patient has been recruited.

patient exposure 100 patients exposed for a minimum of 1 year is considered

to be acceptable as part of the safety data base for a new drug application
(ICH E1A); see also exposure data .

patient fi l File containing demographic and medical information about a

patient, subject or v olunteer (e.g. hospital file, medical record, consultation
record, special subject file); such files are necessary for the v erification of the
authenticity of the information presented in the case report form; they can be
completed or corrected when new information is obtained.

patient identi fi cationlist see subject identification code list.

patient inf ormation lea flet (PIL) syn. see medication guide, package
leaflet, package insert, patient package insert, patient product infor-
mation; provides general information for patients on the correct use of a drug
written in language easily understood; in most countries PILs are compulsory and
controlled by the health authorities; contents and texts are different between PILs
for patients and summaries of product characteristics for doctors.

patient information sheet As part of the informed consent process an infor-

mation sheet can be handed out to the patient participating in a trial; this sheet
summarizes the information given to the patient on the particular study; see also
informed consent.
174

patient log book see subject identification code list.

P patient log list see subject identification code list.
patient numbers see sample size estimation.
patient package insert (PPI) see patient information leaflet .
patient product information (PPI) Information on pharmaceutical products,
such as patient package inserts or e.g. the annually published Physician’ s
Desk Reference; see also patient information leaflet.
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act see conflict of interest.
patient register see patient identification list, registry.
patient reporting see direct patient reporting .
patient report form (PRF) see patient diary.
patient screening log see intent-to-treat list, subject screening log.
patient support program (PSP) Program (normally organized and funded by a
pharmaceutical compan y) where patients and health care pro viders are sup-
ported concerning a particular treatment primarily with information b ut also
with coverage and reimbursement support on the authorised indication(s); the
aim is usually to collect additional data on safety via spontaneous reports regard-
less of the cause (a NIS w ould collect data on both safety and ef ficacy, a PASS
on safety, a PAES on efficacy and all of them use a protocol and pro vide financial
compensation to physicians for their w ork); see also non-interventional
study (NIS), post-authorisation efficacy study (PAES), post-authori-
sation safety study (PASS), post-authorisation study.
PDCA-cycle abbr. plan-do-check-action c ycle; activities in clinical de velop-
ment are frequently done according to this scheme, where e.g. the clinical
development plan is followed by the conduct of the study, the quality assurance
step and finally by actions of management.
peak to tr ough concentration Ratio of peak concentration of a drug to it’ s
average concentration; used for characterising properties of slo w release for -
mulations; see formulation.
Pearson correlation coefficient see correlation coefficient.
pediatric investigation plan (PIP) Granted by the EMA for medical products
that are intended for paediatric usage (age <18 years). This plan intends to
ensure that all necessary data are obtained in studies in children to support the
175

authorization of a medicine in children; see pediatric population,

paediatric-use marketing authorisation.
pediatric population Population between 0 and 18 years (de finition in the
European Union); according to the ICH guideline E11, age groups of p.p. are
the following: (i) preterm newborn infants <36 weeks gestation; (ii) term new-
born infants 0–27 days; (iii) infants and toddlers 28 days – 23 months; (iv) chil-
dren 2–11 years; (v) adolescents 12–16 or 12–18 years, depending on re gions;
see consent, age groups, geriatric evaluations, pediatric investiga-
tion plan, pediatric-use marketing authorisation.
Pediatric-use marketing authorisation (PUMA) Marketing authorization by
the paediatric re gulation. PUMAs can be requested for medicines that are
already authorized, not co vered by intellectual property rights or e xclusively
developed for children. The PUMA co vers indication and formulation of the
medicines for usage in the pediatric population; see also pediatric investi-
gation plan.
penalities see black list, sanction .
percentile range Interval between two specified percentile points, e.g. the inner
90 % range includes all v alues between the 5th and the 95th percentiles, the
inner quartile range v alues between 25th and 75th percentiles; the median is
the 50th percentile point; see also distribution.
performance assessment OECD: “Formal review of a system at periodic inter-
vals to ensure that it continues to meet stated performance criteria, e.g. reliabil-
ity, responsiveness, capacity”; see also iso 9000, pharmaceutical quality
assurance, quality control, total quality management.
performance indicators Measures for quality, e.g. time to report a SUSAR, to
detect/correct deficiencies, number of deficiencies, number of missing data in a
data set, ratio of critical/major/minor observ ations in an audit etc.; see also
quality control .
performance status syn. ECOG- performance status, scale after Zubrod; WHO
5-grade ordinal scale for describing characteristics esp. of tumour patients
whereby: 0=able to carry out all normal acti vity without restriction, 1=restricted
in physically strenuous activity but ambulatory and able to carry out light work;
2 = ambulatory and capable of all selfcare b ut unable to carry out an y work up
and about more than 50 % of w aking hours; 3 = capable of only limited self-
care, confined to bed or chair more than 50 % of w aking hours; 4 = completely
disabled, cannot carry on any self-care, totally confined to bed or chair; see also
karnofsky performance status ,quality of life scale, response. see also
176

iso 9000, pharmaceutical quality assurance, quality control, total

P quality management.
Grade ECOG-Zubroddescription Index (%) Karnofsky description
0 Normalphysical activity; 100 Normal,no complaints
not requiring special care 90 Able to carry on normal
activities; minor signs or
symptoms of disease
1 Slightlyrestricted physical 80 Normal activity with effort
activity; light work 70 Cares for self; unable to carry
possible; not bedridden on normal activity or to do
active work
2 Incapableof working; 60 Requiresoccasional
mostly independent assistance but able to care for
conduct of life; requires most of his needs
special care and support; 50 Requiresconsiderable
bedridden for <50 % of assistance and frequent
normal day; medical care
3 Cannot care for self; 40 Disabled;requires special
continuous care or care and assistance
hospitalisation; bedridden 30 Severely disabled; hospitali-
for >50 % of normal day; sation indicated though death
not imminent
4 Bedfast due to disease 20 Very sick; hospitalisation
necessary; active support
treatment necessary
10 Moribund
0 Dead

periodic bene fit-risk evaluation report (PBRER) Report acc. ICH E2C(R2)
that replaces the PSUR; the bene fits of a medicinal product must continu-
ously outweigh the risks; in the US, the respecti ve (not identical) documenta-
tion is called “Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies” (FDA); see periodic
safety update report (PSUR).
periodic drug safety update report see periodic safety update report.
periodic safety update r eport (PSUR) syn. drug safety updates; ICH-
E2C: “report which presents the w orldwide safety e xperience of a medicinal
product at de fined times post-authorisation, in order to (i) report all the rele-
vant new information from appropriate sources, (ii) relate these data to patient
exposure, (iii) summarise the market authorisation status in different countries
and an y signi ficant v ariations related to safety , (i v) create periodically the
opportunity for an o verall safety ree valuation, (v) decide whether changes
177

should be made to product information in order to optimise the use of the

product; … the marketing authorisation holder should submit a PSUR within
60 days of the data lock point; … the company core data sheet with it’ s
latest CCSI (numbered and dated) should be appended to the PSUR”; most
regulatory authorities (e.g. EC) request re gular collection of adverse drug
reactions (foreign and domestic, at both pre- and post-marketing stages) and
periodic updates concerning risk assessment of mark eted products in order to
maintain registration; according to recommendations of the working group of
the council for international organisations of medical sciences , in
EC countries such PSURs should be periodically prepared, within 60 calendar
days of the data lock-point, for all new chemical entities licensed for the
first time in 1992 and thereafter; reports should be prepared for all authorised
medicines at the following intervals: 6-monthly for the first 2 years after autho-
risation, annually for the subsequent 3 years (US: quarterly reports during the
first 3 years, then annual reports; Japan: annually cohort surveys of a few thou-
sand patients for 6 years, unlabeled non-serious AEs must be reported e very
6 months for 3 years and annually thereafter), thereafter in 3- (former 5-)
yearly intervals; regulatory aspects on safety update reports ha ve repeatedly
changed [1992 CIOMS II guideline published; 1996 ICH E2C guideline, step
4; 2003 ICH E2C (R1), step 4; 2012 ICH E2C (R2) step 3] and include now a
formal evaluation of benefit (only for approved indications); consequently the
name was changed to “Periodic Benefit-Risk Evaluation Report”; the scope is
a (now cumulative) analysis of the risk-benefit balance; if the conditions of the
MA are not fulfilled within the given deadline, the national competent author-
ity has the power to “review” (suspend) the MA (Dir 2010/84/EC); in the EC,
PSUR reporting is electronically directly to the EMA; the follo wing informa-
tion should be included: increased frequenc y of kno wn origin, drug interac-
tions, overdose and its treatment, drug abuse, positive and negative experiences
during pregnancy or lactation, effects of long term treatment, any safety issues
relating to special patient groups such as the elderly or the v ery young; in
contrast to the RMP which is cumulative, in the past, each PSUR covered just
the time since the last PSUR (whereas the PBRER is cumulative) and a PSUR
was required e ven if the product w as marketed with detailed line listings of
individual cases (no w no longer routinely required); routine PSUR reporting
(PBRER) can be “waved” under some circumstances, i.e. for products with a
low risk or for old or for established products, unless concerns arise (e.g.,
“well established use ”, “traditional herbal medicinal product ”,
homeopathic, generics); PSUR and PBRER may still be requested by the
authority at an y time; frequenc y of PSURs after (v oluntary) withdrawal of a
product from the market is decided by the CA on a case-by-case basis as there
are no fixed rules; if a medicinal product is mark eted by more than one com-
pany in member states of the EC, data lock points can be harmonised
178

( http://www.hma.eu/uploads/media/PSUR_Work_Sharing_List_June_2009 .
P pdf); see also adverse event, benefit-risk analysis, cessation of plac-
ing on the market, company core safety information, data lock-point ,
development safety update report, drug safety updates, european
medicines agency, exposure data, individual case safety report,
international birth date, literature search , pharmacovigilance,
PSUR summary bridging report, renewal, risk management plan,
transition matrix.
periodic site visit syn. routine monitoring visit; usually the monitor or clini-
cal research associate visits the trial site e very 4–8 weeks, with more fre-
quent visits at the be ginning of a trial; this frequenc y depends also on the
intervals of controls scheduled in the protocol; all visits or contacts with the
trialist have to be documented in order to comply with good clinical practice;
see monitor’s visit log .
per-protocol analysis syn. V alid case a.; only patients finishing the study
according to the protocol, without major protocol violations, are analysed,
drop-outs and withdrawals are excluded; opp. intent-to-treat analysis;
see also analysis of study results, multiple imputation approach, valid
case analysis.
personalised medicine Treatment tailored to an indi vidual patient (e.g., con-
sidering his age, weight, gender , medical history, …) or to a v ery small group
of patients sharing a speci fic genetic particular; the Personalised Medicine
Coalition de fines p.m. as “the application of genomic and molecular data to
better target the delivery of healthcare, facilitate the discovery and clinical test-
ing of new products, and help determine a person’s predisposition to a particu-
lar disease or condition”; e.g., about 4 % of patients with ycstic fibrosis have the
so-called G551D mutation; such patients ha ve a defective protein that f ails to
balance the flow of chloride and water across the cell wall, leading to the build-
up of internal mucus; this can be corrected (e.g., with Kalydeco ®); see also
advanced therapy, biobank, cytochromes P450, disease management,
genetic variance, genome, nairobi principles.
Perussel’s law “There is no job so simple that it cannot be done wrong”; see
also murphy’s law.
pesticides There are about 30 endocrine disrupting pesticides used for growing
fruits and vegetables ( www.disruptingfood.info/); hormone-mimicking chemi-
cals (endocrine disrupting chemicals, EDCs, e.g., DDT , bisphenol A, manco-
zeb) can be absorbed by the skin or ingested with food and interfere with the
endocrine system of wildlife such as frogs b ut also humans; mancozeb is a
179

powerful, multi-active carcinogen. As EDCs are also used in the production of

cosmetics, toys, shampoos, plastic components etc. their ubiquitous presence is
a major threat to biodiversity worldwide and contribute to the extinction of spe-
cies; see alimentary risks, EFSA.
Peto’s paradox The incidence of cancer should be proportional to the number
of cells and the number of cell di visions resp. the length of life; ho wever, no
correlation is found between cancer and [body size] × [longevity]; see also
regression paradox, simpson’s paradox, telomere .
pharmaceutical bene fi tmanager (PBM) Middleman in the US system, con-
centrating on the control of prescription medicines via drug lists, prices and
also pharmacy procedure.
pharmaceutical company The oldest ph.c. in the w orld is T anabe Seiyaku,
established in 1678 in Japan, the oldest in Europe is Bayer, established in 1863,
the oldest in the US is Procter & Gamble, established in 1837.
pharmaceutical equivalent syn. chemical e.; dosage form containing the same
active ingredient(s) in the same amount(s) but possibly different inactive ingre-
dients, while still meeting standards of a pharmacopoeia; see alsotherapeutic
equivalent .
pharmaceutical evaluation report (PER) Scheme for the mutual recognition
of evaluation reports of pharmaceutical products by health authorities.
pharmaceutical expenditure Spending on medical goods, in particular phar -
maceuticals; it covers spending on prescription medicines and self-medication
(“over-the-counter products”), as well as other medical non-durable
goods. It also includes pharmacists’ remuneration when the latter is separate
from the price of medicines. Pharmaceuticals consumed in hospitals are
excluded. Final e xpenditure on pharmaceuticals includes wholesale and retail
margins and value-added tax. In 2005, the pharmaceutical expenditure per cap-
ita, public and pri vate, was (US $, OECD, Health at a glance 2007): Austria
409, France 554, Germany 498, Italy 509, Japan 449, Norway 398, Spain 517,
Switzerland 436, US 792; see drug consumption, health care expendi-
ture, medical culture.
Pharmaceutical Inspection Con vention (PIC) Pro vides e xchange of such
information between members (to date more than 15 mainly European health
authorities) as is necessary for a member importer to recognise inspections car-
ried out by the authorities in the member country where the drugs are manufac-
tured (information about standards of manuf acture as good manufacturing
practice, control of drug products to be imported a.s.o.).
180

Pharmaceutical Manufactur ers Association (PMA) Nonpro fi tscienti fi c

P professional, and trade or ganization consisting of more than 140 firms
engaged primarily in the manuf acture of prescription pharmaceutical, medi-
cal device, and diagnostic products; these firms account for more than 90 %
of US industry sales of human dosage drugs; globally, by 2002 the 10 largest
drug firms accounted for 48 % of pharmaceutical sales w orldwide (1985:
20 %); 8 of 10 are the product of mergers since 1989; see manufacturer.
pharmaceutical market The value of worldwide p.m. was valued in 2012; see
also research and development .
pharmaceutical medicine IF APP: “Medical scienti fic discipline concerned
with the discovery, development, evaluation, registration, monitoring, and med-
ical aspects of marketing of medicines for the benefit of patients and the public
health”.
pharmaceutical quality assurance EC: “the sum total of the or ganized
arrangements made with the object of ensuring that medicinal products are of
the quality required for their intended use”; see also quality assurance.
Pharmaceutical Resear ch and Manufactur ers of America (PhRMA)
Represents the leading pharmaceutical industry research and biotechnology
companies in the US.
pharmacodynamic Science dealing with the (pharmacologic) mechanism of
drug action once it reaches the target organ(s); (relationships between the con-
centration of a drug at its site(s) of action and the magnitude of the biological
or physiological effect that is achieved); primary ph. studies are studies on the
mode of action and/or effects of a substance in relation to its desired therapeutic
target (in contrast to secondary ph. studies); see also pharmacokinetics .
pharmacoeconomic study see economic analysis.
pharmacoepidemiology Science of systematic or observ ational studies of
drug effects in populations receiving the drug through usual clinical practice;
objectives are, e.g., to detect unrecognised risks especially after long term
administration and under widening conditions of use; p. includes the following
main types of studies: prescription (utilisation) studies, which v erify to what
extent clinicians follo w of ficial recommendations and therapeutic indications
stated e.g. by summaries of product characteristics for doctors; studies
on the therapeutic bene fit, and studies of risk dealing with tw o main aspects:
identification of events, and imputability of specific effects to the use of a given
drug (still taking into account ef fects and interactions which might ha ve been
caused by concomitant treatments as well as by the natural course of diseases
as e.g. concerning e xposure, outcome, bias , confounding , generalizability,
181

statistical stability a.s.o.); classical methods are: case-control-, cohort-,

cross-sectional studies; see also post-marketing-surveillance.

pharmacogenetics Sometimes used synonymously with pharmacogenomics ;

science studying genetic response to a drug and people with unusual metabo-
lism, thus inter-individual variations; see also cytochromes P450, ethnic dif-
ferences, ICH E15 guidance, idiosyncratic reaction, metabolism,
pharmacogenomics, personalised medicine, single nucleotide
polymorphism .

pharmacogenomics Sometimes used synon ymously with pharmacogenet-

ics; science studying the identi fication of the genes that in fluence individual
variation in the ef ficacy or toxicity of therapeutic agents, thus on an individual
level of gene-e xpression, and the application of this information in clinical
practice; science studying genetic basis for diseases such as the correlation
between genes, phenotypes and diseases; currently only the function of about
2,000 genes is known out of the potential of 100,000; see also ethnic differ-
ences, gene therapy, genomics, ICH E15 guidance, metabolism,
pharmacogenetics .

pharmacokinetic Science dealing with the disposition of drugs in the body

[absorption, distrib ution, metabolism, and e xcretion ( adme)], in contrast to
pharmacodynamics (actions of a drug); usually conducted as single dose stud-
ies or steady state study; population pharmacokinetics tak es into account
that drugs behave differently in different populations, e.g. children or old per -
sons; see also area under the curve , bioavailability, clearance, first-
pass effect, half life, kinetic, partition coefficient, protein binding,
volume of distribution.

pharmacokinetically guided dose escalations (PGDE) Dose escalation strategy

in phase I oncological trials; it is based on the hypothesis that the area under the
plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) at the LD-10 in mice and at the MTD in
man are similar (patient’s AUCs must be measured and be available rapidly); see
also continuous reassessment method (CRM), dose escalation, fibonacci
search scheme, maximum tolerated systemic exposure (MTSE).

pharmacology Science dealing with ef fects of a drug on or gans or body

systems; this co vers the mutual interaction of chemical agents and biological
systems, the nature of the action (i.e., the nature of the altered bodily response),
the site of action, and the mechanism involved.

pharmacopoeia Regularly updated information on drugs in book form (stan-

dards of quality speci fications such as purity , identity a.s.o.); quality of com-
mercialized medicinal products must comply with these standards; xe amples:
182

British P., British Homoeopathic P ., US P., European P; the European P . has

P been elaborated by over 20 European countries including Member States of the
European Community and has binding character, reinforced by EC directives.
pharmacovigilance (PV) Def.: “science and activities relating to the detection,
assessment, understanding, and prevention of adverse effects or any other drug
related problems” (WHO); “the process of monitoring, evaluating and improv-
ing the safety of medicines in use” (EMA); confounded sometimes with post-
marketing surveillance; system for collecting (i) (passi ve surv eillance)
spontaneous reports on adverse reactions, assessing causality and risks ;
major methods are: spontaneous, v oluntary reporting schemes (e.g. yellow
card system), or (ii) (acti ve surveillance) such as intensi ve hospital monitor -
ing, use of of ficial statistics and observ ational, non-experimental studies such
as case-controlled studies , cohort studies , prescription-event moni-
toring, prescription sequence analysis; adverse reaction frequencies are
expressed as cases per treatment or per month of treatment sold or per prescrip-
tions; knowledge of drug sales is essential; although spontaneous reporting is
the most commonly used method, whereby either the physician reports to the
health authority (common in e.g. Austria, France, Italy) or the pharmaceutical
company (German y, USA); more and more countries accept reporting from
patients/consumers (“consumer reports”) in addition; before e xpansion of the
PV legislation EMA estimated that adverse drug reactions cause about 197,000
deaths per year in the EU (population ~460 million) with 5,910 lives that can be
saved by the more stringent la ws [Commission of the European Community
10dec2008, Summary of the Impact Assessment, SEC(2008) 2671]; in com-
parison, trans fats (components of man y industrial foods) ha ve been esti-
mated in 1994 to ha ve caused 20,000 deaths annually in the US from heart
diseases (see also alimentary risks); acrylamide in food such as bread or
other baked products or bisphenol A in plastic containers may be an even much
greater problem; whereas PV activities of EMA were publicly funded in 2004
the have now to be paid by the pharmaceutical industry that has spent for meet-
ing regulatory PV requirements an estimated € 833 million in 2008; one of the
major drawbacks of PV is underreporting of e vents, causing underestimation,
loss of statistical power and therefore erroneous conclusions; in some coun-
tries (e.g. France) a combined system of spontaneous reporting and semi-inten-
sive hospital surveillance with regional centres is in use; retention of documents
describing the PV system is requested for at least 5 years after it has ceased to
exist, for PV-data and documents of authorized products at least 10 years after
the end of MA; between September 2008 (after publication of V ol.9A) and June
2012 EMA has made public o ver 450 DIN A4 print pages re gulating PV; see
also bias, conditional approval, data mining, drug injury, drug safety
monitoring , european medicines agency (EMA), intensive monitor-
ing, literature search, number needed to harm, post-authorisation
183

safety study, post-marketing surveillance , prescription-event moni-

toring, reconciliation, registry, safety officer, sentinel sites,
simpson’s paradox, surveillance, yellow card.

pharmacovigilance system (Dir 2010/84/EC, Art.1, 28d): “system used by the

marketing authorisation holder and by Member States to ful fil the tasks and
responsibilities listed in T itle IX and designed to monitor the safety of autho-
rised medicinal products and detect any change to their risk-benefit balance”; a
PS should be subject o re gular audits, i.e. “e very 2 years”; see also pharma-
covigilance, pharmacovigilance system master file, pharmacovigi-
lance system summary, risk management system.

pharmacovigilance system master file (PSMF) The PSMF should contain all
elements related to PhV -activities, in particular information on the QP (CV ,
contact details, re gistration within the Eudra vigilance system), description of
the organizational structure (list of sites where PV acti vities are undertak en,
collection of ICSRs, PSUR-generation, signal management, including on tasks
delegated), description of computerized systems (incl. v alidation), data han-
dling (continuous monitoring of the risk-bene fit balance incl. decision process
for taking appropriate measures, monitoring the outcome of risk-minimisation
strategies), procedures for communicating safety concerns, description of the
quality system (incl. training programs, reference to the location of qualification
records); the PSMF should have an Annex containing the following documents:
list of medicinal products covered by the PSMF, list of written procedures, list
of outsourced/subcontracted activities, list of tasks delegated by the QPPV, list
of completed and scheduled audits, if applicable list of performance indica-
tors, log list of changes of the PSMF; all documents should be inde xed (Reg
520/2012 of 19 June 2012); (Dir 2010/84/EC): “ A detailed description of the
pharmacovigilance system used by the mark eting authorisation holder with
respect to one or more authorised medicinal products“; replaces the “detailed
description of the pharmacovigilance system” as from July 2015 onwards
and will recei ve a unique reference number; applications for mark eting
authorizations must include a reference where the PSMF is k ept and available
for inspections; where a pharmaco vigilance system is shared by se veral mar-
keting authorisation holders each MA authorisation holder is responsible
ensuring that a PSMF e xists to describe the pharmaco vigilance system appli-
cable for his products (GVP , Module II); the information on the PV system
given herein is not con fined just to local or regional activities; the PSMF con-
tains, among others, also main findings of PV audits until resolution; the
Member State in which the PSMF is located is also the respecti ve supervisory
pharmacovigilance authority (Reg 1235/2010); the competent authority may at
any time ask for a cop y of the PSMF (to be submitted within 7 days at the
latest); see also detailed description of the pharmacovigilance system,
184

eudravigilance, pharmacovigilance, pharmacovigilance system sum-

P mary, safety alerts.

pharmacovigilance system summary syn. Summary of the Pharmacovigilance

System (SPS); “applications for mark eting authorisations should be accompa-
nied by a brief description of the corresponding pharmaco vigilance system,
which should include a reference to the location where the pharmaco vigilance
system master file for the medicinal product concerned is k ept and available for
inspection by the competent authorities” (Dir 2010/84/EU); further on, the sum-
mary may contain the most important elements of the PV system such as (see Dir
2001/83/EC Art.8(3)ia): company name + contact details + statement to fulfil the
PV tasks, proof that the applicant has a QP-PV at his disposal, EEA Quali fied
Person(s) for Pharmaco vigilance + contact details CVs + job descriptions, refer -
ence where the PSMF is kept; other information that may be included as requested
by national authorities are: marketing authorization numbers of products/product
list with INN + trade name(s) + method of appro val (MA status) + black triangle
(as applicable), safety variations/restrictions (as applicable), RMP, computerized
systems/databases used, compan y structure/operating model for PV , 3rd party
agreements/transfer of responsibilities, etc.; a PV system summary is not
requested for traditional herbal medicinal products; see also pharmacovigi-
lance, pharmacovigilance system master file, pharmacovigilance sys-
tem, risk management system.

pharmacy dispensing r ecords List of e xperimental drugs dispensed by and

returned to a pharmac y during a clinical trial; see also drug
accountability.

pharmacy drug (P) Drug which can only be sold o ver the counter under the
supervision of a pharmacist (UK); see also controlled drug, general sale
list medicine, gras-list, prescription only medicines, over-the-
counter.
phase 0 syn. microdose study; the purpose is to obtain preliminary data in
humans, before commencement of a phase I study , with very small doses (not
exceeding 100 mg or 100th of the predicted pharmacologic dose, whiche ver is
smaller).
phase I First trials (“ first-in-human”, FIH) during clinical development of a
new active ingredient in man, often in healthy v olunteers; the purpose is to
establish a preliminary e valuation of safety and a first outline of the
pharmacokinetic/-dynamic pro file of the acti ve ingredient in humans,
associated with increasing doses (usually until an acute “ef fect” dose is
reached), to permit the design of well-controlled, scienti fically valid phase
II studies; the total number of subjects is generally in the range of 20–80, the
185

mean development time 16 months (1987); commonly used tar get doses in
phase I trials are e.g. the dose producing the “minimum anticipated biologi-
cal effect” (MABEL, approach f avourised by the EMA) or the “maximum
recommended starting dose” (MRSD) based on the “no observ ed adv erse
event level” (NOAEL) determined in non-clinical toxicity studies in the most
sensitive/most relevant animal species (FD A approach) or 1/3 of the toxic
dose level (TDL) in the most sensitive large animal species, or 1/10 of the
LD-10 (mg/m2) in the mouse and 1/3 of the TDL in dogs, or 1/3 of the LD-10
in mice; tar get populations are usually healthy v olunteers but may also be
patients of the proposed indication such as cancer (for c ytostatics), obese
patients (for diabetics), HIV patients (for retrovirals), asthmatic patients (for
bronchodilators) etc.; there are no clear regulations with regards to the num-
ber of individuals exposed; most frequently each dose le vel cohort consists
of 6 subjects receiving the active medication and 2 receiving placebo whereby
3 subjects start (including 1 placebo) about 48 h before the rest of the cohort
is exposed (staggered dosing approach); see also adme , dose escalation,
fibonacci search scheme ,latin square design ,noel, toxicity tests.

phase II Therapeutic pilot studies; the purpose is to demonstrate biologic activity

(often called phase IIa or early phase II) and later therapeutic ef fects (phase IIb,
late phase II), in addition to short-term safety, of the active ingredient in patients
suffering from a disease or condition for which the active ingredient is intended;
the trials are performed in a limited number of subjects, usually some hundreds,
and often, at a later stage, in a comparative (e.g. placebo controlled) design ;this
phase also aims at the determination of appropriate dose ranges/regimens and (if
possible) clarification of dose/response relationships in order to pro vide an opti-
mal background for the design of wider therapeutic trials; the mean duration of
phase II programs is about 24 months; see also gehan’s design, latin square
design, one sample multiple testing design, proof-of-concept.

phase III Trials in larger (and possibly varied) patient groups with the purpose
of determining the short and long-term safety/ef ficacy balance of formulations
of the active ingredient, as well as to assess its o verall and relative therapeutic
value; the pattern and pro file of more frequent adverse reactions must be
investigated and special features of the product must be explored (e.g. clinically
relevant drug interactions, f actors leading to dif ferences such as age etc.); the
design of trials should preferably be randomized doubleblind, b ut other
designs may be acceptable for long-term safety studies; usually several hundred
to se veral thousand subjects are included in multicentric, often multina-
tional studies; generally the circumstances of the trials should be as close as
possible to normal conditions of use; the mean duration for a phase III program
is about 36 months; trials performed after submission of a new drug applica-
tion are often called phase IIIb in contrast to earlier phase IIIa studies.
186

phase IV In vestigations conducted, often as multicentre trials , after

P approval of a new drug in appro ved indications, forms and dosages; def. EC:
“studies performed after mark eting of the final medicinal product(s), …
according to the circumstances, phase IV studies require trial conditions
(including at least a protocol) such as described for premark eting studies.
After a product has been placed on the market, clinical trials exploring e.g. the
profile vs new competitors, new methods of administration or ne w combina-
tions, are considered as trials for new medicinal products”; EC guidelines sub-
ject therefore phase IV studies to the same controls as earlier clinical trials e.g.
good clinical practice standards, informed consent, review by an ethi-
cal committee etc. (the FD A does not gi ve a de finition for phase IV); pur -
poses of phase IV are e.g.: to delineate additional information about the drug’s
effectiveness, benefits, risks, and optimal use (different doses or schedules)
in special (sub)groups of patients, other stages of disease or use of the drug
over longer periods of time, comparison with other drugs to assess therapeutic
values (including safety , syner gism/antagonism, cost/benefit or quality
of life aspects), new treatment hypotheses or strate gies a.s.o. including both
experimental and observational (open label, uncontrolled) studies or simply
to see ho w doctors actually prescribe the drug or ho w the drug w orks under
non-trial conditions; term is often used interchangeable with the term post-
marketing surveillance, b ut also for simple, non-blinded anecdotal,
observational or promotional studies; trials e xploring ne w methods of
administration, new combinations, new indications etc. are considered within
the EC as trials for ne w medicinal products; see also large simple trial
design, non-interventional study, post-approval research, post-
authorisation study.
phenotype Literally means “the form that is sho wn”; the observ ed (physical)
expression of the genotype of an organism, such as its morphology, develop-
ment, biochemical or physiological properties, or beha vior. Phenotypes result
from the expression of an organism’s genes as well as the influence of environ-
mental factors and possible interactions between the two; this contrasts with the
genotype of an or ganism (inherited instructions it carries within its genetic
code). Not all or ganisms with the same genotype look or act the same w ay,
because appearance and behaviour are modified by environmental and develop-
mental conditions. Also in the same way, not all organisms that look alike nec-
essarily have the same genotype; see also allele, gene, genetic variance,
genome, genotype.
physical signature see digital signature, electronic signature .
physician investigator Physician taking a dual role as researcher and investiga-
tor in academic studies; see non-commercial clinical trial, see also inves-
tigator, sponsor investigator.
187

phytochemical see phytomedicine, see also herbal drug, herbal medici-

nal product.
phytomedicines syn. herbal medicines; medicines deri ved from plants; some
health authorities review p. on the basis of single plants (e.g. Germany) as well
as of combinations (e.g. France), other authorities on the basis of single prod-
ucts (e.g. UK); many health authorities have relaxed regulations for the submis-
sion of data on toxicity of phytomedicines as long as results of properly
conducted clinical trials on ef ficacy and safety are submitted; in Europe,
Germany is at present the largest market for p. covering about 70 % of the total
consumption followed by France; within the EEC around 1,400 herbal drugs
are used, roughly half of them are POM; about 25 % of O TC products are herbal
medicines; see also alternative medicine, food supplement, functional
food, herbal drug, orthomolecular medicine, self-medication, tradi-
tional herbal medicinal product.
phytonutrient see functional food .
pill-counting see compliance.
pilot scale Manufacture of an active ingredient or of a finished product by a
procedure that is representati ve for a full manuf acturing scale; for solid oral
dosage forms this is generally one-tenth that of a full production as a minimum
or 100,000 units (tablets, capsules or the like); see batch .
pilot study syn. preliminary study , e xploratory study; often performed to
estimate treatment effects or recruitment rates, to test out the practicabil-
ity of new methods and the feasibility or suitability resp. of a protocol to a
larger clinical project, in order to select the most suitable design and to
ensure adequate recruitment ; sometimes studies with a poor design are also
called p.s. in order to avoid criticism; see also explanatory trial, pivotal
study.
pivotal data Data from clinical trial reports pro viding substantive evi-
dence of efficacy and safety on which a new drug application can be
judged; see also supportive data.
pivotal study Key study for primary evidence of efficacy; see also pilot study,
supportive data.
pKa Negative logarithm of the acid dissociation constant; pH at which a sub-
stance e xists half in ionised and half in the non-ionised form; pKa helps to
predict absorption and whether excretion of a substance can be increased by
manipulating urinary pH (substances are more readily e xcreted in ionised
form); alkalinisation of the urine with sodium bicarbonate can be used to hasten
e.g. the e xcretion of phenobarbital and salic ylates (acidi fication e.g. with
188

amphetamines is no longer recommended); see also absorption, adme, ion

P trapping, partition coefficient, route of administration.
placebo Experimental preparation which has the same appearance as the active
drug but which contains no pharmacologic active substance(s); a p. is normally
not used when an established treatment, proven to be effective, is available and
when the patient needs immediate treatment.
placebo effect Any effect(s) attributable to a pill, potion, or procedure, but not
to its pharmacodynamic or speci fic properties; positive but also untoward p.e.s
(“nocebo e.”) can be observed in up to 40 % of patients with various symptoms
e.g. pain; it’ s magnitude is in fluenced by a number of f actors e.g. number of
capsules, colour, taste etc.; patients (or family members) may mistakenly attri-
bute events to the medication as opposed to the illness, just because they start to
attend to symptoms that the y pre viously denied or because of e xpectations;
onset is almost immediately lasting up to se veral weeks; p.e.s and ef fects of a
better general care, e.g. due to hospitalization (“hospitalization-ef fect”), are
powerful sources of bias in medical research; see also baseline variable,
confounder , hawthorne effect, labelling phenomenon , regression
paradox, white-coat hypertension.
placing on the market (EC): syn. actual marketing; “when a medicinal product
is released into the distribution chain” and: “first making available in return for
payment or free of charge of a medicinal product/device other than intended for
clinical investigation, with a view to distribution and/or use on the Community
market”; (regardless whether the device is new or fully refurbished); the MAH
must notify the competent authority within 30 days of the (planned) initial plac-
ing on the market; see also label text .
plasmapheresis Nonselective removal of potentially harmful compounds from
the plasma such as toxins by technical devices; see apheresis.
plasmid Extra-chromosomal genetic information in pro- and eukaryotes that
can replicate independently of the chromosomal DN A and that can code for
properties that pro vide a selecti ve adv antage under a gi ven en vironmental
state, e.g. antibiotic resistance; properties can be transferred “horizontally”
between different species by conjugation; plasmids are responsible for multi-
drug-resistant strains of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, but also of
Mycobacterium tuberculosis; see also gene, genetic engineering,
genome.
plasticity Ability of a cell to differentiate into many cell types (pluripotent) or
a restricted cell line (multipotent); see also stem cell therapy.
plausibility check see data editing.
189

play-the-winner allocation If a treatment is follo wed by success, the ne xt

patient also receives this treatment; in case of f ailure the next patient receives
the alternati ve treatment; only possible if results are kno wn quickly (before
recruitment of the next subject) and if hard endpoints are used; disadvantage:
treatment allocation cannot be kept blind; see also randomization.
point estimation Estimation (calculation) of a single v alue of a more or less
large sample of data – in contrast to interv al estimates such as the conf dence
interval.
poisson shrinker see signal detection .
polymerase chain r eaction (PCR) A gene analysis technique used for enzy-
matic in vitro amplification of specific DNA sequences without utilizing conven-
tional procedures of molecular cloning. It allo ws the ampli fication of a DN A
region situated between tw o con vergent primers and utilizes oligonucleotide
primers that hybridize to opposite strands. Primer e xtension proceeds inw ard
across the region between the two primers. The product of DNA synthesis of one
primer serves as a template for the other primer; repeated c ycles of DNA dena-
turation, annealing of primers, and extension result in an exponential increase in
the number of copies of the region bounded by the primers. The process mimics
in vitro the natural process of DN A replication occurring in all cellular or gan-
isms, where the DN A molecules of a cell are duplicated prior to cell di vision.
The original DNA molecules serve as templates to build daughter molecules of
identical sequence . Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) is used for
measuring the expression of genes of interest, monitoring biomarkers and mea-
suring genetic variations (single nucleotide polymorphism, SNPs).

polymorphism Variation in a DNA sequence present in an allele frequency

of >1 % in the population; see also allele, genetic variance, genome ,sin-
gle nucleotide polymorphism .
pooled analysis see meta-analysis.
pooling of lab data In order to combine laboratory data from centres or studies
with different reference ranges data must be con verted; a simple method for
standardization is to e xpress data as multiples of the upper/lo wer reference
value; more sophisticated methods are described by the follo wing formula:
new, standardised value = (oldvalue − lower reference)/(upper reference − lower
reference); if the lo wer limit is not speci fied it can be set 0; see also labora-
tory normal ranges.
poor metaboliser Subject lacking a speci fic enzyme because of alterations of
the DN A; see also cytochrome P450, ethnic differences, metabolism,
pharmacogenetics, slow metaboliser.
190

population attributable risk see etiologic fraction.

P population pharmacokinetics see pharmacokinetic.
positive list List of drugs reimbursable under a health insurance plan or offered
under a capitated or managed care program or preferred in a particular clinical
setting; such lists of medicines which are reimbursed by national healthcare or
insurance systems resp, e xist in a number of countries such as Belgium,
Denmark, France, Greece, Italy , The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain; oppo-
site: negative list; see also drug list, national formulary, price con-
trol, reimbursement .
post-approval research (PAR) syn. post re gistration studies; studies on new
chemical entities (NCE) requested by health authorities as a condition of
approval and to define e.g. more clearly the incidence of known adverse reac-
tions (ADR) in actual conditions of use (risk assessment studies), to look for
unexpected ADR or to collect other important additional data, e.g. on
bioavailability/-equivalence, drug/drug interactions, dosage a.s.o.; due to the
absence of legislation, performing PAR is a “v oluntary act” of the sponsoring
firm; in USA 12–45 % of NCEs appro ved between 1970 and 1987 had P AR
requests; between 1998 and 2003 the FD A required post-mark eting commit-
ments on 73 % of the drugs ne wly approved, the trend is increasing; see also
cluster randomised controlled trial, large simple trial design, phase
iv, post-marketing surveillance, registry.
post-authorisation study (PAS) Any study conducted within the conditions of
the approved Summary of Product Characteristics or under normal condi-
tions of use; a P AS may sometimes also f all within the de finition of P ASS or
PAES but can also be a phase IV study; see:non-interventional trial, obser-
vational study, patient support program, post-approval research .
post-authorisation ef fi cacystudy (PAES) A PAES may be imposed by health
authorities when “the understanding of the disease or the clinical methodology
indicate that previous efficacy evaluations might have to be revised significantly”
(Dir 2010/84); see also conditional approval, post-approval research .
post-authorisation safety study (PASS) syn. post-marketing safety study; EC:
“formal investigation conducted (in accordance with the terms of the market-
ing authorization) for the purpose of assessing the clinical safety of mar -
keted medicine(s) in routine clinical practice; any study of a marketed medicine
which has the e valuation of clinical safety as a speci fic objective”; the study
must be such that the numbers of patients to be included will add signi ficantly
to the e xisting safety data ; a P ASS is “an y study relating to an authorised
medicinal product conducted with the aim of identifying, characterising or
191

quantifying a safety hazard, confirming the safety profile of the medicinal prod-
uct, or of measuring the ef fectiveness of risk management measures” (Dir
2010/84); it can be non-interventional or interventional in nature;
Regulation (EC) 726/2004 states that “for a period of 5 years”, b ut this period
is unlimited in newer regulations; Reg. 1235/2010 states “at the time of market-
ing authorization or later follo wing the initial placing on the mark et in the
Community the Agency may request that the MAH arrange for speci fic phar-
macovigilance data to be collected from targeted groups of patients”; see: addi-
tional monitoring, conditional approval, observational study,
patient support program, pharmacovigilance, post-approval research,
post-marketing surveillance, solicited report, surveillance .
post-marketing commitment (PMC) see: post-approval research .
post-marketing obser vational study see: observational study, post-
approval research .
post-marketing safety study see post-authorisation safety study.
post-marketing surveillance (PMS) syn. drug monitoring, pharmacoepide-
miology; involves the collection of clinical data on mark eted medicines, pri-
marily on drug safety (incidence of esp. rare side effects, new hazards, specific
risk f actors, risk/bene fit analysis) b ut also on une xpected bene fits, and their
scientific evaluation or cost/bene fit aspects, and to e valuate if drugs are pre-
scribed as directed; often the approach is retrospective which might then cause
severe bias; surveillance can be “passive”, i.e. spontaneous reporting of ADRs
to National Authority , Ev ent Monitoring, ICSR, or “acti ve/solicited”, i.e. as
studies by industry or academic institutions (safety follow-up, ph IV, observa-
tional st., “sentinel”sites, prescription-event monitoring, …); true PMS
technique should tap the results of field use of a medicine without disturbing
prescribing decision or patient selection; for mark eting, PMS pro vides there-
fore information on the performance of the drug in general use, often on the
base of automated record linkage rather than in data sheet use, and may be
an alternati ve to megatrials or long-term follo w-up; in some EC member
states, e.g. Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, PMS studies may be a
condition of mark eting appro val ( restricted marketing authorisation )
and required by health authorities ( post-approval research); in Australia
PMS study proposals should be notified to the ADRAC-APMA; in some coun-
tries (e.g. US) PMS is also required for medical devices such as permanent
implants, devices which are intended for use in supporting or sustaining human
life or which present a potential serious risk to health, especially when failure
occurs; see also individual case safety report , non-alpha site, non-
interventional trial, pharmacovigilance, registry, surveillance .
192

potency see: strength .

P powder inhaler drug delivery systems which are speci fically designed for
the delivery of drugs to the lungs, either using a dose premetered at the factory
(metered and dispensed in a sealed unit) or a volumetric metering system which
is activated by the patient for e very dose; particles must be in the respirable
range of <5.8 mm; see also drug delivery systems, formulation.
power Statistical term for 1-b; probability of avoiding a type II ( beta )error;
chance of obtaining a signi ficant result if the real ef fect is as great or greater
than the smallest w orthwhile dif ference ( delta value ) speci fi ed;typical
choices are powers of 90 or 80 %; see also sample size calculation .
practice effect see sequence effect.
pragmatic analysis see intent-to-treat analysis.
pragmatic/decision-making trial Trial where only the superiority of one treat-
ment over the other (A > B) is important, not equality; see also explanatory
trial, large simple trial design.
precision Often used synonymously to repeatability and variability; p. of
a method is expressed by the standard deviation of repeated measurements,
obtained under identical conditions; when deviation is high, results are widely
scattered and measurements are imprecise; see also accuracy, measurement
properties.
preclinical safety see adverse reaction, s-2 report.
predicted environmental concentration (PEC) – If the PEC of a medicinal
product is ³ 0.01 mg/L surf ace w ater an environmental risk assessment
must be performed.
predictive marker Intended to forecast ho w patients may respond to a treat-
ment agent. Often linked to tumour sensitivity or resistance to a medical inter-
vention. Molecular mark ers may ha ve both prognostic and predicti ve
implications, as the human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2) in breast cancer;
see also biomarker, prognostic marker.

predictive v alue Proportion of those patients with a positi ve (ne gative) test
who are diseased (not diseased), see also sensitivity, specificity.

Preferred Reporting Items f or Systematic Re views and Meta-Analyses

(PRISMA) Evidence-based minimum set of 27 items for reporting in system-
atic reviews and meta-analyses.

preferred term (PT) see medDRA, WHO adverse reaction terminology.

193

pregnancy see labelling, vulnerable subject ,women.

pregnancy outcome End products of pregnancy which include three main cat-
egories: foetal death, termination of pregnancy and live birth.
preinvestigation visit see prestudy visit.
prelicensing agreement (PLA) Equivalent of a new drug application by the
Center for Biologic Evaluation and Research (US).
premarketing trial see phase iiib.
premarketing agreement (PMA) Equivalent of a new drug application by
the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (US).
premature termination EU: Termination of a clinical trial before the (planned)
end has to be communicated to the rele vant health authorities within 15 days,
including the reason for early termination; see also drop-out, loss to
follow-up, withdrawal.
premedication Medication taken till start of therapy with a study drug.
prescription see medical culture, over-the counter, pharmaceutical
expenditure, prescription only medication.
prescription-event monitoring (PEM) Multiple cohort scheme, cohort-
event monitoring; technique collecting (in contrast to spontaneous reporting)
actively data from field use of a medicine without disturbing prescribing deci-
sions or patient selection; after introduction of a ne w medication, a de fined
number of patients, e.g., 10,000, is follo wed. Physicians prescribing the ne w
medication are contacted and asked to report all observations (solicited report),
regardless of whether the y are suspected AEs (full data sets, anonymised)
(common in UK); PEM is an accepted method for post-marketing surveillance
although it may be biased by collecting data from clusters of patients (less
likely for the broader “intensive monitoring”); see also drug safety moni-
toring, pharmacovigilance, sentinel sites, spontaneous reporting
scheme ,yellow card system .
prescription only medication (POM, Rx) (UK) syn. ethical drug, prescription-
drug, prescription medicine, general term: medicinal product (EC-term); opp.
self-medication, non-prescription drug, over-the-counter (O TC); drug
which can only be recei ved in a pharmac y and with a prescription of a physi-
cian; see also controlled drug, general sale list medicine, gras-list,
pharmacy drug, self-medication.
prescription-sequence analysis (PSA) Technique to assess quickly the extent
of the risk of side ef fects of mark eted drugs; in vestigates whether patients
194

treated with the drug under review have sequentially started on a different ther-
P apy to treat the reported side-ef fect; PSA is possible only when the adv erse
reaction at issue causes the prescribing of other drugs and if complete dispens-
ing records from health maintenance or ganisations or insurance systems are
available; also useful to detect “drug channelling ”.
prescription study see pharmacoepidemiology.
preservatives Substances (e.g. alcohols, benzalkonium chloride, chlorocresol,
thiomersal) included in pharmaceutical formulations to inhibit the growth or
kill micro-organisms inadvertently introduced during manuf acture or use; see
also antioxidants, disintegrants, excipients, formulation.
prestudy documentation syn. pretrial documentation; before a study can start
the following documents must be a vailable: protocol incl. appendices (as e.g.
the case record forms, consent forms, patient information sheet) authorisation
to conduct the clinical trial, appro val by the responsible ethics committee(s),
curriculum vitae of all participating trialists, contract with the trialists, labora-
tory normal ranges, insurance.
prestudy meeting syn. investigators meeting, start-up meeting; especially
in multicentre trials, the monitor has not only to mak e sure that investiga-
tors and their staf f have understood the protocol and the issues of the study
but also that methods of assessments are harmonised (e.g. ordinal scales or
other subjective measurements).
prestudy visit syn. preinvestigation visit, pretrial visit; visit to a potential trial
centre in order to explore if prerequisites to conduct a clinical trial are met
(numbers of patients, manpo wer, equipment, competing trials, e xperience of
the trialist a.s.o.); according to good clinical practice such visits have to be
documented; see also initiation visit.
presystemic hepatic elimination see first-pass effect.
pretreatment phase see run-in phase.
pretrial data EC (III): “chemical, pharmaceutical, animal pharmacological
and toxicological data on the substance and/or the pharmaceutical form in ques-
tion must be a vailable and professionally e valuated before a ne w product is
subject to clinical trials; the sponsor’s responsibility for providing exhaus-
tive, complete and relevant material, e.g. by means of an investigator’s bro-
chure, is emphasized”.
pretrial documentation see prestudy documentation.
pretrial visit see prestudy visit.
195

prevalence rate def.: number of subjects, at a single point in time, with a

specific attribute (disease) divided by the total number of subjects (total popula-
tion); the p. of a disease can change o ver time (e.g. HIV infections); see also
age-specific rate, case-fatality rate, diagnostic index, incidence
rate, neyman fallacy, onset-adjusted incidence rate, onset-adjusted
prevalence, orphan drug, prevalence.
prevention trial see intervention trial.

price control Prices of medicinal products are controlled by almost all health
authorities; products must ha ve their o wn realistic prices, calculated on the
basis of their real costs and using transparent methods of calculation; a number
of go vernments have introduced pricing controls and cost-containment mea-
sures such as negative/positive lists, profit controls (price regula-
tory scheme), reference pricing, the right for substitution of doctor’ s
prescription by a cheaper (generic) product by the pharmacist (e.g., The
Netherlands) or simply price cuts; see alsohealth care costs, price regula-
tory scheme, reimbursement.

price r egulatory scheme (PPRS) prices of medicinal products are hea vily
but not uniformly regulated; in UK, voluntary agreement between the govern-
mental Department of Health (DoH) and the industry association (ABPI) to
limit national health spending on pharmaceuticals; the principle of this
scheme is to control o verall pro fitability of pharmaceutical companies as
measured by the return on capital (R OC) which is set to be between 17 and
21 %; companies which f all below their target of ROC by 25 % or more are
eligible to apply for a price increase, those exceeding the upper limit by 25 %
must either pay back the e xcess to the DoH or reduce the prices; the PPRS
caps also selling and promotion expenditures to 9 % and information e xpen-
ditures to 1.6 % of o verall sales; see also health care costs, reference
pricing, reimbursement.

primary endpoint Also called k ey data, k ey (ef ficacy) criteria; v ariable used
for sample size calculation; usually hard endpoints, objecti ve endpoints;
outcome variables which are considered as especially important for postulat-
ing a clinically meaningful dif ference (death, strok e, reinf arction, time to
relapse, infection rate etc. or biological markers specific for the underlying dis-
ease as e.g. antigen levels, which can be used as surrogate endpoints); ideally
they should also be easy to measure with both precision and accurac y, and
clearly important to the patient; an alternative, multi-dimensional approach to a
unique primary endpoint are “co-primary endpoints” that must all be statistical
significant; examples for statistical tests for multiple endpoints are the “ Wei-
Lachin” procedure or the modified “O’Brian ”test.
196

priming dose see loading dose.

P principal investigator (PI) see investigator.

prion Postulated since 1969, b ut unpro ven causati ve agent of transmissible

spongioform encephalopathies (TSE), such as Creutzfeld-Jakob disease (CJD)
in humans (a rare orphan disease af fecting about 1/1 Mio people), bo vine
spongioform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle (transmissible to man), and scrapie
in sheep; see also contamination, secondary attack rate.
PRISMA Stands for Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Re views and
Meta-Analyses; evidence-based minimum set of items for transparent reporting
in systematic re views and meta-analyses ( http://www.prisma-statement.org/
statement.htm ); see also publication guidelines, report
probability see significance level.
procedures EC: “description of the operations to be carried out, the precau-
tions to be taken and the measures to be applied directly or indirectly related to
the manufacture of a medicinal product ”.
process owner (senior) manager of a process; see also system owner .
prodrug Pharmacologically inactive form of a drug in an oral pharmaceutical
formulation; after contact with intestinal secretions the active form is released
by splitting of chemical bonds; e.g. ester -groups in bacampicillin (prodrug of
ampicillin, an antibiotic) or ramipril (an ACE-inhibitor); prodrugs have in gen-
eral a better bioavailability than the parent substances and therefore less gas-
trointestinal side effects.
production EC: “all operations in volved in the preparation of a medicinal
product, from receipt of materials, through processing and packaging, to its
completion as a finished product ”.
product see drug, essentially similar product, proprietary medicinal
product, therapeutic equivalent.
product defect Defects of a medicinal product that are neither potentially life
threatening or nor a serious risk to health (“class 3 defect”, e.g., missing batch
number or expiry date); see also quality defect, product recall.
product information Overall term for the summary of product character-
istics ,package insert and labeling; see also QRD-format.
product liability EC (I): the producer of a medicinal product “shall be liable
caused by a defect in his product”; “the injured person shall be required to
prove the damage, the defect and the causal relationship between defect and
197

damage”; in the EC, pl applies to a lack of safety and not to the af ct that a prod-
uct is not fit for the intended use; the responsibility to pay for damages is placed
on the producer; see also compensation for drug induced injury,
indemnification, insurance, quality defect.
product license (PL) Approval to advertise, supply and sell a medicinal prod-
uct; products that have been granted a license carry a number be ginning with
the letters PL on the manufacturer’s pack.
product license application (PLA) European term for application for market-
ing authorisation; see also establishment licence application, new drug
application.
product-limit method see kaplan–meier method.
product monograph see reference safety information.
product quality review (PQR) regular (annual) review of a licensed medicinal
product or acti ve pharmaceutical ingredient v erifying the consistenc y of the
existing manuf acturing process; see also good manufacturing practice,
product specification (file).
product recall A firm’s removal or correction of a mark eted product to a void
legal action (e.g., seizure); the manuf acturer must implement a system for
recalling and reviewing complaints together with an effective system for recall-
ing promptly and at an y time the medicinal products in the distrib ution net-
work; recalls are classif ed (FDA, EU) into class I to III according to the relative
health hazard (risk of death i.e. patient-le vel recalls (I), to (II) defect may be
harmful but not life-threatening, and (III) “not lik ely to cause adv erse health
consequences”. The MHRA also issues “Caution in Use” Notices which are
called a Class 4 Drug Alerts, where there is no threat to patients or no serious
defect lik ely to impair product use or eff cacy. These are generally used for
minor defects in packaging or other printed materials (http://www.mhra.gov.uk/
home/groups/islic/documents/publication/con007572.pdf). The categories def ne
also the depth of recall/le vel in the distrib ution chain to which the recall is to
extend (wholesaler, retailer, user/consumer); over the years, the number of prod-
uct recalls shows an upward trend in almost all categories of products; see also
< www.recalls.gov >,< www.info.rasmas.nobilis.org >,withdrawal.
product speci fi cation fi l EC: “reference file containing all the information
necessary to draft the detailed written instructions on processing, packaging,
quality control testing, batch release and shipping”; the product speci fication
consists of a list of tests, the related analytical procedures and the acceptance
criteria; the PSF contains alsostability data and relevant technical agreements
with contract givers.
198

prognostic marker Foresees in an objective and independent manner the clini-

P cal outcome of a patient such as e.g., patients at risk of relapse or with an over-
all bad prognosis.
programmatic error A medical incident that w as caused by some error in
transportation, storage, handling or administration of vaccines.
program evaluation technique (PERT) syn. network chart; program manage-
ment technique which uses statistical probabilities to calculate e xpected dura-
tions of acti vities; today it refers mainly to the graphic representation of task
relationships or dependencies in a project.
project management Stresses that priorities are set, that schedules are
rigidly adhered to, that speci fications are clear , and that acti vities are
carefully monitored; examples of major p.m. techniques are the critical
path method (CPM), program evaluation technique (PERT), gantt
chart, work breakdown structure (WBS), Pareto chart, fishbone chart
a.s.o.
project plan As a program or functional plan it should contain the following
information: long-term goal that should be reached, objecti ves specifying
precisely the “what and when” of intended accomplishments, strategies based
on resource statement of personnel, equipment, and f acilities required, and
what program evaluation will be set up (input/output measure, work-load m.,
bene fi m
t .).
project book note see trial master file.
prolonged release syn. extended r., slow r., sustained r.; a product in which the
rate of release of active substance from the formulation after administration has
been modified (reduced) in order to maintain therapeutic activity over a longer
period, to reduce toxic effects, or for some other therapeutic purpose (European
Pharmacopoeia, EudraLe x 3A Q19a: Quality of prolonged release oral solid
dosage forms, Nov. 1992; FDA Guidance for the industry, http://www.fda.gov/
cder/guidance/index.htm); it may or may not be controlled release ; see
also delayed release, dissolution test, drug delivery, transdermal
patch.
promoter see sponsor.
promotional trial see marketing trial.
proof-of-concept syn. Proof-of-principle; proof that a new treatment, based on
hypotheses and/or preclinical results; is working in man (usually during phase
II); see also research & development .
199

proportion The numerator contains a subset of the individuals contained in the

denominator; see also rate.

proportional reporting ratio see disproportionality assessments, signal

detection .

proprietary medicinal product (PMP) opp. generic.

proprietary name see trade name.

prospective study Trial in which subjects are documented and monitored in

accordance with a protocol which has been set-up before recruitment; opposite:
restrospective study; see also clinical trial.

protected subjects see vulnerable subject .

protein Proteins are biological ef fector molecules encoded by an or ganism’s

genome. A protein consists of one or more polypeptide chains of amino acid
subunits. The functional action of a protein depends on its three dimensional
structure, which is determined by its amino acid composition and an y post-
transcriptional modifications; see also protein binding.
protein binding Man y drugs bind to plasma proteins b ut only the unbound
fraction is a vailable for dif fusion to the site of action; drugs with a high p.b .
have a small volume of distribution; they do not easily penetrate the cere-
brospinal fluid and are also not easily remo ved by e xtracorporeal dialysis;
acidic substances bind to alb umin, basic substances to alpha-1-glycoprotein;
p.b. can be affected by diseases (e.g. hypoalbuminaemia increases the unbound
fraction) b ut also by comedication (displacement of a drug by another drug
which binds stronger); see also pharmacokinetic.
proteomics The development and application of techniques used to investigate
the protein products of the genome and how they interact to determine biologi-
cal functions; science of “proteoms” i.e. looking at the entire set of proteins,
protein structure and function of an or ganism; applications are in the
identification of disease mark ers for diagnose (biomarker) and drug tar gets;
see also gene, genomics, gene therapy.
protocol syn. study plan, (clinical) in vestigational plan; a document or manual
of operation resp. which states the rational, objecti ves, statistical design, meth-
odology etc. of a trial, with the conditions under which it is to be performed and
managed; EC (III): “The p. must, where relevant, contain the following … items:
general information, justi fication and objectives, ethics, general time schedule,
general design, subject selection, treatment, assessment of ef ficacy, adv erse
events, practicalities, handling of records, e valuation, statistics, financing,
200

reporting, appro vals, insurance, etc., summary , supplements, references”; the

P protocol can define those serious adverse reactions that do not request imme-
diate reporting; see also development safety update report , pre-trial
data; for other types of documents see annual progress report, reference
safety information, see also addendum ,amendment.
protocol deviation Usually minor non-compliances with the protocol in con-
trast to protocol violations.
protocol violation Usually major deviations from a protocol in contrast topro-
tocol deviations.
protopathic bias Exposure to a drug occurs in response to a symptom of a
disease undiagnosed at the time of e xposure [erroneous conclusion that e xpo-
sure to a drug caused the (later diagnosed) disease]; example: use of an analge-
sic in response to pain (caused by an undiagnosed tumour at the time of
prescription) could lead to the conclusion that the analgesic caused the tumour;
see bias.
PSUR Summary Bridging Report No longer required since ICH E2C(R2),
2012; report bridging all PSURs (ICH E2C(R1); Vol.9A: “the PSUR Summary
Bridging Report should not contain an y new data b ut should pro vide a brief
summary bridging tw o or more PSURs, or PSURs and PSUR Addendum
Reports. PSUR data should not be repeated b ut cross-referenced to indi vidual
PSURs. The format should be identical to that of the usual PSUR b ut the con-
tent should consist of summary highlights and an o verview of data from the
attached PSURs”; see also development safety update report, periodic
benefit-risk evaluation report.
publication guidelines See the guidelines established by the International
Committee of Medical Journal Editors ( http://www.icmje.org/ ); see also
acknowledgements, authorship authorship, consort (Consolidated
Standards for Reporting T rials), equator network ( http://www.equator-net-
work.og ), moose (reporting of Meta-analyses Of Observ ational Studies in
Epidemiology), prisma (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and
Meta-Analyses); report, stard (STAndards for the Reporting of Diagnostic
accuracy studies), strobe (STrengthening the Reporting of Observational stud-
ies in Epidemiology).
public health emergency A “natural disaster” that poses “a high probability of
a lar ge number of deaths” or harm to a population; WHO: A public health
emergency (the condition that requires the governor to declare a state of public
health emergency) is defined as “an occurrence or imminent threat of an illness
or health condition, caused by bio-terrorism, epidemic or pandemic disease, or
(a) no vel and highly f atal infectious agent or biological toxin, that poses a
201

substantial risk of a signi ficant number of human facilities or incidents or per-

manent or long-term disability” (WHO/DCD, 2001). The declaration of a state
of p.h.e permits to suspend state re gulations and change the functions of state
agencies; http://www.who.int/hac/about/de fi nitions/en/; this de fi nitionwould
also include the appearance of a no vel of pre viously controlled or eradicated
infectious agent, a natural disaster, a chemical attack or accidental release, or a
nuclear attack or accident AND an incident that poses a high probability of a
large number of deaths in the affected population, a large number of serious or
long-term disabilities in the affected population, or widespread exposure to an
infectious or toxic agent that posses a significant risk of substantial future harm
to a large number of people in the affected population.
pulse pressure Difference between systolic and diastolic blood pressure; ide-
ally below 50 mmHg; see also mean arterial blood pressure.
p-value (p) Chance of obtaining the observed result or one more extreme if one
assumes that the effects of the treatments are equal; p is therefore the confidence
with which the null-hypothesis is rejected and not the confidence with which
one accepts that the difference is exactly zero; if p = 0.05, the null-hypothesis is
rejected with a probability of 5 % and one accepts that the effects are different,
or, the other w ay round, we accept an error rate (of f alsely rejecting the null-
hypothesis) of 1 in 20 cases; non-signi ficant p-values only imply that the data
remain consistent with the null-hypothesis of treatment equality and not that
equivalence has been demonstrated (!); see also alpha error , confidence
interval ,power.
pyrogenicity test see limulus amebocyte lysate test.
Q

quali fi catio EC (IV): “action of pro ving that an y equipment w orks cor-
rectly and actually leads to the e xpected results; the w ord validation is
sometimes widened to incorporate the concept of quali fication”; (opera-
tional qu., installation qu., performance qu., …).
quali fi edperson (QP) In order to be eligible for manuf acturing authoriza-
tion pharmaceutical firms must employ the following key personal: a pro-
duction manager, a quali fied person for batch release, a control manager
(responsible for quality control/drug testing), a sales manager; companies
distributing medicinal products must ha ve a Quali fied Person
Pharmacovigilance (QPPV); the y may be the same person in special
cases; proof of the expert knowledge is generally requested; see also batch
release, good manufacturing practice, EudraVigilance, quality
control, release certificate.
qualitative variable see data .
quality-adjusted life-years (QALY) syn. healthy-year equi valent (HYE);
QALYs are calculated by multiplying the time spent in each health state by
the value assigned to the particular health state; to calculate QAL
Ys, numer-
ical judgments of the desirability of various outcomes must be determined;
these values are called “utilities” (withvalues between 0-death and 1-perfect
health); very poor health states may ha ve even negative values; see cost/
utility analysis .
quality assurance (QA) EC (III): “systems and processes established to
ensure that a trial is performed and the data are generated in compliance
with good clinical practice including procedures for ethical conduct,
standard operating procedure (SOP), reporting, personal qualifications
etc.; this is v alidated through inprocess quality control and in- and post-
process auditing, both being applied to the clinical trial process as well

G. Nahler, Dictionary of Pharmaceutical Medicine, 202

as to the data”; “personal involved in q.a. audit must be independent of those

involved in or managing a particular trial”; (inhouse) q.a.-personal is in general
responsible for identifying q.a. problems, recommending and pro viding solu-
tions and for v erifying implementation of such solutions (e. g. ensuring and
validating systems concerning training, SOPs, development planning, ethics
committee review, regulatory review, internal approvals, monitoring, auditing
a.s.o.); the existence of q.a.-units is not required by current regulations; see also
iso 9000, pharmaceutical quality assurance, quality control, total
quality management.
quality assurance profile Computerised information system used by the FDA
to track the compliance status of all drug and medical de vice manufacturers,
repackers, relablers, contract testing laboratories and contract sterilizers; see
also inspection .
quality control Operational techniques and acti vities to ensure that a process
(e.g., a clinical trial) is in compliance with the principles of “GXP” (i.e. good
clinical practice for clinical trials); it operates upon all members of the
respective team (e.g., the investigational team with clinical staff, sponsor ,con-
tract research organisation etc.) in volved with planning, conducting,
monitoring, evaluating, and reporting a process (trial) including data process-
ing and documentation or the effectiveness of corrections, with the objective to
establish and protect the credibility of activities and generated data, to improve
the ethical, scienti fic and technical quality (e.g., of a trial), to a void loss of
information, false conclusions being drawn from unreliable data and to avoid at
the very end exposure of subjects to unnecessary risks; elements of q.c. are e.g.
source data verification , data trail, internal and e xternal audit s but
also quality objectives and performance indicators (e.g., time to detect/cor-
rect de ficiencies, number of de ficiencies); q.c. applies to all processes such as
pharmacovigilance or the manufacture but also to analytical processes of
medicinal products; q.c. is therefore comparable to the “monitoring” of clini-
cal research, whereas quality assurance compares with the “auditing” of
clinical research; see also performance assessment, qualified person,
quality system, standard operating procedures .
quality defect a medicinal product has a “quality defect” if this defect is poten-
tially life threatening or could cause serious risk to health (“class 1 defect”, e.g.,
higher concentration of an active ingredient or “class 2 defect”, e.g., chemical/
physical contamination); defects that are not class 1 or class 2 defects areprod-
uct defects; in most cases this will induce a batch recall; see also compensa-
tion for drug induced injury, falsified medicinal product, product
liability, reprocessing.
204

quality of life (QL, QoL) Def. (WHO): “an indi vidual’s perception of his/her
Q position in life in the conte xt of the culture and v alues system in which he/she
lives, and in relation to his/her goals, expectations, standards and concerns. It is
a broad-ranging concept, incorporating in a comple x way the person's physical
health, psychological state, and le vel of independence, social relationships and
their relationship to salient features of their environment”; QL instruments may
relate the use of healthcare resources to v arious aspects of the improved well-
being of patients; main components of QL assessments are: physical and occu-
pational functions (functional capacities), psychological state, emotional life
and social interaction, and somatic sensation; this de finition is therefore based
on both subjecti ve ( symptoms, general well-being) and objecti ve judgments
(signs , welfare as duration of hospitalisation, need for assistance, amount of
drugs used a.s.o.); especially important for marketed products which: extend life
only at the expense of reduction in QL (e.g. in oncology), when the disease itself
causes little complaints in contrast to treatments chosen to prevent complications
(e.g. hypertension, diabetes type II), when treatment is life-long b ut therapeutic
gain, if any, small, when assessment of improvement of QL may be the best way
of demonstrating the efficacy of a medicine, and when a regulatory authority has
to make dif ficult decisions relating to the balance of bene fit and risk of a ne w
medicine; in Japan QL data will become a formal criterion for anticancer drugs,
in France QL (and cost/effectiveness) data are explicit criteria for determin-
ing prices and reimbursement; major instruments for QL assessments are:
quality of life scales , health profiles , utility measurements and
specific, disease-oriented measurements; methods are e.g. linear analogue
self assessment, time without symptoms, time trade-off etc.; besides the
clinical perspective QL has also an economic perspecti ve: utility measure-
ment; see also cost/benefit analysis, health-related quality of life ,
health utilities index, life event, performance status, well-being
scale.
quality of life scale Examples are: generic instruments such as the SF-36
(generic QL instrument, 36 item short form of the Medical Outcome Study
MOS-20/MOS-9), Sickness Impact Profile (SIP, esp. for more healthy people),
Nottingham Health Pro file (NHP), or more speci fic instruments such as the
Spitzer’s Quality of Life Index (QLI, for patients with cancer and chronic dis-
eases), Incapacity Status Scale (ISS), Pro file of Mood States (POMS),
Psychological General Well-Being Index (PGWB, for the emotional domain of
quality of life), karnofsky performance status, EORTC Quality of Life
Questionnaire (EORTC-QLQ), Environmental Status Scale (ESS), Anamnestic
Comparative Self Anchoring Scale (ACSA, where the patient describes the cur-
rent situation with reference to her/his best or worst life time on a scale ranging
from −5/worst to +5/best), a.s.o.
205

quality of life studies Three study designs are commonly used: (i) a cross-
sectional or non-randomised longitudinal design which describes predictors of
QL (e.g. primary care vs. speciality) and where usually lar ge numbers of
patients (over 500/group) are needed; (ii) a randomised interv entional study,
where measures clearly reflect the nature of the disease and changes; (iii) a cost
effectiveness or cost bene fit analysis measuring incremental costs of a treat-
ment program vs. incremental ef fects on health, e.g. measured as survi val or
quality adjusted life years; see also cost/effectiveness analysis .
QRD format Standing for Quality Review of Documents; format requested in
the EU for the product information (i.e. the summary of product
characteristics).
quality system The or ganizational structure, responsibilities/tasks assigned,
procedures ( quality control, training plans/records, records management,
instructions for compliance and performance management), processes
(identification of critical processes, quality audits), and resources for imple-
menting quality management; see also standard operating procedures.
quantitative variable see data .
quarantine EC (IV): “the status of starting of packaging materials , inter-
mediate , bulk or finished products isolated physically or by other ef fec-
tive means whilst awaiting a decision on their release or refusal”.
query log see data resolution form.
query resolution see data manager.
query resolution form see data resolution form.
questionnaire see forward-backward translation, test-retest,
validation.
Quetelet index syn. body mass index; Weight (kg) divided by the square of
height (m); see also weight.
quorum Minimum number of members of an ethics committee (usually fi e)
which have to be present for a votum on a trial protocol.
Q-value Ratio of the improvement from baseline by the study drug divided by
the improvement from baseline by the control drug; efficacy can be considered
when a q-value exceeds 0.6; see also effect size, sample size estimation.
R

racemate Equimolar mixture of enantiomers; see also chirality,

stereoisomer.
racial differences see ethnic differences, genome.
radiopharmaceutical EC (I): “an y medicinal product which, when ready
for use, contains one or more radionuclides (radioacti ve isotopes) included
for a medicinal purpose”; for content of radioacti vity, the de viation from
that stated on the label should not exceed ±10 %.
randomization Subjects are allocated to tw o or more treatments by mere
chance; the aim of r . is that all potential confounders are roughly equally
balanced between the treatment groups; appropriate r.methods are: computer
generated random numbers, tables of random numbers, allocation in sealed
(opaque!) envelopes; inappropriate are: allocation by date of birth or admis-
sion, identification number, initial letter of the subject’s name, flipping coins,
drawing cards etc. as such procedures do not allow any external control; the
trialist is also not “blind”, but can choose between subjects if they are pres-
ent at the same time and may be seduced after e.g. a long series of treatment
A to “modify” the process of chance etc.; in case of simple r. each treatment
assignment is completely unpredictable (favourite procedure when treatment
allocation cannot be kept blind); in clinical trials of finite size, simple r.
however can end up with unequal treatment numbers (for a total number of
50 patients the probability for an imbalance as lar ge as 18:32 is ³0.05); it is
often preferable to stratify patients prior to grouping them in order to a void
imbalances (r. within strata; see stratification); for balancing numbers,
esp. in case of small groups, it is often suitable to restrict randomization e.g.
in random permuted blocks (restricted r ., block r .); see also block size ,
minimization; in variable block r., a modified version of block r., the inves-
tigator does not know the number of patients to be recruited before balance
is achieved (variable block sizes); it is advisable not to inform the investigator

G. Nahler, Dictionary of Pharmaceutical Medicine, 206

of block sizes; in the biased coin method one observes continuously which treat-
ment has the least patients so far; that treatment is then assigned with a probabil-
ity >1/2 (e.g. ¾) to the ne xt patient; if little is kno wn about a ne w treatment in
contrast to a control treatment, esp. if this is placebo, then unequal r. may be an
attractive, case saving alternative (e.g. in phase ii or rare diseases), whereby for
every patient e.g. in the control group two patients are allocated to the new treat-
ment; such a 2:1 allocation would be equivalent (in terms of power) to perform
a 1:1 allocation and eliminating about 10 % of the patients from the trial; unequal
r. should however not exceed a 3:1 ratio in order to avoid a considerable loss of
power; a similar r . strate gy is follo wed in the play-the-winner allocation;
unequal r. might also be desirable when more than one treatment group is to be
compared with a standard control, increasing the relati ve number receiving the
control treatment; see also confounder , randomized consent design,
square-root rule.
randomization code Code according to which treatments are allocated to
patients in a controlled clinical trial; under blinded conditions the trial-
ist must be able to break the code in emer gency cases (serious adverse
events) in order to identify the treatment; usually codes for each patient are
contained in separate envelopes; see also disclosure procedures.
randomized consent design Here, in contrast to the common procedure, ran-
domization tak es place before seeking informed consent of patients to
treatment; this results apparently in three, rather than tw o groups: a standard
treatment group as control (without consent) and the study group which is
asked for consent to the new treatment; those patients not giving consent to the
new treatment are ultimately combined with the control group mentioned
previously; a prerequisite for the successful implementation of a r .c.d. is that
the percentage of patients in the seek consent group and who accept the study
treatment will be close to 100 %; such a design may be considered in surgical
trials when it would be difficult to assign a patient at random to a more radical
operation in comparison with e.g. a standard chemotherap y; ethical problems
concerning the group “without consent” may ho wever arise when protocols
require e.g. invasive diagnostic or other procedures being not necessarily part of
a “standard” treatment.
randomized controlled clinical trial see controlled clinical trial.
range Interval between the lowest and the highest value within a distribution
of data; see percentile range ,standard deviation.
randomized withdrawal see design .
Rapid Alert (RA) Procedure primarily between health authorities; a RA is
used when there are safety concerns which potentially ha ve a major impact on
the kno wn benefit-risk balance of a medicinal product and which could
208

warrant prompt re gulatory action and communication to Healthcare

R Professionals/the general public; e xamples: (i) Urgent safety restriction ,
with important changes in theSummary of Product Characteristics (SPC),
e.g.: introduction of ne w contraindication, of ne w warnings, reduction in the
recommended dose, duration or pack size, restriction of the indications; (ii)
Restriction in the a vailability of a medicinal product; (iii) Need to inform
Healthcare Professionals or Patients about an identified risk without delay and/
or recall of the medicinal product from the mark et; (iv) Suspension of market-
ing and/or use of a medicinal product; all changes must be appro ved by the
competent authority (CA) before implementation; see also safety alert,
urgent safety restriction .
rapporteur Original member state ( reference member state or expert of a
member state) within the EC, in which a marketing authorization for a medici-
nal product has been obtained according to the criteria laid do wn by the EC
directives or first member state to which a high-tech procedure application
(decentralised procedure application) has been addressed by a company or
expert selected by the committee for proprietary medicinal products
(CPMP)/committee for veterinary medicinal products (CVMP) or expert
designated by national authorities; the r . noti fies the CPMP of the application,
prepares an evaluation report with questions, circulates it to all member states
and the compan y, makes a compilation of all e ventual objections (which are
discussed/filtered by the appropriate working party and CPMP), and sends the
resulting list of objections to the compan y and to all member states; after the
answer of the company to all member states the r. collects again the conclusions
on the answers to the questions raised and applies for the opinion of the CPMP;
then the r. as well as the member states concerned notify the Commission of the
European Community of their decision on the action to be tak en following the
opinion of the CPMP; if there were no serious objections the Commission
would adopt a decision to implement the opinion of the CPMP , if there were
objections the Council w ould reach a decision; if ho wever no decision is
reached by the Council after 3 months the application w ould be considered to
have been rejected; see also decentralised procedure .
rare diseases see orphan diseases.
rate A numerical statement of the frequency of an event, expressed in terms of
person-time; differences and rates are common summary measures; see also
proportion.
rating scale Scale with a set of numerical categories; see scale.
raw data Records or certified copies of the original clinical, laboratory or other
findings from the trial; electronic data must be in a “human readable format”
i.e. in a format that e verybody can read (e.g., con verted to a standard format
209

such as .pdf; the process must be v alidated to ensure data inte grity); term is
sometimes used as a synonym for data in case record forms; see also source
data verification.
reaction see adverse reaction.
reaction products see impurity .
Read clinical classi fication (RCC) System using five character alphanumeric
codes for codifying diseases, diagnoses, diagnostic procedures, e xamination
findings, signs, symptoms, patients history, drugs, treatment, laboratory results,
environmental and social conditions, administrati ve procedures, outcome and
severity measurements within a hierarchical dictionary containing more than
30,000 terms.
rebound effect Reappearance of a sign or symptom that were present already
before after abrupt withdrawal of a drug e.g. after stopping antihypertensive
treatment with clonidine blood pressure may “overshoot” in rare cases.
recall see GMP, product defect, product recall , quality defect,
withdrawal.
recessive An allele whose effects are concealed in offspring by the dominante
allele in the allele pair; see also allele, dominante , gene, heterocygous ,
homocygous ,recessive .
rechallenge Reappearance of an adv erse reaction on repeated e xposure (ethi-
cally justified only when bene fits outweigh the risks); to a void false positive r.
tests due to placebo effects or a flare-up of the disease immediately before,
the r. must be carefully planned and performed; in contrast, a positi ve dechal-
lenge reaction is an adverse event which disappears on withdrawal of the drug;
see dechallenge, single case experiment.
rechallenge trial see design.
recombinant DNA technology see genetic engineering .
recommended daily allowances (USRDA) Values for vitamins and minerals,
established by the FD A (US) for labelling purposes; see recommended
dietary allowances.
recommended dietary allo wances (RDA) values for vitamins and minerals,
determined by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council
(US); intake of the RD A will pro vide adequate nutrition in most healthy per -
sons under usual environmental stresses; they are not minimum requirements;
see recommended daily allowances; see also food supplements,
orthomolecular medicine .
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reconciliation EC (IV): “a comparison, making due allowance for normal vari-

R ation, between the amount of product or materials theoretically and actually
produced or used”; in pharmacovigilance the term is used to refer to the
concept of ensuring that all appropriate information has been correctly
identified, completed and transferred (e.g., between a clinical trial database and
a separate safety database).
recordkeeping In USA records of a clinical trial have to be retained for a period
of 2 years follo wing the date on which: (a) the test article is appro ved by the
FDA for marketing for the purposes which were the subject of the trial, (b) the
entire trial is discontinued or terminated; records of institutional review
boards must be kept for a minimum of 3 years after completion of the research;
EC: retention of patient identi fication codes, patient files and other source
data by investigator for at least 15 years, all rele vant documentation by
sponsor or subsequent owner for the lifetime of the product, thefinal report for
5 years be yond the lifetime of the product; archi ved data may be held on
microfiche or electronic record.
record linkage System where all health data of an indi vidual are recorded,
from birth to death; source of information for pharmacovigilance programs;
see also ecological study .
record retention see archiving.
recovery EC (IV): “the introduction of all or part of pre vious batches of the
required quality into another batch at a defined stage of manufacture”.
recruitment period syn. inclusion period; period until the number of patients
as planned in the protocol is included in the study.
recruitment rate syn. accrual rate; it is a common phenomenon ( lasagna’s
law, muench’s law , murphy’s law), that as soon as clinical trial starts,
the number of a vailable patients dramatically drops and increases again at the
end of the study; reasons are e.g.: tighteligibility criteria, overestimation of
patient numbers, impracticability of technical parts of protocols, problems in
obtaining informed consent a.s.o.; for counteracting, loosening of entry cri-
teria, availability of intent -to -treat lists, retrospective analyses of the num-
ber of suitable patients, and checks for ongoing suitability (f acilities) of the
centre are helpful, investigations and additional work for trialists should be kept
to a minimum; comple x protocols may require a precedent pilot study to
ensure feasibility; (EC: “responsibilities of the investigator: to provide retro-
spective data on numbers of patients who w ould have satis fied the proposed
entrance criteria during preceding time periods in order to assure an adequate
recruitment rate”); emphasis should be put on detecting lo w r.r. early to allo w
timely adjustments.
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recurrence risk see empiric recurrence risk, risk .

recycling of a drug see life cycle management.
reference member state (RMS) syn. rapporteur; see alsodecentralised pro-
cedure, price control, price regulatory scheme.
reference pricing syn. fixed payment system; the patient is reimbursed a fixed
amount of money (which is defined by the therapeutic class), irrespective of the
selling price of the drug; such payment system e xists in a number of countries
such as Germany, The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Belgium; see also
price control, price regulatory scheme, reimbursement.
reference range see laboratory normal range.
reference risk Risk in a population of une xposed subjects (“baseline/back-
ground risk”); for the purpose of comparisons, the characteristics should be as
close as possible to the characteristics of the exposed population; see also risk.
reference safety information (RSI) source on the safety of a product in particu-
lar relating to the expectedness and frequency of (serious) adverse reactions; the
r.s.i. is commonly the safety information that is included in all current summary
of product characteristics (SmPCs) of the product (common denominator),
as authorised in Member States at the time of data lock point; usually it is the
Company Core Data Sheet (CCDS) or the Company Core Safety
Information (CCSI); other types of safety documents are: de velopmental core
safety information (DCSI)/developmental core data sheet (DCDS),Development
Safety Update Report , investigator’s brochure, patient information
leaflet, periodic safety update report, product monograph; changes are to
be described in the relevant section of the PSUR; see also adverse reaction .
reference sample syn. reference standard; (EU Guide to GMP) “A sample of a
batch of starting material, packaging material, product contained in its primary
packaging or finished product which is stored for the purpose of being analysed
should the need arise”; where stability permits, reference samples from critical
intermediate stages (e.g. those requiring analytical testing and release) or inter-
mediates, which are transported outside of the manuf acturer’s control, should
be k ept. In man y instances the reference and retention samples will be pre-
sented identically, i.e. as fully packaged units. In such circumstances, reference
and retention samples may be re garded as interchangeable. Reference and
retention samples of investigational medicinal product, including blinded prod-
uct should be k ept (in a suf ficient amount to permit at least tw o full analyses)
for at least 2 years after completion or formal discontinuation of the last clinical
trial in which the batch was used, whichever period is the longer; they are also
called secondary reference standards; primary reference standards may also be
obtained from an officially recognised source; see also retention sample .
212

reference standard see also reference sample .

R regenerative medicine Treatment aimed to replace or regenerate human cells,
tissues or organs to restore or establish normal function, e.g. by stem cells; see
also stem cell therapy.
register see data base .
registry Basically a collection of data of patients with the same characteristics;
e.g., a speci fic disease, condition or outcome (HIV , pregnancy, birth defects –
“disease” registry) or the same treatment/e xposure (drug re gistry, exposure r.;
ICH E2E; www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov); registries are repositories where
data, records or laboratory samples are k ept and may be made a vailable for
research or comparati ve studies. e.g., physicians/specialised institutions may
maintain lists of patients who share a characteristic, such as a medical condition
or medication re gimen. Safety re gistries capture and document ongoing safety
and outcomes data in patient populations under real-world treatment conditions;
see also epidemiology, observational study, outcomes research, phar-
macovigilance, post-approval research, surveillance.
regression coef fi ciensee linear regression.
regression paradox syn. re gression to ward the mean, statistical re gression;
spontaneous variations of symptoms or diseases make judgments of drug effects
virtually impossible, e.g. a patient with recurrent headaches is most lik ely to
seek medical help when his headaches are most severe or frequent; the sponta-
neous return to a baseline pattern w ould appear to be an impro vement; if the
patient is treated, this regression will create an appearance of drug efficacy even
if, in fact, the drug is completely inactive; another example: an antihypertensive
treatment seems to be more effective in severe hypertension (artifact of r.p.: the
higher the blood pressure the further it can f all!); it is also more lik ely that an
extremely high or low value is a measurement error which, when repeated, will
be much closer to the intermediate; therefore tendenc y toward a less e xtreme
repeat value is always greater than tendency for an intermediate value to become
more extreme; regression to the mean is also a rationale forrun-in phases ;see
also baseline variable ,placebo effect.
regression to the mean see regression paradox .
regulations – R. are le gal acts that enable the European Community institu-
tions to encroach furthest on the domestic le gal systems in the EC; the y lay
down the same law throughout the Community, regardless of international bor-
ders, and apply in full in all Member States (“community character”); in con-
trast to directives the legal acts do not have to be transposed into national law
but confer rights or impose duties on the Community citizen in the same way as
national law; the Member States and their governing institutions and courts are
213

bound directly by community law and have to comply with in the same way as
with national law (“direct applicability”); in contrast to guidelines, r. are legally
enforceable; see directive, ec law.
reimbursement Treatment costs reimb ursed by health insurance systems; for
reimbursement, the price for a medicinal product must be permitted and is often
compared to that of a competitor (e.g., for a ne w generic) or an other
comparably effective drug, sometimes also with the price on other comparable
markets as a reference; see anatomical therapeutic chemical
classification system, black list, copayment, cost/benefit analysis ,
cost/effectiveness , defined daily dose, negative list, positive list,
price control, quality of life, reference pricing.
relational data base Special, structured d.b . whereby data are managed and
stored with an a priori logical relationship between the data; see also data
manager.
relative bioavailability see bioavailability.
relative incidence Portion of subjects with a speci fic attribute (AR) versus the
portion e xposed (incidence proportion); see also cumulative incidence,
excess incidence, incidence rate, prevalence rate.
relative risk see risk.
release certi fi cat Certificate documenting that adequate quality controls have
been performed and that the investigational medicinal product has been released
by a quali fied individual ( Qualified Person) prior to being used in clinical
trials; r.c. must be available in the trial master file.
reliability Usually determined by the e xtent that a score has repeatability
between identical or equi valent tests, therefore by: interperson r . = consis-
tency of scoring between dif ferent individuals, test re-test r. = consistency of
scoring over a short period of time when subjects ha ve not changed, and inter-
nal r. = correlation of individual items to the total score; see alsomeasurement
properties ,validity.
remote data entry Capturing data at site where the y are generated, e.g. at the
investigational centre; the electronic data can than be either stored locally
and transferred later or can be transferred on-line; see also cloud systems,
computerised systems, data entry, electronic data capture, remote
data entry, source data, web-based data entry.
renewal Marketing Authorisations (MA) granted in the European Community
have an initial duration of 5 years; at least 6 months (amended to 9 months for
products for which the MA ceases after 21 Apr 2013 as by Re g 1235/2010)
before the authorization ceases the MA holder must pro vide the competent
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authority with a consolidated version of the file in respect of quality, safety and
R efficacy in order to maintain MA; once rene wed the MA shall be v alid for an
unlimited period; see also marketing authorisation, sunset clause.
repeatability Level of agreement between replicate measurements made in the
same subject; see also measurement properties.
repeated dose toxicity see toxicity.
repeated looks on data see interim-analysis, multiple comparisons.
repeated measures design D. with multiple measurement periods instead of
simple pre-/post-evaluations; usually equal sample sizes at each measurement
period and complex statistical techniques are needed (e.g. multivariate repeated
measures analyses of variance).
repeated signi fi cancetesting see bonferoni correction, interim-analysis,
multiple comparisons.
repeat study see replication study.
replication study syn. repeat s.; additional study to a research question; some
authorities require studies to be replicated in their country.
report Essential elements are e.g. summary: brief description (ca. 1 page) of
the study objective(s), methods, main findings and general conclusions; intro-
duction: with the main reasons for conducting this trial in the particular w ay;
methods/subjects/patients: description of selection criteria, design, blinding,
statistical methods etc.; results: withbaseline comparison of treatment groups,
number of subjects randomized ,compliance (in case of outpatients) analyses
of efficacy and safety according to intent-to-treat principle, number of
subjects which might be e xcluded from analyses and reasons, estimation of
(group) dif ferences, p-values, confidence intervals, e valuation of centre
by treatment interaction (for multicentre trials ); discussion/conclusions:
critical comparison with published or other e xisting information; a summary
report is to be submitted to the competent authorities within one year of the end
of the clinical trial; according to EC guidelines of good clinical practice (III) r.
of clinical trials have to be archived 5 years beyond the life time of the product;
detailed recommendations are found in the CONSOR T checklist (Consolidated
Standards of Reporting Trials , http://www.consort-statement.org/ consort-
statement/); the checklist includes 25 items where empirical evidence indicates
that not reporting the information is associated with biased estimates of
treatment effect, or because the information is essential to judge the reliability
or relevance of the findings; see also development safety update report,
expedited reporting, final report, imrad, integrated report, parent–
child/foetus report, periodic safety update report, publication
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guidelines, s-2 report, uniform requirements for manuscripts submit-

ted to biomedical journals.
reporting see publication guidelines .
reporting odds ratio see disproportionality assessments .
reprocessing EC (IV): “the reworking of all or part of a batch of product of an
unacceptable quality from a defined stage of production so that its quality may
be rendered acceptable by one or more additional operations”; see also qual-
ity defect .
reproducibility Often used synon ymously to precision and variability ;
extent to which the same result is obtained (or would have been obtained) when
a measurement is repeated; the better the r . of measurements, the lo wer the
standard deviation and therefore the variance; see also accuracy, mea-
surement properties.
reproductive toxicity Toxic ef fects upon reproduction of mammals; studies
investigate possible adv erse effects of substances on male or female fertility
and general reproductive performance (“segment I”), teratogenicity (“segment
II”), and peri- or postnatal effects resp. such as physical and functional develop-
ment in the of fspring (“se gment III”); see also genotoxicity, labelling,
toxicity tests.
reprofiling of a drug see life cycle management.
rescue medication Also called escape medication; medicines identi fied in a
study protocol as those that may be administered to the patients when the
efficacy of the in vestigational medicinal product (IMP) is not satisf actory, or
the effect of the IMP is too great and is lik ely to cause a hazard (adverse reac-
tion) to the patient, or to manage an emer gency situation ; see also investiga-
tional medicinal product.
research and development (R&D) The average new chemical entity (NCE)
that recei ves marketing authorisation may cost about 4–11 billion US$
(2012) taking into account research f ailures; in 2002 estimated costs were
802 million, in 1990: $ 231 million, and takes about 12 years, with little changes
since 1987, from synthesis to marketing approval (about 3 years in the 1960s);
this includes costs of f ailed projects and time costs (mean de velopment times:
long-term animal studies 3.5 years, phase I 1.5 years, phase II 2 years, phase III
3.5 years, new drug application review by FDA 1.5 years); R&D e xpendi-
ture (EFPIA) increased from € 7,766 mio (1990) to 27,796 million (2010) in
Europe; during the same period re gulatory requirements ha ve tremendously
increased; there are in addition regular costs after marketing authorisation, e.g.
up to € 80.000 for the assessment of each PSUR; to bring 10 NCEs on the
216

market, it is estimated that researchers must e valuate 100,000 compounds of

R which companies can put about 100 products into clinical trials – but only two
of the 10 NCE will be profitable for the discovering company; worldwide R&D
expenses were about 49 billion US$ in 2004 and 68 billion in 2010 (after
15,000 million US $ in 1988, 24,500 million in 1992 and 33,700 million in
1995), with about 15–25 NCEs appro ved each year (35 in 1989); each addi-
tional week of clinical development accounts for a loss of sales revenues in the
order of $ 1–10 million US $; w orldwide ethical pharmaceutical sales were in
the order of $ 400,000 in 2002 (112.000 million in 1988); R&D oriented com-
panies expend about 10–20 % of their revenues for R&D and 20–30 % for mar-
keting; see also clinical development plan, development, health care
costs, life cycle management, pharmaceutical market, proof-of-
concept, study list.
research coordinator see clinical trial coordinator.
research nurse see study nurse.
reserve sample see retention sample .
residues see impurity .
response R. can be presented in dif ferent w ays, e.g. as dif ference (v alue
before − value after), as ratio (v alue after//value before), as percentage change
[(value after/v alue before − 1) × 100], percentage of patients with a de fined
value at a given moment, a.s.o.
response (cancer treatment) For reporting results of cancer treatment the fol-
lowing definitions (WHO) of objective response are used (separately!): (I) mea-
surable disease: complete response (CR) = disappearance of all known disease,
determined by 2 observations not less than 4 weeks apart; partial r. (PR) = 50 %
or more decrease in total tumour size of the lesions which have been measured
to determine the effect of therapy by 2 observations not less than 4 weeks apart
(there can be no appearance of ne w lesions or progression of an y lesion); no
change (NC) = 50 % decrease in total tumour size cannot be established nor has
a 25 % increase in the size of one or more measurable lesions been demon-
strated; progressive disease (PD) = 25 % or more increase in the size of one or
more measurable lesions, or the appearance of ne w lesions; (II) unmeasurable
disease: complete r. (CR) = complete disappearance of all known disease for at
least 4 weeks; partial r . (PR) = estimated decrease in tumour size of 50 % or
more for at least 4 weeks; no change (NC) = no signi ficant change for at least
4 weeks; this includes stable disease, estimated decrease of less than 50 %, and
lesions with estimated increase of less than 25 %; progressi ve disease
(PD) = appearance of an y ne w lesion not pre viously identi fied or estimated
increase of 25 % or more in e xistent lesions; (III) response criteria for bone
217

metastases: complete r. (CR) = complete disappearance of all lesions on X-ray

or scan for at least 4 weeks; partial r . (PR) = partial decrease in size of lytic
lesions, recalcification of lytic lesions, or decreased density of blastic lesions or
observation of any progression for at least 4 weeks; no change (NC) = because
of the slow response of bone lesions the designation “no change” should not be
applied until at least 8 weeks have passed from the start of therapy; progressive
disease (PD) = increase in size of existent lesions or appearance of new lesions;
duration: CR lasts from the date of itsfirst record to the date of first observation
of progression; overall r. lasts from the first day of treatment to the date of first
observation of progression; see also performance status.

restricted marketing authorization see conditional approval, legal sta-

tus, marketing authorisation post-marketing surveillance.

results (of a clinical trial) Results should be reported to the competent authori-
ties within one year of the end of the clinical trial.

retain samples In many countries (e.g. in Germany) national regulations request

that samples of drugs used in clinical trials are kept for control purposes beyond
termination of the trial; see also reference sample, retention sample .

retention sample syn. Retain sample, reserve sample; (EU Guide to GMP) “A
sample of a packaged unit from a batch of finished product for each packaging
run/trial period”; it is stored for identi fication purposes; for example, presenta-
tion, packaging, labelling, lea flet, batch number , expiry date should the need
arise; samples of each API batch should be retained for 1 year after theexpiry
date of the batch assigned by the manufacturer or for 3 years after distribution
of the batch, whichever is longer; the quantity must be sufficient to conduct two
full analyses; see also reference sample .

retest date syn. retest period; for acti ve pharmaceutical ingredients a retest
period is to be defined, whereas the term shelf-live is commonly used for the
finished pharmaceutical product; in clinical trials with ne w substances data on
long term stability are frequently not a vailable; in these cases a pro visional
expiry date is given that may be prolonged as soon as new stability data become
available; see also expiry date, stability test.

retrospective study Opposite: prospective study; see prospective study.

retroviruses DNA viruses that can integrate into host-DNA; they can be patho-
genic (e.g. HIV) or oncogenic (leukaemia viruses) but have also a potential for
gene therapy; see genome .

return EC (IV): “sending back to the manufacturer or distrib utor of a

medicinal product which may or may not present a quality defect ”.
218

revocation of marketing authorization see withdrawal .

R ribozyme Ribonucleic enzymes; class of ne w therapeutics planned for the
treatment of viral infections, autoimmune disease, endocrine disease and can-
cers; lik e antisense oligonucleotides the y suppress gene e xpression by
binding to mRN A templates, thus suppressing mRN A translation and there-
fore the production of disease-causing proteins; see , gene therapy,
ribozyme.
risk “combination of probability of harm and se verity of that harm” (Source:
ISO Guide 51; ICH Q9step4, QRM); Absolute r . = r. of developing the condi-
tion (disease) or outcome/response (e.g. cure, adverse effect) if the subject
participates in/tak es the putati ve cause; in the control group this is the r . of
developing the condition/outcome if the subject did not participate/tak e the
cause; relati ve r. = r . of de veloping the condition if the subject participates,
divided by the r. of developing that condition if the subject does not participate
(or if the risk factor is not used; usually estimated in cohort studies; a relative
risk <1.0 pro vides e vidence for a positi ve association, i.e. incidence rate of
exposed persons is lower than for non-exposed); attributable r. = r. of develop-
ing the condition if the risk f actor is present minus the r . of de veloping the
condition if the risk factor is absent divided by the r. of developing the condition
if the risk f actor is present; see also adverse reaction, association trial,
empiric recurrence risk, environmental risk assessment, migration
study, risk management.
risk-bene fi tanalysis see decision analysis, periodic benefit-risk evalu-
ation report .
Risk Ev aluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) Basically a ‘bene fit-
risk’ document appro ved by the FD A. The FDA (Amendments Act of 2007)
requires REMS from manuf acturers to ensure that the bene fits of a drug or
biological product outweigh its risks; see direct health care professional
communication; dear doctor letter, periodic safety update report
(PSUR).
risk factor Independent variable in association studies; the r.f. often pre-
cedes the outcome (dependent variable).
risk management plan (RMP) A “detailed description of the Risk
Management System” (Dir 2010/84); it includes also a summary of the safety
profile, important identified risks (e.g., populations at risk) and important miss-
ing information (e.g., populations where the product might be used) concerning
a medicinal product; it consists of a non-clinical part and a clinical part, and it
includes a description of (planned) risk minimisation activities, if applicable; a
RMP may need to be submitted during the pre-authorisation phase as well as
219

after MA; in contrast to the PSUR which co vers just the time since the last
PSUR, the RMP is cumulative; see also eudra vigilance, risk minimisation
action plan .

Risk Management Plan Annex 1 (EU-RMAP Annex 1) is the electronic inter-

face for EudraVigilance, to allow for the monitoring of identified and potential
risks and important missing information in relation to suspected adv erse reac-
tions reported to EudraV igilance for centrally authorised medicinal products;
see also centralized procedure .

risk management system (RMS) (Dir. 2010/84/EC, EMA, Vol.9A, Part I, 3.2):
“a set of pharmaco vigilance activities and interv entions designed to identify ,
characterise, prevent or minimise risks relating to a medicinal product, includ-
ing the assessment of the ef fectiveness of those acti vities and interv entions”;
examples of such acti vities are: (i) risk detection (e.g., patient registry ), (ii)
risk assessment (hazard analysis, e.g., signal detection), (iii) risk control
(e.g., pharmaco vigilance systems, P ASS), (iii) risk re view (e.g., Periodic
Safety Update Report, Periodic Benefit Risk Evaluation Report ), (iv)
risk communication (e.g.: “Dear Doctor Letter”, Direct Health Care
Professional Communication); it may include also recommended measures
for ensuring the safe use (r . minimisation); (v) risk minimisation (e.g., by
restrictions/changes in the Summary of Product Characteristics); see also
counterfeit medicine, european database of suspected adverse reac-
tion reports .

Risk Minimisation Action Plan (Risk-MAP) FDA: A RiskMAP is a strategic

safety program designed to meet speci fic goals and objecti ves in minimizing
known risks of a product while preserving its bene fits. RiskMAPs were devel-
oped for products that had risks that required additional risk management
strategies beyond describing the risks and bene fits of the product in labeling
and performing required safety reporting; see also legal status, pharma-
covigilance, post-authorisation safety study, registry, restricted
marketing authorisation, risk management plan, surveillance .

Ritchie index Inde x used in rheumatology , measuring tenderness and

inflammation of joints where 0 = not tender, 1 = tender, 2 = tender and winces,
3 = tender, winces and withdraws; see also ordinal scale.

RNA interference (RNAi) Process by which small double-stranded RNA mol-

ecules (dsRN A) induce homology-dependent inhibition of gene e xpression
(“co-suppression”)/(post-transcriptional do wn re gulation); tw o distinct path-
ways are known: transcriptional gene silencing (TGS) and post-transcriptional
gene silencing (PTGS) into short interfering RNA (siRNA); siRNAs are short-
lived and interfere with effector proteins; see also micro RNA, nucleotides .
220

Rohrer index Index used to describe the relationship between weight (body
R mass M) and height (L) in order to allow categorisation of subjects according to
obesity; R = M/L3; see body-mass-index (quetelet’s index) ,lorentz for-
mula, weight.
Rote Liste see national drug list.
route of administration oral: absorption is most readily with non-ionized
lipid-soluble drugs (e.g. ethanol), a first-pass effect is observ ed with some
drugs; food can prolong absorption; some drugs (e.g. acetylsalic ylic acid,
barbiturates, ethanol) decrease gastric emptying; dermal: lipid-soluble drugs
are readily absorbed through the skin, reduced blood flow reduces also absorp-
tion; inhalation: water soluble gases are almost immediately absorbed; particles
less then 1 mcm in diameter can easily penetrate the lo wer airways; intramus-
cular: high variability from patient to patient; intravenous: most rapid and most
reliable route of administration; nasal: most drugs with a molecular weight
<300 DA penetrate the nasal epithelium with ease; benefits for nasal delivery of
systemically acting drugs can include improved patient compliance, rapid onset
of action, a voidance of first pass metabolism, impro ved bioa vailability and
increased cost-effectiveness; rectal: erratic absorption is frequent; drugs do not
pass through li ver before entering the general circulation; see absorption,
adme.
routine monitoring visit see periodic site visit.
rule 80/125 FDA bioequivalence guidance for log-transformed data; the 80/125
rule concludes bioequivalence if m T/mR falls within (80 %, 125 %) with 90 %
assurance ( m R, mT – average of the pharmacokinetic response of interest, say
AUC or Cmax of test and reference substance); this rule is accepted by all
major health authorities including the European CPMP and the Canadian Health
Protection Branch; see also biological equivalent, drug comparability
study, pharmaceutical equivalent, therapeutic equivalent .
rule of thr ee The upper 95 % confidence interval (CI) of the estimate of
the rate of an e vent can be easily calculated from the so called rule of three,
whereby the v alue of 3 is an approximation for 2.996 (natural logarithm of
0.05 × −1): upper 95 % con fidence interv al CI = 3/number observ ed; a study
with a NSAID that follows e.g. 300 patients and that shows no development of
gastric ulcer would have a best estimate of a rate of zero, with an upper 95 % CI
of 1 in 100; the arbitrary ‘rule of three’ is based on the e xperience that for any
given adverse effect approximately threefold the number of patients need to be
treated and observed for the side effect to become manifest and reliably linked
with the drug, assuming a background incidence of zero of the ef fect being
observed or a clear , unambiguous causal association with the drug; see also
adverse event .
221

run-in phase Phase prior to administration of a new drug or treatment; often a

pretreatment phase (before an y medication) in clinical trials; is useful e.g.
for assessing baseline variables, elimination of non-compliers, reducing
variability and withdrawals, f amiliarisation with techniques of
measurements to avoid sequence effects a.s.o.; often patients shall also have
been off previous drugs before a new treatment starts, esp. if the previous drug
has a prolonged duration of action; usually 2–4 weeks will be acceptable
(wash-out period); on the other hand, run-in phases result in selection of sub-
jects and the trial population may therefore no longer be representati ve of all
patients; furthermore, it may not be possible to lea ve patients untreated or to
give placebo for a longer period of time by ethical reasons; see alsoregression
paradox.
S

safety alert Voluntary communication by a manuf acturer, distrib utor or

health authority to inform health professionals of an unreasonable risk to
the public health by a commercialised medicinal product or device intended
for human use; this may be follo wed by a Type II variation procedure;
see also urgent safety restriction.
safety analysis Comprehensi ve summary of adverse effects (AE) ;
includes close examination of patients who either died during the study or
left the study because of AEs; a common form for presentation of data are
transition scales/shift tables; in addition, tab ulating the number of
events in each category which may be a body system (e.g., cardiovascular),
an organ (e.g., liver) or class (e.g., allergic) sometimes called System-Organ
Class Frequency and/or analysis of time trends, may be a useful approach;
see also data and safety review board, number needed to harm,
who-adverse reaction terminology.
safety communication Information on medicinal products to patients and
healthcare professionals, in particular on new, important aspects; communica-
tion tools and channels are variable and not restricted to (news)letters; impor-
tant safety announcements should al ways be coordinated with the health
authorities; see consumer reports, “dear healthcare professional” let-
ter, direct health care professional communication, patient infor-
mation/package leaflet, summary of product characteristics .
safety of fi ce EMA requests that each compan y has a permanent person in a
member state responsible for pharmacovigilance; see qualified person.
safety report see individual case safety report .
safety speci fi catio Summary of important identi fied risks of a medicinal
product as included in the Risk Management Plan .

G. Nahler, Dictionary of Pharmaceutical Medicine, 222

safety tests Toxico-pharmacological test, as well as tests on sterility , bacterial

endotoxin, pyrogenicity, and local tolerance.
safety update r eport see development safety update report, periodic
safety update report .
safety v ariation application see type ii variation, urgent safety
restriction .
sales reps Sales representati ves of pharmaceutical companies; in some coun-
tries (e.g. Austria, France) professional training of s.r . is re gulated, requiring
formal certi ficates of successful training; in France it is also requested that
badges be worn with the name of the s.r. and the company.
sample size estimation The number of subjects necessary in a study (Number
Needed to Treat) depends on the variance, the magnitude of dif ference to be
detected ( delta value), and the desired power; in order to comply with EC
guidelines “the potential for reaching sound conclusions with the smallest pos-
sible exposure of subjects” has to be considered in trial protocols; for s.s.e. the
“hypothesis testing approach” is most common, which determines whether
some appropriate comparative measure (such as the difference between means
or a relative risk) is signi ficantly different from its null value (e.g. a mean dif-
ference of zero or a relative risk of one); a “confidence interval approach” how-
ever would concentrate on an estimation of the comparati ve measure together
with its confidence intervals; see also effect size.
sampling error Error introduced by the chance dif ference between an esti-
mate obtained from a sample and the true v alue in the population from which
the sample was drawn; see intent-to-treat list .
sanctions Regulatory actions that apply to medicinal products, de vices, their
manufacturers and distributors, when they are discovered to be in violation of
FDA or other regulatory requirements: detention, seizure, FDA initiated or vol-
untary recall, suspension/ withdrawal of marketing authorization, regulatory
letter, citation, injunction, and prosecution; between 2007 and 2012 life science
companies have paid an estimated sum of 15 billion US $ in fines and compli-
ance related settlements by governments; see also black list.
scales Instruments for measuring “hard-to-quantify” variables, i.e. non-dimen-
sional, ordinal data; a number of dif ferent types e xist, e.g. Alzheimer’ s
Disease Assessment Scale – AD AS; likert scale, Mini-Mental State
Examination – MMSE, visual analogue s., ladder s., pictorial s., “f aces” s.,
delighted-terrible s., a.s.o.; scales are commonly used for assessing e.g. the
performance status, health profile, quality of life, well-being ,
a.s.o.; scales (and results) dif fer whether the y are intended to be used by a
224

trained interviewer, by a physician, by f amily members or as self-report/self-

S administered s.; see alsohawthorne effect, index, ordinal scale, quality
of life scale, score, staging, well-being scale.
school medicine see conventional medicine.
science impact index (SII) Reflects scientific merit of an author; it represents
the different researchers (or research groups) worldwide who annually quote a
paper of a specific author (as revealed by the Science Citation Index).
scienti fi cadvice see development safety update report .
score Basic requirements for a score are: high sensitivity ,reliability ,good
repeatability (both inter - and intra-observ er), validity and good correlation
with other tests; see also composite variable, genie score, global assess-
ment variable, index ,scales, staging, variable.
search engines Internet-based search engines for medical literature include
Google, Google scholar , Y ahoo search engine, etc., see also literature
search.
secondary attack rate The number of e xposed people in whom the disease
develops within the range of the incubation period compared with the num-
ber of individuals exposed to the primary patient; s.a.r. is a proportion, not a
rate; s.a.r. are used to determine whether a disease of unkno wn aetiology is
communicable and thus may indicate a transmissible aetiology; see attack
rate.
secrecy agreement see confidential disclosure agreement.
seeding activity see marketing study.
selected list scheme (SLS) List of pharmaceuticals which are e xempted from
reimbursement by national health services.
selection criteria see eligibility c.
self-inspection Part of a quality assurance system in order to monitor the imple-
mentation and respect of e.g. GMP or GCP and to propose any necessary correc-
tive measures; see also inspection.
self-medication Opp. prescription-only medication (POM); use of non-pre-
scription medicines (OTC) by people on their o wn initiative; in most countries
OTCs are not subject of price control (in Europe all countries except Austria and
Hungary); in 1994, average European OTC sales in percent of POM sales were
approx. 25 %, with v alues up to 45 % (Poland) or as lo w as 10 % (Austria,
Hungary); see also over-the-counter.
225

self-regulatory industry control see codes of practice.

sensitivity Number of positi ve cases in patients with the disease, i.e. number
of true positive results of a test divided by the total number of true positive plus
false negative test results; see also predictive value, specificity.
sentinel sites Active surveillance for adverse reactions of a drug by re viewing
medical records and/or interviewing patients or physicians on a sample of sites
(hospitals, nursing homes, haemodialysis centres etc.); see also intensive
monitoring, pharmacovigilance, prescription event monitoring, solic-
ited report.
serendipity Une xpected pharmacological acti vity disco vered during drug
development (e.g., clonidin was intended for common cold but is a central anti-
hypertensive; sildenafil was reprofiled from angina and hypertension to erectile
dysfunction; see also drug repositioning.
serious adverse reaction are to be reported to the authority within 15 days at
the latest; ~320,000 suspected serious adv erse reaction reports are managed
annually (2008) at le vel of the European Community; during 2010, the FD A
received 409,608 reports describing a serious outcome that is not currently
listed and 28,952 reports from non-manufacturers such as patients, physicians,
family members or lawyers; see adverse reaction.
sequence effect Types are: carry-over e.: (biological) effect continues after the
treatment is withdrawn and after complete disappearance of the drug from the
body; order e.: if diagnoses, observ ations, assessments, techniques a.s.o.
become (gradually) more precise as result of a training or learning process e.g.
of the observer; (esp. important in surgical trials); time-treatment interaction: if
different results occur in one treatment period compared with another one; e.g.
placebo may be more ef fective when gi ven first to lo wer blood pressure or
when given last to relieve a painful condition that is impro ving with time; any
s.e. will compromise particularly cross-o ver designs; also important with
respect to run-in phases of trials.
sequential design In this design the conduct of the trial depends at an y stage
on the results so far obtained; in contrast to most other designs patients are usu-
ally entered simultaneously in pairs, one patient recei ving A and the other B
(comparison between subjects), b ut comparison within subjects may also be
possible; response is assessed in sequential order , therefore allowing termina-
tion as soon as the predefined boundaries of significance (A better, equal, worse
than B) are reached; special types: group sequential d., full sequential d.; such
designs can be useful e.g. for the evaluation of cough suppressants, analgesics,
preferences of taste a.s.o., whene ver the response is ob vious soon after treat-
ment and when bias can be ruled out.
226

shelf life see expiration date, retest date, stability test .

S shift table syn. T ransition matrix; table sho wing the number of patients who
are low, normal, or high at baseline and at selected time interv als; shift tables
are of particular importance in reports; see also transition matrix .

short interfering RNA (siRNA) see RNA interference .

side effect The former de finition “a response to a (re gistered) drug which
occurs when used as indicated in the current labelling” (EU Dir 2001/20) has
been changed by Dir 2010/84 and includes no w adverse reactions that occur
when the drug is not taken as directed (i.e. “outside the terms of the marketing
authorisation”); this w ould include, e.g. o verdose, medication errors, off-
label use, occupational e xposure, etc.; the package inserts continue to
include only those s.e. that “may occur under normal use”; the term s.e. is used
in various ways (e.g. WHO: “Any unintended effect of a pharmaceutical prod-
uct occurring at doses normally used in man which is related to the pharmaco-
logical properties of the drug”), usually to describe ne gative or unf avourable
effects b ut also positi ve ef fects; see adverse drug reactions, consumer
report, data and safety review board, drug injury, individual case
safety report, undesirable effect .

signal def. (WHO): reported information on a possible causal relationship

between an adverse event and a drug, the relationship being unkno wn or
incompletely documented previously; usually more than a single report (also
called Drug-Ev ent Combination, DEC or Drug-Ev ent Association, DEA) is
required to generate a signal, depending upon the seriousness of the e vent and
the quality of the information; e xamples of signals: ne w, previously unrecog-
nized adverse events; increase in frequency of known events; increase in severity
or speci ficity of known events; drug interactions, food or dietary supplements,
lack of ef ficacy, concomitant diseases, etc.; product use issues (e.g. of f label
administrations, misuse, medication errors); risk in special populations; see also
disproportionality assessments ,pharmacovigilance, rule-of-three .

signal detection P art of routine safety monitoring acti vities; it includes the
interpretation of safety data from all sources, preclinical, clinical, post approval
and externally; it is directed towards the identification and evaluation of safety
risks from reported adverse reactions & potential risk factors for this adverse
reaction; a traditional method w ould be the manual re view of ICSR lists;
however, higher order associations (e.g., drug-drug interactions, drug-food-
interactions, multiple risk f actors for de veloping an AE, etc.) are particularly
difficult to be captured by the human mind by traditional methods; common
data mining algorithms are basing on disproportionality assessments or on
empirical Bayesian methods such as the multi-item gamma Poisson Shrink er
227

used by the FDA or the Information Component used by the WHO Monitoring
Centre in Uppsala; differential reporting is not necessarily indicative of differ-
ential occurrence; see also bayesian adverse reaction diagnostic instru-
ment, bias, data mining, duplicate report, pharmacovigilance,
protopathic bias, simpson’s paradox .
signal fragmentation see data mining .
signal transduction The molecular pathways mechanism through which a cell
senses changes in its external environment and changes its gene expression pat-
terns in response.
signature sheet see authorisation form .
signi fi cancelevel Probability of a type I (alpha) error, statistical signi fi cance
should always be seen in the light of clinical relevance; see also delta value.
signi fi cant adverse event: Ev ent leading to discontinuation or dose
modification; such event is considered to be a (immediately) reportable (to the
sponsor) adverse event. Significant AEs have to be reported separately in the
integrated report.
signi fi cantchange see stability test.
signi fi cantoverdose Cases in which the dose taken is greatly in excess (>5 times)
of the recommended maximum dose in the summary of products characteristics
(SPC), whether intentionally or unintentionally (EC); see also adverse reaction.
signs Visible, palpable, audible or objectively measurable forms of manifesta-
tion of a disease, e.g. enlarged lymph nodes, enhanced erythrocyte sedimenta-
tion rate a.s.o.; see also simpson’s paradox ,symptoms.
sign test Simple, nonparametric statistical test for specific sets of data (charac-
teristic quality is present or not).
Simpson’s paradox syn. Y ule-Simpson ef fect; it means that an association
between two variables is reversed upon observing a third variable such as age or
severity of disease that act as confounders; the Simpson’s paradox may led to
false conclusions in ef ficacy studies and pharmaco vigilance; it occurs in medi-
cal-science and social-science statistics and disappears when causal relations are
derived more systematically; see also confounder , data mining,
pharmacovigilance .
single-blind see blinding.
single case experiment Also N of 1 study , case-crosso ver study , intensi ve
research design; in vestigation with a sample size n = 1, whereby a single
subject recei ves ef fective treatment and placebo (or a control therap y)
228

sequentially and at random (usually several of such paired treatment periods) to

S determine whether a treatment is beneficial (causing side effects) or not; patient
and clinician should be k ept blind; only applicable if the clinical condition is
fundamentally stable and if impro vement and deterioration occur rapidly with
respect to treatment changes; see also design.
single coded see code.
single-dose toxicity syn. acute toxicity; see toxicity.
single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP, pronounced “snips”) variation at just a
single base of a four -bases (syn. nucleotides) long codon (point mutation)
resulting in at least tw o different alleles for a gene; it is assumed that SNPs
predispose individuals to develop certain diseases but also to respond or not to
certain drugs; as e xample, approx. 20 % of the W estern European population
are homozygous for one of the mutations the Methylene-T etra-Hydro-Folate-
Reductase (MTHFR) gene which is supposed to result in reduced MTHFR
activity and in higher baseline plasma homoc ysteine levels; see also allele,
genetic polymorphism, genom, pharmacogenetics, polymerase chain
reaction, polymorphism.
single-site trial syn. single centre study; trial conducted at only one centre;
advantages versus a multicentre trial: easier to control, lower costs, effect
size may be lar ger due to more pronounced homogeneity , decision making is
more ef fi cient.
site audit see audit.
site management or ganisation (SMO) T rial management or ganisation inte-
grating clinical project management and study conduct activities; see clinical
research organisation.
site master f le (SMF) Document that describes the GMP-related acti vities of
the manufacturer; see good manufacturing practice .
site visit log see monitor’s visit log list.
skewness Asymmetry of the distribution of data; a distribution is skewed to
the right, when the mean exceeds the median and the right tail is therefore
longer than the left (typical for v ariables with a fixed lower but without upper
bound, e.g. number of episodes); opp. normal distribution; see also ceiling
effect, floor effect .
slow metaboliser Subject with a variant gene of a speci fic enzyme (not totally
inactivating the acti vities) because of alterations of the DN A; see ethnic
differences, genetic polymorphism, metabolism, pharmacogenetics,
poor metaboliser.
229

slow r elease f ormulation (SR) opposite: immediate release form; see con-
trolled release form, formulation.
small and medium sized enterprises (SME) Enterprises with <250 employees
and an annual turnover of £50 million Euro and/or an annual balance sheet of
£43 million Euro (EC); such enterprises bene fit of reduced fees payable to
EMA (Annex to Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC); see also euro-
pean medicines agency, micro-enterprise .
SNOMED Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine, see code.
solicited report Reports derived from organized data-collection schemes; see
clinical trial, intensive monitoring, named patient use, pharmacovig-
ilance, post-approval safety study, prescription event monitoring,
registry, sentinel sites .
source data syn. original medical record, source document; patient files, origi-
nal recordings from automated instruments, tracings (ECG, EEG), X-ray films,
laboratory notes, patient diaries, a.s.o., in short: place where information isfirst
recorded; s.d. can also be the original electronic file (preferably recorded on a
durable electronic medium); source data is the responsibility of the investigator
who must maintain full (also archival) control of them; s.d. must be contempo-
raneous, original, attrib utable, le gible and accurate/complete; see also data
quality, electronic data, raw data.
source data verification (SDV) Also s.d. validation; procedures to ensure that
data contained in the case record form (CRF) and later in the final report
match original observ ations; these procedures ( audit , inspection, quality
control) may apply to raw data, hard copies, electronic CRF s, computer
printouts, statistical analyses, tables etc.; s.d.v . should be carried out on key
data items (patient identi fication, consent form, eligibility criteria , drug
administration, efficacy, safety) to an e xtent of 100 % and on other items of
data to an extent of about 20 %; should however errors appear at a frequency of
greater than 15 % intensive s.d.v. will generally be required; EC: “statistically
controlled sampling may be an acceptable method of data v erification”; ICH
guideline on GCP requests “direct access to the subject’ s original medical
records”; the interview-technique or back-to-back method across the table is no
longer acceptable from 17. January 1997 onwards; see also data quality .
source document see case record form ,data capture document, source data.
speci fi catio see product specification.
speci fi cit Number of negative cases in patients free of disease, i.e. true nega-
tive results of a test divided by the total number of true negative plus false posi-
tive test results; see also predictive value, sensitivity.
230

sponsor syn. promoter; organization or individual who takes responsibility for

S the initiation, management and/or financing of a trial; responsibilities (FD A):
“… for selecting qualified investigators, providing them with the information
they need to conduct an investigation properly, ensuring that the investigation is
conducted in accordance with the general investigational plan and proto-
cols contained in the IND (investigational new drug), maintaining an
effective IND with respect to the investigations, and ensuring that FDA and all
participating investigators are promptly informed of signi ficant new adverse
experiences or risks…”; (EC): “to establish detailed standard operating
procedures, to appoint and train monitors, to prepare reports irrespectively
whether the trial is completed or not, to pro vide adequate compensation for
subjects in case of injury or death and indemnity for the investigator, to inform
investigator and relevant authorities, to maintain records of products supplied
(drug accountability), to conduct an internal audit, to ensure identification
of all data and accuracy when transforming data”.

sponsor-investigator Indi vidual who both initiates and actually conducts,

alone or with others, a clinical in vestigation (investigator initiated trial, spon-
sor-investigator study), i.e., under whose immediate direction the test article is
administered or dispensed to, or used involving a subject; the term includes no
other person than an individual, e.g. corporation or agency; in US this individ-
ual can get a personal IND (investigational new drug); see also non-com-
mercial clinical trial, physician investigator.

spontaneous adverse drug reaction report ICH: “An unsolicited communica-

tion to a company, regulatory authority or other or ganisation that describes an
adverse medical reaction in a patient gi ven one or more medicinal products
and which does not deri ve from a study or an y or ganised data collection
scheme”; see also individual case safety report, pharmacovigilance,
prescription event monitoring, solicited report .

spontaneous noti fi catio see spontaneous adverse drug reaction report.

spontaneous r eporting scheme syn. spontaneous report system, e.g. the
yellow card programme in UK, Sweden, Norway or the blue card system
in Australia; either a v oluntary or mandatory reporting of usually serious
adverse events (AE), in some countries directly to manufacturers (majority
of all such reports e.g. in US, Japan, German y), whereas in other countries
they are initially recei ved by a health authority; adv antages: clinical imme-
diacy, low cost, application to all drugs in use at all time, generates the initial
alert; disadvantages: lack of control data, inability to quantify AEs in rela-
tion to drug use (under -reporting), bias introduced by inconsistenc y in level
231

of under-reporting (it is estimated that only about one case out of 10 to one
out of 1.000 is actually reported, se vere AEs are much more lik ely to be
reported than minor reactions); the amount of information obtained is also
very limited, e.g. there is no recording of the ethnic origin in the cioms-form
or yellow card; beside spontaneous reports of AEs, some countries request
notification of all e vents, including reports e.g. in literature; see also drug
safety monitoring, drug injury, prescription-event monitoring.
spontaneous report system see spontaneous reporting scheme.
spurious data see fraud.
square-root rule When costs of treatment vary, unequal randomization may
be employed: when it costs r times as much to study a subject on treatment A
than on B then one should allocate = +r times as many patients to B than to A.
s-2 report Report to be submitted by the sponsor to the FDA, if serious adverse
effects are observed in preclinical safety studies being conducted after the ini-
tial investigational new drug (IND) submission; noti fication must be made as
soon as possible b ut not later than 10 days after the sponsor is a ware of the
information; see also adverse reaction.
stability test Data on the long term stability are required when submitting a
pharmaceutical product for marketing approval; such test has to be conducted
usually at 25 ± 2 °C, at 60 ± 5 % relative humidity (RH), with min. 3 batches,
monthly for the first 3 months, at 3-m interv als thereafter and for a minimum
of 12 months; longer s.t. must be performed at least annually; stability studies
should be performed on each indi vidual strength, dosage form and container
type (e.g., semi-permeable/impermeable to moisture) and size proposed for
marketing; a pro visional extrapolation of stability data may be acceptable as
long as no “signi ficant change” occurred, i.e. a 5 % or more change from its
initial content of API(s), or f ailure to meet the acceptance criteria (e.g., in
terms of potenc y, de gradation products, appearance, etc.); stability can be
inf uenced, among other f actors, by the crystalline form of the substance; see
also climatic zones, impurity, retest date, shelf-live, stress testing.
Minimum period covered
by data at submission
Stability test Storagecondition (months)
Longterm 25 ± 2 °C/60 % RH ± 5 % RH, ora 12
30 ± 2 °C/65 % RH ± 5 % RH; orb
30 ± 2 °C/75 % RH ± 5 % RH
(5 ± 3 °C)c; (−20 °C ± 5°C)d
232

Minimum period covered

S Stability test Storagecondition
by data at submission
(months)
Intermediate 30 ± 2 °C/65 % RH ± 5 % RH; 6 (designed to moderately
(25 ± 2 °C/60 % RH ± 5 % RH)c increase the rate of
degradation for a product
intended to be stored long
term at 25 °C)
Accelerated 40 ± 2 °C/75 % RH ± 5 % RH; 6
(25 ± 2 °C/60 % RH ± 5 % RH)C ,OR
(30 ± 2 °C/65 % RH ± 5 % RH)a ;or
(30 ± 2 °C/75 % RH ± 5 % RH)
Stress Temperatures above that for –
accelerated testing (in 10 °C
increments, e.g., 50 °C, 60 °C, 75 %
RH or greater, increments
of 5 %)
a
Up to the applicant to decide (risk-based)
b
Climatic zone IV
c
Drug substances intended for storage in a refrigerator
d
Drug substances intended for storage in a freezer

stabilizer see excipients.

staff log see authorisation form .

staggered dosing approach; see phase i .

staging Assessment systems used to classify patients with respect to severity of

disease, treatment strate gies, and prognostic cate gories; see classification
of recurrence, disease free intervall , scales, score, tnm-staging,
tumor staging.
stakeholder Any individual, group or or ganization; the primary stak eholders
are the patient, healthcare professional, regulatory authority, and industry.
standard deviation (SD) Square root of the sum of squares of de viation divided
by one less than the number of squares in the sum; when data are normally
(symmetrically) distrib uted (observ ations are equally lik ely to be abo ve or
below the mean and more lik ely to be near the mean than f ar away, Gaussian
curve), 68.2 % of them will f all within ± one, 95.5 % within tw o and 99.7 %
within three standard de viations; see also distribution, outliers, out-of-
range values.
233

standard error Measure of the inherent variability of the estimate; the stan-
dard error of the mean (SEM) =standard deviation of the raw data divided
by square root of the number of observations.
standard gamble Instrument for utility or quality of life measurements;
patients are asked to choose between their own health status and a gamble in
which the y may die immediately or achie ve full health for the remainder of
their lives; numeric values are determined by the choices patients mak e as the
probabilities of immediate death or full health are varied.
standardized assessment of causality (SAC) Algorithm for the objective deter-
mination of a putati ve relationship between an adverse effect and a gi ven
drug; it consists of a series of questions which can be either answered by “yes”,
“no” or “unknown” or for which plus or minus point scores are given; at the end
a causality assessment is made by calculating the number of points; depending
on the point score, the strength of a causal relationship is then considered such
as “de finite, probable, possible or unlik ely”; results of SA C show most often
only v ery little inter -observer v ariability in contrast to causality assessments
after WHO or Karch & Lasagna; examples of algorithms utilized are the Kramer
a. (56 questions to answer), the Jones a. (6 questions), and the Naranjo a. (10
questions); inclusion of diagnostic criteria set by e xperts or the Bayesian
approach may also be a suitable method; see adverse drug reaction, bayes-
ian adverse reaction diagnostic instrument (BARDI), causality, drug
interaction probability scale.
standardized decision aids (SDA) Methods that pose a series of predetermined
questions which are usually answered by “yes”, “no” or “unknown”; used also for
causality assessments of adverse reactions; see standardized assessment
of causality.
standardized response mean (SRM) Calculated by dividing the mean change
by the standard deviation of the change; see analysis, effect size.
standard operating procedures (SOP) Pre-established, systematic and written
description of a speci fied activity such as the management, or ganisation, con-
duct, data collection, documentation and verification of a process, e.g. of manu-
facturing, quality control or of clinical trials; SOP should describe the
step-by-step actions necessary to initiate and complete the task (including con-
trols/validation) required in each job description; if necessary , the y may be
supplemented with written “working instructions” or manuals; SOP assure cor-
rectness, consistenc y and completeness in an operation and shorten training
periods; EC guidelines request that sponsors “ establish detailed SOPs to com-
ply with GXP” (good clinical practice, good laboratory practice, good
234

manufacturing practice, good pharmacovigilance practice a.s.o.) and

S that the monitor “works according a predetermined SOP”.
Standards f or the Reporting of Diagnostic accuracy studies (STARD)
Standards to improve the accuracy and completeness of reporting of diagnostic
studies ( http://www.stard-statement.org); see also publication guidelines.
starting material EC: “any substance used in the production of a medicinal
product, but excluding packaging materials”; see also batch documenta-
tion, finished product .
start-up meeting see prestudy meeting.
statement of in vestigator EC: “administrati ve document maintained for each
centre in the trial master file”; elements contain an identi fication (name,
address) of the in vestigator, other research personnel assisting, site of centre,
laboratory used, ethics committee responsible, title and protocol; the st. of I. must
also contain a list of obligations, e.g. agreement to comply with the procedures
defined in the protocol, to have read and understood the investigational drug bro-
chure, to personally conduct, supervise and dedicate suf ficient time to the study,
to adequately inform subjects and obtain their consent, to report immediately to
the sponsor all serious and unexpected adverse events, to maintain adequate and
accurate records, to submit protocol, amendments, and material for informed
consent to the ethics committee, that all personnel in volved are informed about
their obligations etc. this can be part of a contract; see also investigator.
statistical test see data; see also o’brian procedure, primary endpoint, wei-
lachin procedure .
steady state study Special design of a bioavailability study; requested when
plasma concentration cannot be determined precisely , e.g. due to problems of
sensitivity after single dose, intra-indi vidual variability in plasma concentra-
tions, dose- or time-dependent pharmacokinetics, extended release products
a.s.o.
steering committee Trials which are likely to have a major impact on treatment
habits are frequently “supervised” by a s.c.; this committee is scienti fically
responsible for the study plan, e v. decisions concerning stopping the trial
prematurely and interpretation of study results; see also data and safety
monitoring board .
stem cells (Immortalised) cells able to limitless self-renewal and to differentiate
to all cell types in the body; they are derived from three main classes of cell lines,
embryonic stem cells (ESC), adult stem cells (ASC) and induced pluripotent
stem cells (iPSC); the y may be used for in vitro toxicity testing as well as for
therapeutic purposes; see stem cell therapy .
235

stem cell therapy (Immortalised) cells able to limitless self-rene wal and to dif-
ferentiate to all cell types in the body; they are derived from three main classes of
cell lines, embryonic stem cells (ESC), adult stem cells (ASC) and induced pluri-
potent stem cells (iPSC); they can be transplanted into damaged tissue and effect
repair; research concentrates e.g., on diseases of the central nerv ous system,
namely Parkinson’s disease, stroke, Huntington’s chorea or diabetes type I; stem
cell dysfunction may lead to tumour formation; host-induced immune response
can also complicate the therapy see also advanced therapy, cellular repro-
gramming, plasticity, regenerative medicine.
stereoisomer Molecules differing only in their three-dimensional (geometric)
structure (spatial orientation of the atoms or groups of atoms) b ut not in their
chemical composition and formula; diastereoisomers are stereoisomers that are
not enantiomers; see chirality, enantiomer.
sterilisation Physical (e.g. by heat or steam) or chemical (e.g. by alcohol, eth-
ylene oxide, formaldehyde, hydrogen peroxide) process to eliminate viable
organisms.
sterility EC (IV): “absence of living organisms”; (conditions of the sterility test
are given in the European Pharmacopoeia); ICH is lik ely to mandate that the
maximum shelf life for sterile drugs after first opening or following reconstitu-
tion should be 28 days.
stochastic variable Variable involving random possibilities, chance or proba-
bility; see data .
stopping rules Study discontinuation criteria usually defined in the protocol ;
a trial should be stopped if e.g. substantial e vidence ( maximum acceptable
difference) of the superiority of one treatment (in terms of efficacy or
safety) emerges, when the predetermined number of patients has been admitted
and followed for a given length of time or when there is no hope of recruiting
the required numbers for a gi ven amount of time or mone y a.s.o.; see also
interim analysis.

strati fi catio Method of ensuring that treatment groups will be balanced for
prognostic f actors known or strongly suspected to in fluence treatment out-
come; after these factors (e.g. sex, age, severity or duration of disease , con-
comitant diseases etc.) are decided upon, subjects with these variables are
then distributed between the treatment groups or, more often, are randomized
(strati fi edrandomization) to treatment groups within each of these separate
strata; this implicates separate randomization lists e.g. for males and
females in case of s. according to sex; s. is of special importance in small tri-
als with patient numbers considerably belo w 100–200 in each group since
imbalances by mere chance become more lik ely; s. reduces bias, allows the
236

assessment of treatment effects separately for different subgroups, and

S enhances precision of the study; e xcessive s. (o verstratification) however is
defeating and creates imbalances (rule of thumb: number of strata should not
exceed the square root of the number of subjects); see also balanced study,
minimisation .
strategic alliance Term used for describing a v ariety of interfunctional coop-
erative arrangements between individual companies, e.g. know-how exchange:
such as cross-licensing, e xchange of patent rights, mutual second-sourcing of
raw material a.s.o.; collaborative R&D: companies whether competitors or not,
share scienti fic, technological or other kind of information for mutual bene fit;
R&D joint ventures: creation of a separate corporate entity by at least two com-
panies for pursuing a distinctive research program.
strength of medication ; syn. potenc y; amount of active pharmaceutical
ingredient per unit (e.g., “50 mg tablet”) or concentration; 90 % of the
declared potency is generally considered as the lowest acceptable level; see also
dosage regimen ,drug, medicinal product .
stress testing syn. accelerated testing; studies designed to increase the rate of
chemical or physical de gradation of a drug substance or drug product by
using exaggerated storage conditions to help identify the lik ely degradation
products; as a rule of thumb the speed of a chemical reaction doubles with
each increase of the temperature by 10 °C; the purpose is to determine kinetic
parameters, and to predict the tentati ve expiration dating period/stability of a
drug but also to e valuate the effect of short term e xcursions outside the label
storage conditions (such as might occur during shipping); stress testing condi-
tions usually include temperature, e.g. 50 °C, 60 °C (increments of 10 °C), to
75 °C), humidity, e.g. 75 % or greater (increments of 5 %), and e xposure to
various wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation (e.g. 190–780 nm, i.e. ultra-
violet and visible ranges), preferable in open containers where applicable;
usual stress testing conditions are 40 ± 2 °C, and 75 ± 5 % relati ve humidity,
with analyses done e very third month during the first year, every 6 month in
the second, and then yearly; further stability studies may include: pH< or > 7.0,
high oxygen atmosphere, presence of additives as considered in final formu-
lation ; degradation products should be identi fied and quantitati vely
assessed; stress t. may be carried out on a single batch of the API; see also
stability test .

strict liability; see insurance.

STrengthening the Reporting of Obser vational studies in Epidemiology
(STROBE) The statement is a reporting tool for observational studies in
epidemiology; ( http://www.strobe-statement.org/ ; http://www.annals.org/ ).
See also publication guidelines .
237

study coordinator EC (III): “appropriately e xperienced person nominated by

the investigator to assist administering the trial at the in vestigational site”;
most often this will be a nurse or physician who takes care of and who coordi-
nates the trial in terms of medical approach; she/he may also be the ultimate
responsible person for the observation of the protocol, for observation of regu-
latory aspects, for the progress of the study, and finally for analysing and report-
ing the results.
study duration sum of recruitment duration + treatment duration (+ observ a-
tion period, if applicable).
study identi fi cationcode syn. study number; to each study a unique code
should be assigned which is printed on all respecti ve documents as e.g. case
record forms, protocol, contracts a.s.o.; frequently a study has more than one
code, e.g. an internal (compan y/sponsor) code, a “re gulatory” code (e.g.
EUDRACT number) and a project code of the CRO.
study list syn. masterplan, clinical program outline; table where all studies con-
ducted with a particular drug (according to a pre-establishedproject plan )are
listed with study numbers for their identi fication, fields for a short information
concerning the indication, trialists and centres resp., dose and forms used, pro-
jected patient numbers, phase, type and design of the trial, time lines, status
a.s.o.; see also clinical development plan .
study (site) coordinator On the in vestigational site, the study coordinator’ s
activity (“study site coordinator”, SSC) is often o verlapping with the activities
of a study nurse; see also clinical trial coordinator.
study nurse syn. research nurse; nurse who is responsible for the on-site activity
of a clinical trial; she is usually member of the staf f of the trialist; she may enter
the data into the case record forms, organise investigations for patients, dates
for visits, cooperate directly with the monitor of the compan y a.s.o.; see also
clinical research associate, clinical trial coordinator.
study plan see protocol.
study progress report syn. study status report; rele vant regulatory authorities or
ethics committees should be informed about the progress of a study (post-
marketing
safety study) every 6–12 months or as requested by the authorities/regulations; see
annual progress report, annual safety update report, see also report.
study status report see study progress report.
study supplies All material needed for the proper conduct of a clinical trial,
e.g. case record forms, drug supplies, protocol, informed consent forms a.s.o.
subacute toxicity see toxicity.
238

subgroup analysis Analysis performed when there is a particular interest in the

S results of a certain section of the trial participants (analysis according to sex, age
groups, prognostic factors a.s.o.), usually in order to test or formulate new hypoth-
eses; in pre-planned s.a. patients are randomized within strata (outlined in the
protocol) to avoid unequal distribution; “post-hoc” s.a. however can cause severe
bias by counterbalancing randomization, and by increasing the likelihood of a
“significant” result by mere chance, which is proportional to the number of analy-
sed subgroups (e.g. for five subgroups such as male/female, age ≤65/>65 con- ,
comitant disease yes/no, severity of disease below/above average, pretreated yes/
no there is a 85 % probability to ha ve a signi ficant effect with p < 0.05 in one
subgroup); situations in which a treatment seems to be highly ef fective in only
one subgroup, with a marginal or even unsignificant overall effect, should always
be interpreted with caution; s.a. deal with fewer patients and will normally tend to
produce less statistically signi ficant results; see also interim analysis, multi-
ple comparisons, stratification.

subinvestigator see authorisation form, investigator.

subject Any individual participating as a v olunteer in a clinical in vestigation,
either as a recipient of the test article or as a control; a subject may be either
a healthy human or a patient; frequently, the term patient is preferred in clinical
studies.

subject enrolment log syn. enrolment log list; to document chronological enrol-
ment of subjects by trial number (essential document according to ICH).

subject-event monitoring see pharmacovigilance, prescription-event

monotoring, solicited report.

subject identi fi cationcode Unique identifier used in lieu of the subject’s name
(usually a alpha-numeric code) assigned by the investigator or sponsor to each
trial subject to protect the subject’s identity.

subject identi fication code list syn. patient log list, patient log book; code
used in lieu of the subject’ s name; “to document that in vestigator/institution
keeps a con fidential list of names of all subjects allocated to trial numbers on
enrolling in the trial” and “to permit identi fication of all subjects enrolled in
the trial in case follow-up is required. The list should be kept in a confidential
manner” (ICH E6, GCP); confidential list of names of all subjects allocated to
trial numbers on enrolling in the trial, k ept by the in vestigator, to permit
identification of all subjects enrolled in the trial in case follow-up is required;
the investigator must be able to identify the patient by its code; it is necessary
therefore to have a (con fidential) list exhibiting the codes as well as the com-
plete identification of each patient (surname, given name, date of birth, usually
also the sex; essential document according to ICH); EC guidelines request
239

that the participation of a patient is marked in the medical records; see inves-
tigator ,patient identification list .
subject screening log syn. intent-to treat log; to document subjects that
entered pre-treatment screening b ut that did not recei ve the study medication;
(“It may be rele vant to pro vide the number of patients screened for inclusion
and a breakdo wn of the reasons for e xcluding patients during screening …”;
essential document according to ICH E3, Structure and content of clinical
study reports).
substance see old substance .
substance master f le see drug master file .
substance name see international non-proprietory name.
substantial amendment Changes to a clinical trial protocol that may ha ve an
impact on safety and/or the scientif c value of a trial; these are e.g., changes in
safety, selection criteria, value of the trial (e.g., endpoints), risk-benef t, quality
of the IMP , management or conduct (e.g., reduced monitoring, ne w project
manager), principal in vestigator or coordinating in vestigator, in vestigational
sites etc.; see also amendment .
substantial e vidence FD A: “e vidence consisting of adequate and well-con-
trolled investigations by experts qualified by scienti fic training and experience
to evaluate the effectiveness of the drug involved, on the basis of which it could
fairly and responsibly be concluded by such experts that the drug will have the
effect it purports or is represented to ha ve under the conditions of use pre-
scribed, recommended, or suggested in the proposed labelling ”.
summary of pharmaco vigilance system (SPS) Pre-inspectional form of the
MHRA.
summary of pr oduct characteristics (SPC, SmPC) syn. data sheet; general
information for prescribers on the correct use of adrug including risks ;neces-
sary for mark eting authorisation within the EC and anne xed to the Periodic
Safety Update Report; the SmPC includes the name of the proprietary prod-
uct, qualitative and quantitative composition (ingredients, excipients), interna-
tional nonproprietary name, the pharmaceutical form, pharmacological
properties, therapeutic indications and contra-indications, w arnings, shelf-life,
storage conditions, and other particulars, and is part of module 1 of the CTD;
see also company core data sheet, company core safety information,
patient information leaflet, QRD-format; for other types of documents
see reference safety information.
sunset clause Mark eting authorization of a product e xpires if the medicinal
product is not on the market within 3 years of granting; see also renewal .
240

supplementary pr otection certi ficate (SPC) Certi ficate for e xtending patent
S life of innovative pharmaceutical products, based on the date of their first mar-
keting authorisation; (e.g. for additional 5 years in US, Japan) usually up to a
total length of 14 years; in EC countries products can get a 5 year certificate, and
a 15 years protection period; transition periods are v ariable and start between 1
January 1982 and 1 January 1988; there is no unitary European SPC, ut b national
ones only, although harmonization is progressing.
supportive data Information on ef ficacy and safety not accepted as pivotal
and therefore not central to new drug application .
suppressor gene A gene that can reverse the effect of a mutation in other genes.
suprabioavailability The ne w product displays a bioavailability appreciably
larger than the approved product; reformulation to a lower dosage strength assur-
ing therapeutic equivalence will be necessary; see also pharmacokinetic.
surface see body surface .
surrogate FDA: non-clinical measure that can reliably predict clinical changes
within a reasonable amount of time; see alsobiomarker, outcomes research,
surrogate endpoint, surrogate marker .
surrogate endpoint = substitute/prognostic parameter for a clinical endpoint;
instead of the (clinical) e vent itself an e vent directly related to it is recorded that
indicates presence or worsening of a clinical condition in a clinical trial, e.g. cata-
ract surgery instead of the diagnose cataract, dispensing of an antidepressant for
depressive illness, speci fic mark ers or abnormal lab v alues re flecting progress,
a.s.o.; s.e. are measured to get faster results in clinical trials, whereby the pres-
ence in a high percentage of the patients is a prerequisite; surrogate endpoints are
frequently used in early phase of clinical de velopment, e.g., phase IIa; see also
accelerated approval program, surrogate, surrogate marker .
surrogate marker Measurement of a biological variable instead of the clinical
condition, e.g. Magnetic Resonance Imaging instead of patient’ s disability in
multiple sclerosis, tumour markers instead of lesions, forced expiratory volume
in 1 s/FEV1 in lung diseases, CRP or ESR in in flammatory diseases; see also
biomarker, surrogate endpoint.
surveillance acti ve (e.g., post-authorisation safety study , re gistries, sentinel
sites) or passi ve (spontaneous reporting) system for e valuating the safety of
medicinal products; see epidemiology, pharmacovigilance, post-authori-
sation safety study, prescription-event monitoring, registry, signal,
spontaneous reporting .
survival analysis syn. life-table analysis; statistical technique for calculating the
probability of developing a given outcome (death, relapse, medical intervention,
241

a.s.o.), taking into account the duration of follow-up; s.a. can be used to examine
the distribution of time to occurrence of any dichotomous outcome and applies
to both observational and experimental clinical trials; most common methods of
s.a. are the actuarial method and the Kaplan–Meier method; the actuarial method
assumes a constant risk within (b ut not necessarily also between) each interv al
defining the life table, and computes cumulati ve survival rates for these regular
time intervals in contrast to e xact times as in the Kaplan–Meier method; the
K.–M. method yields therefore a (less regular) curve with steps, each step repre-
senting the time of an “e vent” for each subject; the adv antage of life-table a. is
the possibility for calculating o verall 5-year survi val for an entire cohort e ven
though only one patient was followed for 5 or more years; other methods to sum-
marize survival are e.g. mean/median duration of survi val, direct calculation of
1- or 5-year survival rates or events per person-year.
SUSAR Suspected Unexpected Serious Adverse Reaction; SUSARs have to be
reported (whether occurring within the EC or outside) as soon as possible ubt not
later than 7 calendar days after f rst knowledge by the sponsor , followed by a
written report as complete as possible within 8 additional calendar days (total
15 days) to EMA (EudraVigilance) and Member States; the sponsor of a clinical
trial is obliged to pro vide annually to authorities and ethics committees of EU
member states a listing of all SUSARs that have occurred over this period and a
report of the subjects safety (line-listings and aggregate summary tabulations by
body systems, included in the de velopment safety update report, DSUR); see
adverse reaction, FDA 1639 form, unlisted adverse drug reaction.
sustained release see prolonged release, see also drug delivery.
switch Change of the status of a drug from prescription only medication to
non-prescription drug (over-the-counter (OTC) drug).
symptoms Subjective indicators of a disease as e.g. pain, tiredness, loss of
appetite, anxiety a.s.o.; see also signs.
symptom se verity scale see composite variable, genie score, global
assessment variable, variable .
synergism see effect modifiers ,interaction of drugs.
systematic error see error.
system-organ classes see medDRA, WHO adverse reaction terminology.
system-organ-class frequency (SOC) see WHO adverse reaction terminology.
system owner Person directly responsible for the functioning and maintenance
of a system; see also process owner.
T

tablet see formulation.

tablet excipients In addition to the acti ve drug , medicinal products
often contain a number of other substances, e.g. for impro ving bioavail-
ability such as disintegrants (e.g. starch), for taste masking and lubrica-
tion to ease sw allowing (e.g. coats of sugar , cellulose, polymers in
film-coated tablets), or simply substances which f acilitate production such
as binders (e.g. cellulose deri vatives), glidants (colloidal silica) or diluents
(lactose, crystalline cellulose); see also formulation.
tachyphylaxis Decreasing response to a drug with repeated doses; this
develops, in contrast to tolerance, within a very short time (min or h) as
e.g. for histamine.
telomere Repetitive nucleotide sequences at the end of a chromosome
protecting the chromosome from damages resp. modi fications and cells
from senescence; as each cell division necessarily needs chromosome repli-
cation this protecting region progressively shortens with each cell division;
without this protection apopotosis occurs; telomers can however be length-
ened by an enzymes called telomerase, thus allowing cells to become poten-
tially immortal as in cancer; telomerase seems to be in volved also in
chromosome repair; see advanced therapy, peto’s paradox .
temporality Exposure to a cause must precede the effect of the exposure.
termination visit syn. close out visit; last visit of a monitor or clinical
research associate to a centre in order to collect all remaining case
report forms (CRF), drug samples, unused CRFs or consent forms and
usually also the investigator’s brochure; at this occasion also financial
and analysis/reporting aspects may be discussed with the trialist and her/his
staff.

G. Nahler, Dictionary of Pharmaceutical Medicine, 242

test article Any substance or device for human use which is subject to premar-
ket appro val; although re gulations dif fer between countries most of them
exclude e.g. cosmetics from national drug regulations.

test article accountability (TAA) American term for drug accountability.

test-retest Use of the same or questionnaire in the same patient at dif ferent
periods of time to assess validity of measurement of e xposure; see also
forward-backward translation, validation .

therapeutic equivalent Dosage form e xhibiting the same efficacy (toxicity)

when administered in the same appropriate dosage regimen; EC: “A medicinal
product is therapeutically equi valent with another product if it contains the
same acti ve substance or therapeutic moiety and clinically sho ws the same
efficacy and safety as that product, whose ef ficacy and safety has been estab-
lished”; see also biologic equivalent, essentially similar product, phar-
maceutical equivalent.

therapeutic index Ratio of the therapeutic dose (ED50) to the toxic dose
(LD50); see also toxicity tests .

therapeutic potential Some health authorities provide accelerated approval

programs for new drugs, depending on their therapeutic or innovative poten-
tial; for the FDA classification as “P” (priority) or “S” (standard) does exist; the
therapeutic potential may be also important for price ne gotiations and reim-
bursement; see also accelerated approval program .

therapy management see disease management.

three-way crossover design see crossover, design.

Threshold of Toxicological Concern (TTC) A general human exposure thresh-

old value for chemicals belo w which no appreciable risk to human health is
assumed despite the absence of chemical-specific toxicity data; currently set for
toxic substance such as carcinogenic or mutagenic agents at 1.5m g/person/day;
see also toxic dose level, toxicity.

time-event schedule see flow chart.

time trade-off (TTO) Technique for measuring utility or quality of life ;

patients are asked about the number of years in their present health state they
would be willing to trade for a shorter life span in full health.

time-treatment interaction see carry-over effect.

tissue engineered product see advanced therapy.

244

TNM-staging Stands for tumour -node-metastasis; widely used classi fication

T system of the Unio Internationalis Contra Cancrum, UICC (Union International
contre le Cancer, Unio Internationalis Contra Cancrum) which is based on the
size of the primary tumour T (T o–no evidence of primary tumour , T4-tumour
invades adjacent or gans and v essels, TIS, Tx), de gree of local spread to
lymphnodes N (No–N3, N4 if applicable, Nx) and distant spread of metastases
M (Mo–M1, Mx); histopathologic grading is also of prognostic importance
(Histopathologic Grade G: Gx – grade cannot be assessed; G1 – well differenti-
ated; G2 – moderately dif ferentiated; G3 – poorly dif ferentiated; G4 – undif-
ferentiated); see also tumour staging .

AJCC/UICC Dukes
Stage0 Tis N0 M0
StageI T1 N0 M0 A
T2 N0 M0
StageII T3 N0 M0 B
T4 N0 M0
StageIII Any T N1 M0 C
Any T N2 M0
Any T N3 M0
StageIV Any T Any N M1 D
Dukes B, C is composed of better and worse prognostic groups

tolerance Reduction in the response of a drug treatment in a particular patient,

e.g. by induction of enzymes as in the case of barbiturates; see also
tachyphylaxis.

total organ carbon (TOC) Analysis of the T otal Organ Carbon is a method
used to test pure w ater and to v alidate it’s quality or cleaning procedures; see
also alimentary risks .

total quality management (TQM) In clinical research, TQM is ensured by

strict adherence to “GXP” (GCP, GLP, GMP, …) including v arious additional
standards such as e.g. ISO 9000 and EN 45000; see also quality assurance.

toxic dose le vel (TDL) Lo west dose that produces haematological, chemical or
other drug induced changes in the animal such that doubling the dose is not lethal;
see also allowed daily dose, noel, threshold of toxicological concern.

toxicity tests Single dose t. (acute tests) are used to establish the lethal dose of a
compound in at least tw o different species by at least tw o different routes of
administration (incl. usually intra venously and route planned for application in
245

man); increasing doses are administered till an end-point, usually death, is

reached; test animals are observ ed usually for a period of 14 b ut not less than
7 days; in repeat-dose t. (sub-acute t./less than 1 months duration, subchronic t.
1–3 months, chronic t./>3 months) the top dose is chosen so that it produces
some minimal adv erse effect (e.g. reduction in rate of body-weight gain) and
dose/response relationship can be e xamined (two species of mammals, one of
which must be a non-rodent); for products to be administered once only to
humans, a test lasting 2–4 weeks shall be performed; reproducti ve toxicity t.
investigate potential adverse effects during production and fertilization of gam-
etes; embryo/foetal and perinatal t. investigates effects of a drug administered to
the female during pregnancy or embryogenesis resp. (“fetal toxicity” or “teratol-
ogy”) or during birth and subsequent de velopment; mutagenicity t. re veal
changes in the genetic material of indi viduals or cells; carcinogenicity t. are
normally required for substances lik ely to be applied in man longer than
3 months; intensive toxicity tests are especially important for products lik ely to
be administered regularly over a prolonged time of a patient’ s life; as e xample
for the correlation between planned duration of human treatment and necessary
toxicity testing the following overview can be given:

Toxicity studies (in two species,

Humantreatment one non-rodent)
One/several doses, 1 day 2 weeks
Repeated doses up to 14 days 4 weeks
Repeated doses up to 1 month 1 month
Up to 3 months 3 months
>3 months up to 6 months 6 months
Above 6 months 6 months

the FDA still requests 12 months chronic toxicity tests for drugs intended to be
used for longer than 6 months; a complete toxicity program costs about five to
ten million US$ and may use up to about 5,000 animals; see alsocarcinogenic-
ity tests, ecotoxicity, genotoxicity , immunotoxicity, ld -10 , maximum
tolerated dose, minimal toxic dose, mutagenicity test, no-toxic-
effect-level, old substance, therapeutic index, threshold of toxico-
logical concern; see also in vitro toxicity testing, stem cells.
toxicokinetic Relates body drug concentrations and their kinetics to toxicologi-
cal findings; see also idiosyncratic reaction .
trademark syn. proprietary name, brand name, in vented name; may be the
name of the manuf acturer (opp. international non-proprietary name,
generic name); a tm includes an y w ord, name, symbol, de vice, or an y
246

combination, used, or intended to be used, in commerce to identify and distin-

T guish the goods of one manufacturer or seller from goods manufactured or sold
by others, and to indicate the source of the goods; relates to a finished product
and identi fies the manufacturer; for a commercially a vailable medicinal prod-
uct; within the EC it is recommended to use the same t.m. throughout the
Community, unless a justification to do otherwise is given; in most countries the
t.m. is liable to revocation after 3–5 years of non-use. EMA states “if there is a
minimum of 3 distinguishing letters, it is unlikely that it will be considered that
there is a risk of confusion in writing” (“3-letter rule”).

trade name Name used together with a trade mark; see trademark.

traditional herbal medicinal product EU: Medicinal product of herbal origin

that has been in medicinal use throughout a period of at least 30 years preceding
the date of application, including at least 15 years within the European
Community; claimed indications must be appropriate without the supervision
of a medical practitioner; see also functional food, herbal drug, phyto-
medicines, well-established medicinal use .

transdermal deli very system (TDDS) syn.: transdermal deli very de vice
(TDD); see drug delivery, transdermal patch .

transdermal patch Special formulation where the drug is absorbed through the
skin, e.g. nitroglycerin, nicotin a.s.o.; in passive patches, the drug diffuses into
the skin as a result of a gradient in either the drug concentration or solubility; in
active patches, external forces are used; transdermal deli very is limited by the
size of the drug (upper limit around 500 Da), the water and lipid solubility and
the pharmacologically effective dose to be delivered; potential irritation/sensi-
tisation of the drug towards the skin must be excluded; hair follicles can act also
as an entry portal for both antigens and DNA to the skin; penetration enhancer
are: liposomes and ethanol; physical methods are also used such as iontophore-
sis; see also controlled release, drug delivery .

trans fats Fatty acids that contain “unsaturated” bonds between carbon atoms
with ligands in “trans”-position (both ligands point in the opposite direction in
contrast to the large majority of naturally occurring f atty acids with ligands in
“cis”-position); the large majority of t.f. are of industrial origin; they are found
in some margarines and “refined” oils but also in commercially baked products
and deep fried f ast food and are a major health concern; t.f. are kno wn since
1911 (first patent for hydrogenated cotton seed oil); t.f. of food are incorporated
into cell membranes af fecting cell functions, and ha ve been linked with many
diseases such as coronary heart diseases, breast cancer (mortality rate in
Western Europe ~175 per million) and diabetes (pre valence ~200,000 per mil-
lion); in 1994, before restricting the content of t.f. in food by the FD A, it was
247

estimated that t.f. caused 20,000 deaths from heart diseases annually; man y
countries recommend a maximum limit of 2/100 g total f at/day, the WHO
defined a population goal of less than 1 % of t.f. of o verall energy intake; see
also alimentary risks, allowed daily dose, maximum residue limit,
pharmacovigilance.
transgenic drug Drug (usually a protein) which is manuf actured from trans-
genic animals (e.g. by introducing a human gene such as for antithrombin III in
a cow which then excretes the drug with the milk); see biotechnology, gene
therapy .
transition matrix Frequently used format for presentation of e.g. laboratory
data (example given for a total of 170 subjects, x-axis: number of subjects with
observations as specified after treatment, y-axis: number of observations before
treatment); see also shift table .

After
Before Lowered Normal Raised Total
Lowered 9 5 0 14
Normal 27 29 14 70
Raised 0 45 41 86
Total 36 79 55 170

transplantation Over 28,000 human-to-human organ transplants were carried

out in 2006 in the U.S (1994: 18,200); o ver one million people worldwide has
received allograft or gans and some of them ha ve already survi ved more than
25 years; 5-years survi val rates for most or gan transplant programmes are
around 70 %; the increasing demand for organs outstrips supply; see also allo-
genic, biological medicinal product, biopharmaceutical, biotechnol-
ogy, immunotherapy, xenotransplantation .
treatment emergent signs and symptoms (TESS) ICH: Signs and symptoms
not seen at baseline (i.e. before starting a ne w treatment or a clinical trial) and
that worsened even if present at baseline; see also adverse drug reaction .
treatment IND syn. treatment use, named patient use; FD A: “A t.IND is a
special case of an IND (investigational new drug) where the only protocol
under the IND is the treatment protocol. … A treatment protocol allows use …
of a promising new agent directed primarily at patient care by physicians who
agree to follow the protocol.” t.IND criteria: treatment of a serious or imme-
diately life-threatening disease, no satisfactory alternative treatment avail-
able, the drug is under investigation in a controlled clinical trial under an
IND, sponsor is acti vely pursuing mark eting appro val; in contrast to a
248

compassionate use a t.IND is based on at least enough data to pro vide a rea-
T sonable expectation that the drug may be useful and will not be unduly harmful;
the t. protocol or t.IND covers an unspecified number of patients (anyone meet-
ing the entry criteria) which w ould not be the case with other protocols under
an IND; see also expanded-access program.
treatment schedule Frequency with which a specific drug should be taken by
patients, e.g. weekly , once daily to se veral times daily; this depends on ho w
long the desired effect lasts which is very much depending on the half life of
the substance but also organ functions and the duration of the biological effect;
see also loading dose, maintenance dose, pharmacokinetic.
treatment use see treatment ind.
trial see clinical trial.
trial design see design.
trialist see investigator
trial management organisation see clinical research organisation, site
management organisation.
trial master file (TMF) syn. clinical trial manual, project book note, study file;
hard copy of all the documentation relating to a clinical trial; includes e.g.
also audit certificates and reports, data on adverse events; a similar, widely
overlapping f le is held at the investigational site (Investigator’s Site File-ISF).
tumour staging Classi fication systems used to describe size of a tumour and
extent of disease; classification systems which are widely used are e.g. accord-
ing Duk es, or the TNM- (UICC-, AJCC-) staging, FIGO-staging; see
classification of recurrence, disease free interval, TMN-staging.
tumour suppressor gene Any of a cate gory of genes that can suppress trans-
formation or tumorigenicity (probably ordinarily involved in normal control of
cell growth and division).
turbo-haler see powder inhaler.
two-stage design see gehan’s design.
two-tailed test syn. two-sided t.; opposite: one-tailed t.; used to detect differ-
ences in either of two directions (e.g. experimental treatment is either superior
or worse than control treatment); a tw o-tailed t. is most appropriate when the
two treatments are roughly equi valent (e.g. in terms of risks or costs); tw o-
tailed t. require larger sample sizes.
249

two-way crossover design see crossover, design.

type I error see alpha error.
type II error see beta error.
type of reaction see adverse reaction .
type IA variation (type IA notification); variation to a marketing authorisation
which has only a minimal impact, or no impact at all, on the quality , safety or
efficacy of the medicinal product concerned (“do and tell”; e.g., typographical
changes which are otherwise non-consequential to the main change; “adminis-
trative changes”; contact details of the MA holder; up to tenfold increase/
decrease of batch size; tightening of in-process limits); v ariations can be
grouped whereby the further process is depending on the change(s) with the
highest impact; changes can be grouped and submitted within 12 months,
including the date of implementation of each v ariation; there are also Type IA
variations with immediate notification (“Type IAin”) e.g., change of address of
MA holder, manuf acturer; switch to the “Summary of the PV System + PV
Master File” (replacing the “Detailed Description of the PV System”, DDPS);
see also extension application .
type IB variation variation to a marketing authorisation which neither IA nor
II nor an extension (“tell, wait 30 days, and do”), e.g., more than tenfold increase
compared to the currently appro ved batch size; addition or replacement of a
specification parameter as a result of a safety or quality issue; harmonisation of
the patient information leaflet (PIL) across all member states for a MR product
is also a Type IB variation; the applicant must include a detailed justification to
his submission why he considers the v ariation as T ype IB; if within 30 days
following the acknowledgement of receipt of a valid notification, the competent
authority of the reference Member State has not sent the holder an unf avourable
opinion, the noti fication shall be deemed accepted by all rele vant authorities;
see also extension application .
type II variation variation to a marketing authorisation not deemed to be minor
(type IA and IB), e.g. a ne w pharmacovigilance system, ne w indication,
modification of the SPC on safety/ef ficacy information, ne w manufacturer of
the API or other substantial changes to the manuf acturing process a/o
specification; in case of an urgent safety restriction (USR), a “Safety Variation
Application” must be submitted within 15 days after the initiation of the USR;
for fees see european medicines agency; see also extension application,
urgent safety restriction .
type III error see gamma error.
U

unblinded study syn. open s.; study where both physician and patient know
the treatment; see design, open study.
uncontrolled study Study without control group (automatically also not
blinded), e.g., as pilot study for collecting very first experiences or as open
extension or follo w-up study of a controlled clinical study; see also
design.
underweight see cachexia, weight, see also adverse reaction.
undesirable effect see adverse drug reaction, side effect.
unexpected adverse event ICH: “… is one, the nature or severity of which
is not consistent with information in the rele vant source document (s).
Until source documents are amended, expedited reporting is required for
additional occurrences of the reaction”.
Uniform Requir ements f or Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical
Journals see: http://www.icmje.org/urm_main.html; see also report
Union Reference date see: European Union Reference Date.
Unique De vice Identi fication (UDI) Barcode-based system for the
identi fi cationof a speci fi cmedical device .
Unit of Pulmonary Toxicity Dosage (UPTD) to predict pulmonary damage
after prolonged oxygen therapy; 1 min of 100 % oxygen at 1 atmosphere is
equivalent to 1 UPTD; a UPTD of 1,425 will produce a 10 % reduction in the
vital capacity which is the maximum acceptable reduction.
unlicensed medicine Term for use of a drug that may ha ve a mark eting
authorization outside b ut not within the European Community; the term
overlaps with “unlicensed use” or misuse; see also off-label use.

G. Nahler, Dictionary of Pharmaceutical Medicine, 250

unlicensed use Medicinal product that has no mark eting authorization or no

marketing authorization in the respective indication or population; see alsooff-
label use, unlicensed medicine.
unlisted adverse drug r eaction ICH: “An adverse reaction, the nature or
severity of which is not consistent with the information included in the
Company Core Safety Information”; see also listed adverse drug reac-
tion, SUSAR-Suspected Unexpected Serious Adverse Reaction.
urgent amendment T erm used for changes in clinical trials , see
Amendment.
urgent safety r estriction (USR) direct pro vision of safety information to
patients about an identified risk without delay (“Rapid Alert”, through national
media such as ne wspapers, electronic media, …); de f acto it is an interim
change to product information concerning one or more of the follo wing items
in the Summary of Product Characteristics, the indications, posology ,
contraindications, warnings, target species and withdrawal periods due to ne w
information having a bearing on the safe use of the medicinal product (Eudrax
Vol.2, chap.5); may be imposed by the marketing authorization holder or by the
competent authority; If no objections have been raised by the relevant authority
within 24 h following receipt of that information, the urgent safety restrictions
are deemed as accepted; changes will subsequently be introduced via a corre-
sponding variation in the marketing authorisation; an USR may have important
consequences such as the recall of the medicinal product from the market, sus-
pension, withdrawal of the mark eting authorization etc.; see also black tri-
angle, legal status, safety alert, type II variation .
utilisation study see pharmacoepidemiology.
utility measurement Economic perspective of quality of life measurements;
u. re flects here the de gree of satisfaction or amount of well-being of a patient
with a speci fic treatment, independent of what the treatment actually costs or
whether it produces an y financial gain; u. is standardized relati ve to states of
health and provides a synthetic assessment of quality of life; it takes into
account patient’s preferences which are translated into monetary terms esp.
costs (for visits, hospitalizations, lab tests, additional drugs or treatments, days
out of work; different rating methods can be used to obtain utility v alues (e.g.
time trade-off, standard gamble, well-being scale); see also cost/util-
ity analysis, quality-adjusted life-years.
V

vaccine A preparation that contains an antigen consisting of whole disease-

causing organisms (killed or weakened), or parts of such organisms, and is
used to confer immunity against the disease that the or ganism cause. Vaccine
preparation can be natural, synthetic, or derived by recombinant DNA tech-
nology; v. are agents stimulating an immune response for prophylactic or
therapeutic purposes; se veral types of v accines are kno wn, e.g. sub unit v.
(without the potential dangers of incompletely killed pathogens or attenu-
ated strains that have reverted to a virulent state), peptide v. (contain several
antigen determinants), DNA v. (contain gene-encoding antigens), v ector v.
(live, nonpathogenic viruses with antigen genes inserted into the viral
genome); see also adjuvant, large simple trial design, non-inter-
ventional study.
validation EC: “action of pro ving, in accordance with the principles of
good manufacturing practice, that any procedure, process, equipment,
material, acti vity or system actually leads to the e xpected results”; FD A
“documented evidence and assurance that computer systems that touch a
process perform in a reliable and repeatable manner” (21 CFR 11); see also
computerised system, qualification.
valid case analysis (VC-analysis) syn. per-protocol a; see actual-
treated a., analysis of study results, explanatory trial ,inevalu-
ability rate .
validity Extent to which an instrument (test) measures what is intended to
be measured (agreement between the measure and the “true” v alue or a
designated “gold” standard or criterion resp.); when e valuating v . three
aspects should be considered: criterion v ., which refers to the e xtent that
the same results as a gold standard are produced, content v., which refers to
the judgement that the items included in the scale are representati ve of the
domain measured, and construct v., which refers to the v ariation explained

G. Nahler, Dictionary of Pharmaceutical Medicine, 252

by other constructs or tests; usually a test is only valid with respect to a specific
purpose, range, and sample; e xternal v. = degree to which results v alid in one
population can be generalized to another; internal v. = extent to which the ana-
lytic inference derived from the study sample is correct for the target population
(extent to which the results of a study are impaired by analytic bias); see also
construct validity, measurement properties, qualification, reliabil-
ity, test-retest.
Vancouver style of citation Health authorities, but also many scientific journals
have agreed to accept papers submitted according to the format described in the
“Vancouver Declaration” of 1997; see paper: “Uniform requirements for manu-
scripts submitted to biomedical journals” BMJ 1991, 302: 338–34. Examples of
citations: (i) Fazekas F, Deisenhammer F, Strasser-Fuchs S, Nahler G, Mamoli B
for the Austrian Immunoglobulin in Multiple Sclerosis Study Group: Randomised
placebo-controlled trial of monthly intra venous immunoglob ulin therap y in
relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Lancet 1997; 349: 589–593. (ii) Nahler G:
International medical de vice re gistration - Austria, in Dona wa ME, eds:
International Medical Device Registration. Buffalo Grove, IL, Interpharm Press,
1996, pp 33–58. See also Havard style .
variability Often used synon ymously to reproducibility and precision ;
extent of dif ferences between repeated measurements; v . results from altera-
tions of measurement conditions as (inter/intra-) observ er error , machine
error, timing of outcome measures, population differences a.s.o.; see also accu-
racy, clinical heterogeneity, confidence interval, measurement
properties, medical culture.
variable syn. parameter; event, characteristic or attribute that is measured in a
study; see composite variable, confounder , covariate , data, global
assessment variable.
variance Describes the spread (variability) of measurements; e.g. differences
among subjects within the same group (intragroup v .); square of the stan-
dard deviation (SD × SD); see also reproducibility, variability,
variation.
variation see coefficient of variation.
variation procedure Variations are changes to the mark eting authorization of
a medicinal product; they can be classified in different categories, depending on
the le vel of risk, the impact on safety , ef ficacy and quality; see European
Medicines Agency, extension application, type IA variation, type IB
variation, type II variation.
Vidal French drug list; see national drug list .
254

Vigibase™, see WHO collaborating centre for international drug

V monitoring.

Vigimed™ e-mail-based system for information e xchange between the coun-

tries participating in the WHO Programme for International Drug Monitoring;
see WHO collaborating centre for international drug monitoring.

virus A submicroscopic organism that contains genetic information but cannot

reproduce itself. To replicate, it must in vade another cell and use parts of that
cell’s reproductive machinery.

visit log list syn. monitoring log list; list in which the date of each visit of
the monitor/clinical research associate at the trial site is entered (usually
by the trialist).
visual analogue scale (VAS) syn. linear analogue self assessment (LASA);
scale with finite boundaries at 0 and 100 mm (end of the scale) for the conven-
tional 10 cm line presentation; in general such scales are more reliable and
sensitive but also more difficult to explain to patients than e.g. a Numerical Pain
Scale (NPS, discontinuous 0–10 data collection between the same boundaries)
ordinal scales; an “anchored” or “categorized” VAS has the addition of one
or more intermediate marks positioned along the line with reference terms
assigned to each mark to help subjects to identify the locations between the
ends of the scale; see also quality of life scale, scale.
vital signs syn. vital parameters; basic parameters describing the physiological
status are: blood pressure, heart – and respiratory rate, body temperature.

volume of distribution (Vd) Apparent (hypothetical) volume of body fluid (given

in L or L/kg) into which a drug would distribute at equilibrium; Vd = dose (mg/
kg)/peak concentration (mg/L) = L/kg; the Vd does not represent a real volume but
is rather the size of the pool of body fluids that w ould be required if the drug
behaves as ideal drug and is distrib uted equally throughout all portions of the
body; the Vd cannot (theoretically) e xceed total body water and is mark edly
effected by the binding of the drug, e.g. to serum proteins b ut also by the propor-
tion of body f at, sex, subject’s age, and disease; when the Vd is lar ge, the tissue
concentration is also lar ge and the plasma concentration small; when the Vd is
small, most of the drug remains in the plasma; Vd can be used to estimate peak
blood concentrations and the amount of drug ingested in case of intoxication; see
also ADME, geriatric evaluations, pharmacokinetic.

volunteer A subject participating in a phase i clinical trial is usually called a

healthy volunteer.

voluntary reporting (VR) see yellow card .

255

vulnerable subject syn. incapacitated and/or protected subjects; ICH:

“Individuals whose willingness to v olunteer in a clinical trial may be unduly
influenced by the expectation … of benefits associated with participation, or of
a retaliatory response from senior members of a hierarchy in case of refusal to
participate. Examples are members of a group with a hierarchical structure,
such as medical, pharmac y, dental, and nursing students, subordinate hospital
and laboratory personnel, employees of the pharmaceutical industry, members
of the armed forces, and persons k ept in detention. Other vulnerable subjects
include patients with incurable diseases/lack of alternative treatment(s), persons
in nursing homes, unemployed or impoverished persons, patients in emergency
situations, ethnic minority groups, homeless persons, nomads, refugees, minors,
and those incapable of giving (legally acceptable) consent”; other speci fic vul-
nerable populations include ( Eudract): w omen of child bearing potential,
pregnant or nursing women.
W

waist circumference Circumference around the bare abdomen, just abo ve

the hip bone (parallel to the floor, exhaled); excess weight, as measured by
BMI, is not the only risk to health but the location of fat. Fat mainly around
the waist is more likely to cause health problems than if localised mainly in
hips and thighs. This is true e ven if the BMI falls within the normal range.
Women with a waist measurement of more than 90 cm or men with a waist
measurement of more than 100 cm may ha ve a higher disease risk than
people with smaller w aist measurements; see also anthropometry,
obesity, waist-heigth-ratio, waist-hip-ratio .
waist-height-ratio (WHtR) Independent of age, the ratio of w aist size to
height is considered a reliable indicator for risks link ed to obesity , better
than the BMI, waist-to-hip-ratio or the waist circumference; risks decrease
proportionally to the ratio with only little dif ferences between genders and
populations of different ethnic groups: a WHtR <50 % is generally consid-
ered healthy; risks increase substantially >55 %;

Women Men
Extremelyslim 35–42 35–43
Slenderand healthy 42–46 43–46
Healthy, normal, attractive 46–49 46–53
Overweight 49–54 53–58
Obese,seriously overweight 54–58 58–63
Highlyobese >58 >63

seealso anthropometric measurements, body mass index, broca-for-

mula, lorentz-formula, waist circumference, waist-hip-ratio,
weight.

G. Nahler, Dictionary of Pharmaceutical Medicine, 256

waist-hip-ratio In adults above 70 years, the ratio of waist size to hip size may
be a better indicator for risks link ed to obesity than the BMI or the w aist cir-
cumference. According to WHO, abdominal obesity is de fined as w/h ratio
>0.80 in women and >0.95 in men. In women, each 0.1 increase in the waist-hip
ratio is associated with a 28 % relative increase in mortality rate (the number of
deaths per 100 older adults per year); in men, the rate of dying was 75 % higher
for a waist-hip ratio >1.0 – that is, men whose waists were larger than their hips
- relative to those with a ratio of 1.0 or lo wer; according to the WHO, the risk
increases if the waist measurement exceeds 94 cm (37 in.) for men and 80 cm
(32 in.) for women; in women, the w/h ratio correlates strongly with fertility; a
ratio of 0.70 re flects optimal oestrogen le vels; women should aim for a w aist
circumference of no greater than 80 cm (32 in.) and men should aim for no
greater than 94 cm (37 in.); see also anthropometric measurements, body
mass index, broca-formula, lorentz-formula, waist circumference,
waist-height-ratio, weight.

waiver Acceptance by the FD A of a procedure at v ariance with their

regulations.

wash-out period Period after stopping a treatment with a drug and in which
the patient usually under goes no further therap y; this allows previous drug or
treatment effects to dissipate before a new treatment starts (normally about five
times the half-life); see also run-in phase .

Web-based data entry Data is transacted and stored directly , online, and in
real-time, on a serv er via the internet, usually at the sponsor or CR O facility;
thus, separate source data may be necessary; usually there is no e-DC speci fic
software installed on the local computer of the in vestigator; see also data
entry, electronic Data Capture, remote data entry.

Wei-Lachin pr ocedure Statistical test procedure, based on the W ilcoxon-

Mann–Whitney test, that allo ws use of multiple endpoints; see also O’Brian
procedure, primary endpoint .

weight A number of dif ferent indices are in use to describe the relationship
between weight (body mass) and height in order to allow categorisation of sub-
jects according to obesity (thin: £80 % of the standard of a population, under -
weight £90 %, o verweight ³110 %, obese ³120 %, superobese >159 %, and
morbid obesity >200 %); w. changes ³7 % are considered as abnormal; an adult
who has a BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight (³30 obese); see
also anthropometric measurements, body composition, body-mass-index
(quetelet’s index) , broca-formula, cachexia, lorentz formula,
rohrer index.
258

weighted average Gives different weights to each component of the average.

W welfare External factors, e.g. duration of hospitalisation, need for assistance in
daily life acti vities, consumption of medicines, length of sick lea ve a.s.o.,
in fl uencingquality of life.

well-being Exclusi vely subjecti ve parameter which re flects the indi vidual’s
own qualitative evaluation of his/her physical and/or mental condition often in
relation to treatments; see also quality of life.

well-being scale Instrument for utility measurements; patients are asked a

number of questions about their function and are then classi fied into one of a
number of categories on the basis of their responses; each category has a value
assigned to it that has been established in pre vious ratings by another group
(e.g. a random sample of the general population); see also health profile,
quality of life scale.

well-established medicinal use EC: Refers to medicinal products with “a rec-

ognized ef ficacy and an acceptable le vel of safety by means of a detailed
scientific bibliography”; the period of time for establishing a “well-established
use” may differ between products but must not be less than 10 years from the
first systematic and documented use of that substance in the EC; a detailed
description of the strate gy used for the search of published literature and
justification for inclusion of references in the application is required; see also
application, traditional herbal medicinal product.

wetting agent see excipients.

white-coat hypertension About 20 % of patients with persistently raised blood

pressure are normotensi ve when their blood pressure is measured a way from
physician’s room; see also hawthorne effect, placebo effect.

WHO-adverse r eaction dictionary (WHO-ARD) Computerised dictionary;

see who-adverse reaction terminology.

WHO-adverse reaction terminology (WHO-ART) Created 1968; open-ended

terminology for coding of adverse reaction terms; it exists in several languages
and is used by drug re gulatory agencies and pharmaceutical companies, with
new terms added as necessary; WHO-ART is built up as a tree structure (“sys-
tem-organ class”, “high le vel term”, “preferred term”); it comprises approx.
1,600 preferred terms, i.e., terms used to describe adv erse drug reactions
reported to the WHO system; input to computer files is usually made at the
preferred term le vel; synon yms to preferred terms are often pro vided by the
reporting site and are included at the input side (“included terms” around 2,000)
in order to find the right preferred term more easily; terms pertaining to the
259

same body or gan are grouped into a system-or gan class, e.g. cardio vascular
system, respiratory system a.s.o. whereby a preferred term can be allocated up
to a maximum of three different system-organ classes; system-organ classes are
groups of adverse reaction preferred terms pertaining to the same system-organ;
they are used on the output side; all together over 30 system-organ classes exist;
preferred terms are grouped into high level terms (approx. 150) which are more
general terms for qualitati vely similar conditions (e.g., thrombophlebitis le g
and thrombophlebitis arm represent tw o dif ferent preferred terms b ut are
grouped under thrombophlebitis as a high le vel term and are grouped under
“cardiovascular system disorders” and/or “platelet, bleeding and clotting sys-
tem” and/or “vascular (extracardial) system” as system-organ class); the WHO-
ART is the basis for an index (WHO-Adverse Reaction Terminology List) with
7-digit codes, 1–4: preferred term, 5–7: included term with up to 3 or gan
classes (4 digits) for each adverse reaction; preferred terms (PT) are always
assigned the sequence number 001, included terms (IT) get the same record
number as their preferred terms, but with a higher sequence number 00n; a high
level term (HLT) is always in itself also a preferred term; example: acidosis: the
PT has the adv erse reaction number (ARECNO) 0363 001, IT are acidosis
metabolic with the ARCNO 0363 003, or bicarbonate reserve decrease with the
ARECNO 0363 004, the HLT is acidosis with the high level link 0363; see also
MedDRA.

WHO-adverse r eaction terminology list (WHO-ARTL) see who-adverse

reaction terminology.

WHO collaborating centr e for international drug monitoring System for

collecting spontaneous reports on adv erse reactions (V igibase™) which are
sent by the physician (also dentist or coroner) or compan y to national centres,
usually health authorities, and by them at 3 month interv als, to the WHO
Collaborating Centre in Uppsala; each year the centre recei ves about 200,000
AE-reports; up to now, this system which started in 1968, operates in more than
90 countries, mainly in Europe (e.g. in GB, S, N, D); number of reports/million
inhabitants and year are quite dif ferent: around 200–400 in Denmark in com-
parison with 10–20 in Italy; reporting by pharmaceutical companies is based on
the cioms-form of adverse reactions; other regulatory report forms are the fda
1639 (US) and the “yello w card” of the Committee on Safety of Medicines
(CSM) in UK; other accessible databases are e.g., the Canada iV gilance Adverse
Reaction Online Database, or the Adv erse Events Reporting System database
of the FD A or EMA ’s “European Database of Suspected Adv erse Reaction
Reports” ( www.adrreports.eu); see also yellow card programme.
WHO-drug dictionary (WHO-DD, WHO-A TC/DDD Inde x, former Drug
Reference List); inde x of all drug names and substances that is based on the
260

Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (A TC) classi fication system and the

W Defined Daily Dose (DDD); in 2008 the dictionary contained 194,885
unique names, 1,472,631 dif ferent medicinal products, trade names with for
example form and strength information added and 10,049 different ingredients
mentioned in these products; a computerised dictionary is a vailable on mag-
netic tape or diskette; updatings are on a quarterly basis; other coding systems
for drugs are e.g., the National Drug Code of the US; see also who-drug ref-
erence list .
WHO-drug reference list (WHO-DRL) see WHO Drug Dictionary; Printed
version of the who-drug dictionary with a cross inde x of all drug names
and substances listed in alphabetical order which ha ve occurred on adverse
reaction reports submitted to the who collaborating centre for inter-
national drug monitoring from 1968 onwards; it includes by 1992 26,750
different drug trade names of which 10,426 are multiple ingredient drugs; this
corresponds to o ver 7,000 chemical substances; about 2,000 drug names are
added yearly; the WHO-DRL is issued annually.
WHO-essential drug list (WHO-EDL) Contains more than 280 drugs either in
the main listings or as“complementary” drugs, i.e. drugs which can be used
because drugs on the main list cannot be made a vailable or are kno wn to be
ineffective/inappropriate in a given individual (e.g. reserve antibiotics) or which
are used in rare disorders or in exceptional circumstances.
wholesale distribution “All activities consisting of procuring, holding, supply-
ing or exporting medicinal products apart from supplying medicinal products to
the public” (Dir 2001/83/EC); see also licence holder .
wholesaler see wholesale distribution .
WHO performance status scale syn. ECOG-Zubrod scale; see performance
status; see also ordinal scale.
WHO-toxicity scale A 5-grade system (0–4) for reporting of acute and sub-
acute toxic effects of cancer treatment.
willingness to pay (WTP) Maximum amount that a person is willing to pay to
achieve a particular good health state or outcome, or to a void a particular bad
health state or outcome, or to decrease its probability; see economic
analysis.
withdrawals (1) Subjects not finishing a clinical trial for study related
reasons and which are therefore e xcluded by the trialist, e.g. due to adverse
effects, treatment failure or deterioration of patient’s condition resp. or major
protocol violations, e.g. noncompliance, “no-shower” for clinical appoint-
ments, pregnancy or other conditions which render patients ineligible, included
261

because they were already ineligible to enter and should ha ve been excluded
initially; together with dropouts they represent a considerable source of bias
in a trial; a standard “withdra wal form” exploring reasons and circumstances
should therefore be an inte gral part of each CRF; there should al ways be a
follow-up of patients withdra wn; furthermore statistical analysis should
include all subjects entering a study ( intent-to-treat principle); see also
disclosure procedure, loss to follow-up, run-in period; (2) pharmaceu-
tical products withdrawn from sale (voluntary) or MA has not been renewed or
revoked; between 1961 and 2007 at least 120 drugs ha ve been withdrawn for
safety reasons (about 2–7 per year, 50 % within 5 years post marketing autho-
rization); in the EC (EMA), a total of 31 medicinal products was withdrawn or
MA was not rene wed between 2001 and 2005; according to the FD A (CDR
annual national report), a total of 2,790 prescriptions and 818 over-the-counter
(OTC) drugs were withdra wn during the last 10-year period from 1996 to
2005; see also cessatiom of placing on the market, rebound effect,
recall, sanction.
withdrawal (substance) DSM-IV-TR criteria for a substance withdra wal dis-
order include the follo wing elements: (1) the de velopment of a substance-
specific syndrome due to abrupt cessation or reduction in use; (2) the syndrome
causes clinically signi ficant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or
other important areas of functioning; (3) the symptoms are not due to a general
medical condition and are not better accounted for by another mental disorder;
MAH must continue to report adverse reactions and to submit PSURs (subject
to agreements with the health authority); see dependency (physical), market-
ing authorization holder (MAH) ,rebound effect .
withdrawal trial see design.
within-subject design syn. within patient comparison, intra-indi vidual com-
parison; opp. between-subject d.; each subject (patient) serv es as his own con-
trol, e.g. in cross-over d. or single case studies; furthermore measuring
changes from baseline ( run-in phase) usually reduces drastically the number
of patients required, e.g. pretreatment blood pressure measurements in anithy-
pertensive trials; see also design.
women Most drug la ws regulate the inclusion of w . in clinical trials , dis-
couraging recruitment in child bearing age, at least until teratogenicity data
from animal studies are available; revised NIH-guidelines (1994) require among
others that “women and minorities and their subpopulations are included in all
human subject research”, and that they are “included in phase III clinical trials
so that v alid analysis of dif ferences in interv ention effect can be performed”;
most la ws require no w pre gnancy testing before and in re gular interv als,
verification of contracepti ve use, and detailed information in the informed
262

consent procedure; despite gender differences in drug action, analyses of data

W by sex are still rarely requested; see also labelling, pregnancy outcome,
vulnerable subject.
work breakdown structure (WBS) Hierarchical organisation of tasks; see also
project management.
work(ing) instructions see standard operating procedures .
World Health Organisation (WHO) Currently more than 180 states are mem-
bers of the WHO.
X

xenotransplantation Animal-to-human or gan or tissue transplantation,

may also include materials of transgenetically-altered animal donors
(e.g. pigs) as alternati ve source to human or gans; there may be some risk
of transmitting hitherto unkno wn x enogeneic diseases to the recepient
but also for the population at lar ge; see also biological medicinal
product, biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, immunotherapy,
transplantation .
xenogeneic disease Animal-to-human transmitted disease; see also
secondary attack rate ,xenotransplantation.

G. Nahler, Dictionary of Pharmaceutical Medicine, 263

yellow card pr ogramme Reporting of suspected adverse reactions to

drugs in the UK; Spontaneous reporting scheme (reporting primarily by
patients in contrast to acti ve drug safety monitoring, prescription-
event monitoring by health professionals) established 1964 and operated
by the MHRA in UK; the system is completely v oluntary whereby physi-
cians but also dentists, coronors and patients are encouraged to report (other
countries accept only reporting of side effects by health care professionals);
incomplete information provided often limit it’s use; other reportingsystems
are e.g., the Canadian Adv erse Reaction Monitoring Program (CADRMP)
or the Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS) of the U.S.; see alsoblack
triangle, case-control study, epidemiology, eudravigilance,
medwatch, pharmacovigilance , WHO collaborating centre for
international drug monitoring.
Yule’s Q ratio see disproportionality assessments .
Yule-Simpson effect see simpson’s paradox.

G. Nahler, Dictionary of Pharmaceutical Medicine, 264

zero order kinetics see kinetic.

Zubrod perf ormance status syn. WHO performance status scale; see
performance status.

G. Nahler, Dictionary of Pharmaceutical Medicine, 265

AA ApplicationArea
a¯a¯ anapartes aequales (to identical parts)
AAA (1)Acute Anxiety Attack; (2) Alcoholics Anonymous
Association; (3) Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
AA
C Antibiotic-AssociatedColitis Application
AADA Abbreviated Antibiotic Drug Application (FDA)
AAMI Associationfor the Advancement of Medical
Instrumentation(US)
AAPCC AmericanAssociation of Poison Control Centers (US)
AAPP American Academy of Pharmaceutical Physicians (US)
AAPS AmericanAssociation of Pharmaceutical Sciences (US)
Ab (1)Antibody; (2) Abortus
ABEMIP AssociationBelge des Médecins de l’Industrie
Pharmaceutique (also BEVAFI) (Belgian society
of physicians in the pharmaceutical industry)
ABHI Associationof British Health-Care Industries
ABMT AutologousBone Marrow Transplant
ABP ArterialBlood Pressure
ABPI Associationof the British Pharmaceutical Industry
AC Ante cibos (medication to be taken before meal)
A
CCME AccreditationCouncil for Continuing Medical Education
(US)
A
CE Angiotensin-Con verting Enzyme
A
CPP/ACMIP Associationof Canadian Pharmaceutical Physicians/
Association Canadienne des Médecins de l’Industrie
Pharmaceutique
ACRPI Association for Clinical Research in the Pharmaceutical
Industry
AD (1)Alzheimer’s Disease; (2) Arteriosclerotic Disease;
(3) Atopical Dermatitis
ADD AttentionDe fi citDisorder

G. Nahler, Dictionary of Pharmaceutical Medicine, 267

ADE (1) Adverse Drug Event, Adverse Drug Experience; (2) Acute
Disseminated Encephalitis
ADEPT Antibody-DirectedEnzyme Prodrug Therapy
ADHD AttentionDe fi citHyperactivity Disorder
ADL Acti
vities of Daily Living
ADME Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion
ADP AutomatedData Processing
ADPL A
verage Daily Patient Load
ADR Adverse Reaction, Adverse Drug Reaction
ADRAC Adverse Drug Reactions Advisory Committee
ADROIT Adverse Drug Reaction On-line Information Tracking (UK)
ADRRS Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting System
ADs Advertisements
AdS Académiedes Sciences (France)
ADT (1) Alternate Day Treatment; (2) Accident du Travail
AE Adverse Event, Adverse Experience
AEAIC AcadémieEuropéenne d’ Allergologie et Immunologie
Clinique
AED Anti-EpilepticDrug
AEFI (Associationof Industrial Pharmacists, Spain)
AERS Adverse Events Reporting System (FDA)
AESAL Académie Européenne des Sciences, des Arts et des Lettres
AESGP Association Européenne des Spécialités Pharmaceutiques
Grand Public (European Proprietary Medicines Manufacturers’
Association,Paris)
AF AtrialFibrillation
AF
AQ AssociationFrançaise pour l’Assurance Qualité (French
Association for Quality Assurance)
AFEC Association Française pour l’Etude du Cancer (Paris)
AFSSAPS Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Produits de Santé
(renamed in 2012 to Agence Nationale de Sécurité du Médica-
ment ANSM)
AIF
A AgenziaItaliana del Farmaco (Italian health authority)
Ag Antigen
A
GIM AssociationGénérale de l’Industrie du Médicament
AHA (1) American Heart Association; (2) Area Health Authority
AHCPR Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (US)
AHF AntihaemophilicFactor
AHRQ Agenc y for Healthcare Research and Quality (USA)
AI Arti fi cial
Intelligence
AICRC Associationof Independent Clinical Research Contractors
AIDS AquiredImmune De fi cieny Syndrome
AIF
A AgenziaItaliana del Farmaco (Italian Drug Agency)
AIM Acti
ve Ingredient Manufacturer
Abbreviations/Acronyms 269

AIMD (1) Active Implantable Medical Device; (2) Active Ingredient

Manufacturer
AIMS ArthritisImpact Measurement Scale
AINS Anti-in fl ammatoire
Non-Stéroidique (=NSAID)
AJCC AmericanJoint Committee on Cancer
AL AcuteLeukaemia
ALARA AsLow As Reasonably Achievable
ALGOL AlgorithmicLanguage
ALI AnnualLimit of Intake
ALL AcuteLymphatic Leukaemia
ALS AmyotrophicLateral Sclerosis
a.m. (1) ante meridiem (before noon); (2) ante menstruationem
(before menstruation); (3) ante mortem (before death)
AMA AmericanMedical Association
AMAPI Associationof Medical Advisers in the Pharmaceutical
Industry (UK)
AMC AcademicMedical Center
AMG Arzneimittelgesetz(Medicines Act, Austria, Germany)
AMNOG Arzneimittelmarkt-Neuordnungsgesetz(new healthcare bill
requesting an added benefit for drugs; Germany)
AMI AcuteMyocardial Infarction
AMIP Associationdes Médecins de l’Industrie Pharmaceutique
AML AcuteMyelogenous Leukaemia
AMM Authorisationde Mise sur le Marché
AMS AcceleratorMass Spectrometry
ANCOVA Analysisof Co-Variance (covariate adjustment)
AND
A Abbre viated New Drug Application
ANF AntinuclearFactor
ANO
VA Analysisof Variance
ANSM Agence Nationale de Sécurité du Médicament (former
AFSSAPS)
A
OA AmericanOsteophathic Association
A
OD ArterialOcclusive Disease
AP
A AmericanPsychiatric Association
AP
ACHE AcutePhysiology and Chronic Health Evaluation
APhA AmericanPharmaceutical Association
API Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (EC)
APMA AustralianPharmaceutical Manufacturers Association
API Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient
APP
A AustralianPharmaceutical Physicians Association
APUA Alliancefor the Prudent Use of Antibiotics
A
QL AcceptableQuality Level
AR (1)Airway Resistance; (2) Assessment Report (EC)
ARC (1) AIDS Related Complex; (2) Assistant de la Recherche
Clinique(syn. CRA)
270 Abbreviations/Acronyms

ARCNO dAverse Reaction Number (WHO Arverse Reaction Terminology)

ARDS AdultRespiratory Distress Syndrome
ARF (1) Acute Respiratory Failure; (2) Acute Renal Failure
ART Adv erse Reaction Terminology (WHO)
A-SAA Acutephase Serum Amyloid A
ASA (1) Acetyl Salicylic Acid; (2) Adam Stokes Attack; (3) American
Society of Anesthesiologists
ASC (1) Altered State of Consciousness; (2) Adult Stem Cell
ASCII AmericanStandard Code for Information Interchange
ASCO AmericanSociety of Clinical Oncology
ASI AnxietyStatus Inventory
ASMF Acti ve Substance Master File
ASR AnnualSafety Report
AS-ODN Antisense-Oligodeoxynucleotide
A
TC (1)Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classi fi cationSystem
(WHO); (2) Animal Test Certificate
A
TCC AmericanType Culture Collection
A
TMP Adv anced Therapy Medicinal Product (EC)
A
UC AreaUnder(concentration/time) the Curve
A
V (1)Atrio-Ventricular; (2) Audio-Visual
A
WP Average Wholesale Price

B
A (1)Bachelor of Arts; (2) Biological Age
B
ACOP Bleomycine,Adriamycine, Cyclophosphamide, Oncovine,
Prednisone
B
AD BritishAssociation of Dermatologists
B
AH Bundesv erband der Arzneimittelhersteller
B
AN BritishApproved Names
B
ARDI BayesianAdverse Reaction Diagnostic Instrument
B
ARQA BritishAssociation of Research Quality Assurance
BBB BloodBrain Barrier
BBT BasalBody Temperature
BC (1) Breathing Capacity; (2) Birth Control; (3) Bone Conduction;
(4) Bronchial Carcinoma; (5) Bronchite Chronique (chronic
bronchitis)
BCDF BCell Differentiation Factor
BCG BacillusCalmette Guerin
BCGF BCell Growth Factor
BCh Bachelorof Surgery
BCM BirthControl Medication
Bd Bisin Die (twice daily)
BEVAFI Belgische Vereniging van de Artsen van de Farmaceutische
Industrie (belgian society of physicians in the pharmaceutical
industry)
Abbreviations/Acronyms 271

BFID Brancheforeningenaf Farmaceutiske Industrivirksomheder i Dan-

mark (association of pharmaceutical industries in Denmark)
BfArM Bundesinstitutfür Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte (German
Federal Health Office, Berlin, former BGA)
BGA Bundesgesundheitsamt(German Federal Health Of fi ce,Berlin,
now BfArM)
BHF BritishHeart Foundation
BI BrocaIndex
BIAMP Bundesinstitutfür Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte (former
BGA, German Federal Institute
for pharmaceutical and medical products)
BID BisIn Die (two times daily)
BIRA BritishInstitute of Regulatory Affairs
BL BurkittLymphoma
BLAs BiologicsLicense Applications
BLQ Belo w the Limit of Quanti fi cation
BL1 BiosafetyLevel one
BMA BritishMedical Association
BMD BoneMineral Density
B.Med. Bachelorof Medicine
BMI Body-Mass-Inde x
BMR BasalMetabolic Rate
B.M.S Bachelorof Medical Science
BMT BoneMarrow Transplant
BN BatchNumber
BNF BritishNational Formulary
BNP BrainNatriuretic Peptide
BOCF BaselineObservation Carried Forward
BP (1) British Pharmacopoeia; (2) Blood Pressure; (3) Birth Place
BPC (1)British Pharmacopoeia Codex (Commission);
(2) Bonnes Pratiques Cliniques (French GCP)
BPH BenignProstatic Hyperplasia
BPI Bundesv erband der Pharmazeutischen Industrie (Germany)
BPM BeatsPer Minute
BPRS BriefPsychiatric Rating Scale
BPZ Beipackzettel(package insert)
BrAPP BritishAssociation of Pharmaceutical Physicians
BRM BiologicalResponse Modifyer
BS (1)Bowel Sounds; (2) Breathing Sounds
B.S. Bachelorof Surgery
BSE (1)Bovine Spongioform Encephalopathy; (2) Breast Self Examination
BSI BritishStandards Institution
BSRS Beha vior and Symptom Rating Scale
BT BleedingTime
BW BodyWeight
272 Abbreviations/Acronyms

CA (1)Carcinoma; (2) Con fi dentialityAgreement; (3) Cytosine

Arabinoside; (4) Chronological Age
CABG CoronaryArtery Bypass Graft
CAD (1)Computer Aided Design; (2) Coronary Artery Disease
CADD ComputerAssisted Drug Design
CADRIS CanadianAdverse Drug Reaction Information System
CAFVP Cyclophosphamide,Adriamycine, 5-Fluorouracil, Vincristine,
Prednisone
CA
G (1)Coronary Angiography; (2) Carotid Angiogram
CAHD CoronaryAtherosclerotic Heart Disease
CALS (1)Cyclophosphamide, Adriamycine, Methotrexate,
Procarbacine; (2) Computer-aided Acquisition and
Logistic Support
CAMA (1)Computer Assisted Marketing Authorisation application
(Europe); (2) Computer Assisted Marketing Application (US)
CANC Cancellation(FDA: inspection not conducted)
CAND A ComputerAssisted New Drug Application (US)
CANDS ComputerAssisted New Drug Submission (Canada)
CA
O CoronaryArtery Occlusion
CA
OS Cosmogen(Actinomycine D), Adriamycine (Doxorubicine),
Oncovine (Vincristine),
Sendoxane (= Endoxan + Cyclophosphamide)
CAP (1)Centrally Authorised Product (EMA);
(2) Coordinated Assessment Procedure (EMA)
CAPA Correcti
ve And Preventive Action (FDA)
CAPLA ComputerAssisted Product Licence Application
CAPLAR ComputerAssisted Product Licensing ApplicationReview (US)
CAS (1)Chemical Abstract Service; (2) Chemical Abstract
Substance
CB CannabinoidReceptor
CB
A CostBene fi A
t nalysis
CBC CompleteBlood Count
CBCD ChronicBullous Disease of Childhood
(IgA linear dermatosis)
CBD (1)Chemical and Biological Description (EMA);
(2) Cannabidiol
CBER Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (US)
CBF (1)Cerebral Blood Flow; (2) Coronary Blood Flow
CBS ChronicBrain Syndrome
CBI Confederationof British Industry
CC (1)Cervical Carcinoma; (2) Chief Complaint;
(3) Coefficient of Correlation; (4) Common Cold; (5) Critical
Condition; (6) Current Complaints
CCC Copyright Clearance Centre
CCDS Compan y Core Data Sheet
Abbreviations/Acronyms 273

CCF Congesti ve Cardiac Failure

CCI CollateralCirculation Index
CCID CellCulture Infectious Dose
CCL Centroc ystic Lymphoma
CCM (1)Congestive Cardiomyopathy;
(2) Commission Consultative Médicale (France)
CCr CreatinineClearance
CCSI Compan y Core Safety Information
CCNU Methyl-1-(2-chloroethyl)-3-c yclohexyl-1-nitrosourea
CCPPRB Comités Consultatifs de Protection des Personnes dans la
Recherche Biomédicale (french ethics committee)
CCRC Certi fi ed
Clinical Research Coordinator
CCT (1)Controlled Clinical Trial; (2) Compressed Coated Tablet
CCU CoronaryCare Unit
CD (1) Cardiovascular Disease; (2) Cardiac Diameter; (3) Celiac
Disease; (4) Coma Diabétique; (5) Cesarian Delivered;
(6) Contact Dermatitis; (7) Contagious Disease;
(8) Curative Dose
CD
A Con fi dentialDisclosure Agreement
CDC (1)Center for Disease Control (US);
(2) Calculated Date of Confinement
CDER Centerfor Drug Evaluation and Research (US)
CDISC ClinicalData Interchange Standards Consortium
CDM ClinicalData Management
CDP ClinicalDevelopment Plan
CDRH Centerfor Devices and Radiological Health (US)
CD-R
OM CompactDisc – Read-Only Memory
CDS ChemicalDelivery System
CDSM Committeeon Dental and Surgical Materials (UK)
CD-WORM CompactDisc – Write Once, Read Many
CE (1)Concomitant Event; (2) Clinical Event;
(3) Cardiac Enlargement
CEA (1)Cost Effectiveness Analysis;
(2) Carcino-Embryonic Antigen
CEC Commissionof the European Community
CEN ComitéEuropéen de Normalisation (European Committee of
Normalisation/standardization)
CENELEC ComitéEuropéen de Normalisation Électrotechnique
CEO ChiefExecutive Of fi cer
CEP Certi fi cate
of Suitability (EC)
CF (1)Cystic Fibrosis; (2) Cardiac Failure
CFCs Chloro- fl uorocarbons
CFR (1)Code of Federal Regulations (US);
(2) Complement Fixation Reaction
CFU Colon y Forming Unit
274 Abbreviations/Acronyms

CG ControlGroup
CGD ChronicGranulomatous Disease
CGI ClinicalGlobal Impression Scale
CGM ComputerGraphics Meta fi le
CGU ChronicGastric Ulcer
ChB Batchelorof Surgery
CHD (1) Coronary Heart Disease; (2) Chediak Higashi Disease;
(3) Childhood Disease
CHF Congesti ve Heart Failure
CHMP Committeefor Human Medicinal Products
CHO ChineseHamster Ovary
CHOP Cyclophosphamide,Doxorubicin, Vincristine, Prednisone
CI (1) Cardiac Index; (2) Capacité Inspiratoire; (3) Cardiac
Infarction; (4) Coronary Insufficiency; (5) Contre Indication
CIB ClinicalInvestigators’ Brochure
CIM Computer -Integrated Manufacturing
CIOMS Council for International Organisation of Medical Sciences
CIS (1) Commonwealth of Independent States; (2) Carcinoma In
Situ; (3) Chemical Information System
CJD CreutzfeldtJakob Disease
CL (1)Compulsory Licensing; (2) Clearance
CLL ChronicLymphatic Leukaemia
CM CausaMortis (reason of death)
CMA CostMinimisation Analysis
Cmax MaximumDrug Concentration
CM&C Chemical,Manufacture & Control
CMC Chemistry , Manufactur4ing and Controls
CME ContinuedMedical Education
CMFP Cyclophosphamide,Methotrexate, 5-Fluorouracile,
Prednisone
CMFV Cyclophosphamide,Methotrexate, 5-Fluorouracile,
Vincristine
CMFVP Cyclophosphamide,Methotrexate, 5-Fluorouracile, Vincristine,
Prednisone
CMI ConcentrationMinimale Inhibitrice
CML ChronicMyelogenous Leukaemia
CMO (1)Chief Medical Of fi cer;(2) Contract Manufacturing
Organisation
CMR ClientMeeting Report
CMS ConcernedMember State (EC)
CMV (1)
Cytomegalovirus; (2) Controlled Mechanical Ventilation
CN
AMTS (FrenchHealth Insurance Agency)
CNIL CommissionNationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés
(French commission to which each clinical study, including full
Abbreviations/Acronyms 275

details concerning trialist, number of patients a.s.o., has to be

noti fi ed)
CNOM ConseilNational de l’Ordre des Médecins (France)
CO (1) Cardiac Output; (2) Carbon Monoxide; (3) Contractual
Obligations; (4) Change Order; (5) Complains Of;
(6) Compliance Of fi cer
CO
A ConditionOn Admission
CO
AD ChronicObstructive Airway Disease
COBOL CommonBusiness Oriented Language
COC CombinedOral Contraceptives
COCIR CoordinationCommittee of the Radiological and Electromedi-
cal Industries
COLD ChronicObstructive Lung Disease
COMP
ASS ComputerisedOn-line Medicaid Pharmaceutical Analysis and
Surveillance System
CONSOR
T ConsolidatedStandards for Reporting Trials
COO ChiefOperating Of fi cer
COPD ChronicObstructive Pulmonary Disease
COPP Cyclophosphamide,Vincristine, Procarbazine, Prednisone
COPS Costof Producing Sales
COST
ART Codi fi cation
of Standard Terminology for Adverse Reaction
Terms, Coding System for a Thesaurus of Adverse Reaction
Terms
CO
TS CommercialOff-The-Shelf
CO
X-2 Cyclooxygenase-2
CP (1)Centralised Procedure; (2) Cor Pulmonale, coeur
pulmonaire
CP
A (1)Commonwealth Pharmaceutical Association (2) Clinical
Pathology Accreditation
CPI ConsumerPrice Index
CPM CriticalPath Method
CPMP Committeefor Proprietary Medicinal Products
CPR CardioPulmonary Resusication
CR (1) Clinical Records; (2) Complete Response; (3) Controlled
Release
CRA ClinicalResearch Associate, Clinical Research Assistant
CRC ClinicalResearch Coordinator
CRD (1)Chronic Renal Disease; (2) Chronic RespiratoryDisease
CRE ClinicalResearch Executive
CREST Scienti fiand
c Technical Research Committee
CRF (1) Case Record Form, Case Report Form, Clinical Record
Form; (2) Corticotropin-Releasing Factor
CRIOC Consumer Organisations Research and Information Centre
(Brussels)
CRLs CompleteResponse Letters (FDA)
276 Abbreviations/Acronyms

CRM (1) Clinical Research Manager; (2) Committee on the Review of

Medicines (UK advisory committee)
CR
O ContractResearch Organisation
CRP C-reactive Protein
CR
U ClinicalResearch Unit
CS (1)Clinical Staging; (2) Complete Stroke
CSA ClinicalStudy Authorisation
CSD Committeeon Safety of Drugs (“Dunlop Committee”,UK)
CSM Committeeon Safety of Medicines (UK)
CSR ClinicalStudy Report
CSP CoreSafety Pro fi le
CT (1)Clinical Trial; (2) Computer Tomography
CT
A ClinicalTrial Authorisation
CTC (1)Common Toxicity Criteria; (2) Clinical Trial Certi fi cate
CTD Common Technical Document document used to apply for
marketing authorisation
CTE ClinicalTrial Exemption
CTF
A Cosmetic,Toiletry and Fragrance Association
CTN ClinicalTrial Noti fi cation
CTR (1) Clinical Trial Register (EU); (2) Clinical Trial Report
CTS (1) Clinical Trial Supplies; (2) Common Type System
(Microsoft.NET)
CTX ClinicalTrial Exemption (UK)
CU
A CostUtility Analysis
CUP Carcinomaof Unknown Primary
CV (1)Coef fi cientof Variation; (2) Curriculum Vitae; (3) Cardio
Vascular
CV
A (1)Cerebro Vascular Accident; (2) Cardio Vascular Accident
CVD (1)Cardiovascular Disease; (2) Cerebrovascular Disease
CVMP Committeefor Veterinary Medicinal Products
CVPP Cyclophosphamide,Vinblastine, Procarbazine, Prednisone
CXR ChestX Ray
CYP CytochromeP450

D
A (1)Data Audit (FDA); (2) Delayed Action
(of a drug); (3) Drug Abuser
D
AD Dispenseas Directed
D
AMOS Dokumentationzu Arzneimitteln auf optischen Speichern
(Germany)
D
ASS DezentralesAuftrags-Steuerungs System
DB DoubleBlind
DBP DiastolicBlood Pressure
DBT DoubleBlind Trial
DC DeathCerti fi cate
Abbreviations/Acronyms 277

D&C (1)Dilation and Curettage; (2) Drugs and Cosmetics

DCF DataCollection Form
DCH DelayedCutaneous Hypersensitivity
D.Ch. DoctorChirurgiae
DCP. DecentralisedProcedure
DCS. Deliverable Class Standard
DDA DangerousDrug Act (US)
DDD De fi nedDaily Dose
DDG Degenerative Disc Disease
DDH DelayedDermal Hypersensitivity
DDL DearDoctor Letter
DDPS DetailedDescription of the Pharmacovigilance System
(obsolete term)
DDX Doctor’s and Dentist’s Exemption scheme
(from the need to obtain formal approval
to do clinical trials in the UK)
DEC DrugEvent Combination
DESI DrugEf fi cay Study Implementation
(FDA program)
DEA DrugEnforcement Agency (US)
DFI DiseaseFree Interval
DFS DiseaseFree Survival
DG (1)Director General; (2) Drafting Group (EMA)
DGPharMed DeutscheGesellschaft für Pharmazeutische Medizin(former
FÄPI)
DGSF (ItalianDrugs Directorate)
DHHS Departmentof Health and Human Services (US)
DHPC DirectHealthcare Professional Communication (EU)
DHT DelayedType Hypersensitivity
DIA DrugInformation Association
DIBD Development International Birth Date (EMA)
DIC DisseminatedIntravascular Coagulation
DIMDI DeutschesInstitut für Medizinische Dokumentationund
Information
DIN DeutscheIndustrie-Norm (Deutsches Institut für
Normung e.V.)
DIPS DrugInteraction Probability Scale
DISC DisabledInfectious Single Cycle Viral Vector
DJD Degenerative Joint Disease
DLP DataLock-Point
DM DiseaseManagement
DMA C Di
vision of Drug Marketing, Advertising and
Communications (FDA)
DMARD DiseaseModifying Antirheumatic Drug
278 Abbreviations/Acronyms

DMC (1)Drug Monitoring Committee (2) Data Monitoring

Committee
DMD (1)Disease Modifying Drug; (2) Duchenne MuscularDystrophy
DME DrugMetabolism Enzyme
DMF DrugMaster File
DMOS Di
verses Mesures d’Ordre Social (French law concerning
financial benefits of physicians offered by the pharmaceutical
industry)
DOB Dateof Birth
DoH Departmentof Health (UK)
D.P
. Doctorof Pharmacy
DPM Diplomain Psychological Medicine
DRF DataResolution Form
DRL DrugReference List (WHO)
DSD DrugSurveillance Departement
DSM (1) Drug Safety Monitoring; (2) Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders (of the American
Psychiatric Association)
DSMB Drugand Safety Monitoring Board
DSR
U DrugSafety Research Unit (UK)
DSUR Development Safety Update Report (EMA)
DTC Direct-To-Consumer
DTD DocumentType De fi nition
DTP (1)Diphtheria-Tetanus-Poliomyelitis; (2) Desk Top Publishing
DU DuodenalUlcer
DUR DrugUtilisation Review
DUS DrugUtilisation Study
D
VT DeepVein Thrombosis

e (aspre fi x)electronic
EAA
CI EuropeanAcademy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology
EAE ExperimentalAllergic Encephalitis, Experimental Autoimmune-
Encephalitis
EAEMP EuropeanAgency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products
EAN EuropeanArticle Numbering
EANM European Association of Producers and Distributors of Natural
Medicines
EBC EuropeanBusiness Council
EBGM EmpiricalBayes Geometric Mean
EBM EvidenceBased Medicine
EBV EppsteinBarr Virus
EC (1)Ethics Committee; (2) European Community;
(3) European Commission
eCB endocannabinoidsystem
Abbreviations/Acronyms 279

ECDD ExpertCommittee on Drug Dependence (WHO)

ECE EndothelinConversion Enzyme
ECG Electrocardiogram
ECHO EntericCytopathogenic Human Orphan (virus)
ECITC EuropeanCommittee or European Commission
ECJ EuropeanCourt of Justice
ECOG EasternCooperative Oncology Group
ECT EntericCoated Tablet
ECU EuropeanCurrency Unit
ED50 MedianEffective Dose
EDC ElectronicData Capture
EDI ElectronicData Interchange
EDL EssentialDrug List
EDMA EuropeanDiagnostic Manufacturers Association
EDMF EuropeanDrug Master File
EDMUS EuropeanDatabase on Multiple Sclerosis
EDP ElectronicData Processing
EDQM EuropeanDirectorate for the Quality of Medicines
EDV EndDiastolic Volume
EEA EuropeanEconomic Area
EEC EuropeanEconomic Community
EEG Electroencephalogram
EFPIA European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations
EGA EuropeanGeneric Medicines Association
EHR ElectronicHealthcare Record
EIR EstablishmentInspection Report
EINECS European Inventory of Existing Commercial Chemical Substances
EFPIA EuropeanFederation of Pharmaceutical Industries Associations
(Brussels)
EFSA EuropeanFood Safety Authority
EFTA EuropeanFree Trade Association
EGA EuropeanGeneric medicines Association
EGF EpidermalGrowth Factor
EIA Exercise Induced Asthma
EINECS EuropeanInventory of Existing Commercial ChemicalSubstances
EIRnv ExtraIncidence Rate in non-vaccinated groups
EIRv ExtraIncidence Rate in vaccinated groups
EKG Electrocardiogram
ELA EstablishmentLicense Application
ELISA EnzymeLinked Immunosorbent Assay
Eof M Errorof Measurement
EMA EuropeanMedicines Agency (former EMEA)
EMEA European Agency for the Evaluation of Medical Products (the
European Union’s regulatory agency, now EMA)
EMG Electromyelogram
280 Abbreviations/Acronyms

EN EuropeanNorm
ENCePP EuropeanNetwork of Centres for Pharmacoepidemiology
and Pharmacovigilance
EOQ EuropeanOrganization for Quality
EOR
TC European Organization for Research and Treatment of
Cancer
EO
TC European Organization for Testing and Certi fi cation
EP (1)European Pharmacopoeia; (2) European Parlament
EP
A Environmental Protection Agency (US)
EP
AR EuropeanPublic Assessment Report
EPC (1)European Patent Convention;
(2) European Pharmacopoeial Convention
EPD ElectronicPatient Diaries
EPhMRA EuropeanPharmaceutical Market Research Association
EPLC EuropeanPharma Law Centre
(Surrey, UK; e.g., EC document database)
ePR
O electronicPatient-Reported Outcomes
EPS EarningsPer Share
ER Extended-Release
ERA Environmental Risk Assessment
ERCP EndoscopicRetrograde
Cholangio-Pancreatography
ESC EmbryonicStem Cell
ESCOP European Scienti fi cCorporation of Phytotherapy
ESCP EuropeanSociety of Clinical Pharmacy
ESF EuropeanScience Foundation
ESO EuropeanSchool of Oncology
ESOP EuropeanSociety of Pharmacovigilance
ESP ExtrasensoryPerception
ESR Erythroc yte Sedimentation Rate
ESRA EuropeanSociety of Regulatory Affairs
etal. etalii (and coworkers)
ETSI EuropeanTelecommunication Standard Institute
EU EuropeanUnion
EUCOMED EuropeanConfederation of Medical Device Associations
Eudamed EuropeanDatabase for Medical Devices
EudraCT EuropeanClinical Trials Database
EudraVigilance E uropeanU nionD rugR egulating A uthorities
Pharmacovigilance
EUFEPS EuropeanFederation of Pharmaceutical Sciences
EUROM VI European Federation of Precision, Mechanical and Optical
Industries
EUROPAM EuropeanHerb Growers Association
EV
A EchelleVisuelle Analogique (visuel analogue scale)
Abbreviations/Acronyms 281

EVD
AS EudraVigilance Data Warehouse and Analysis System (EMAs
searchable database for ICSRs)
EVIMPD EudraVigilance Investigational Medicinal
Product Dictionary
EVMPD EudraVigilance Medicinal Product Dictionary (EMAs search-
able database for authorised medicinal products, APIs and
ingredients)
EVPM EudraVigilance Post-authorisation Module (EMAs database for
ICSRs of all authorised medicinal products)
EVPRM EudraV igilance Product Report Message
EWL Evaporated Water Loss
EXP ExpiryDate

F1 Of
fspring from fi rstgeneration
FÄPI achgesellschaft
F der Ärzte in der Pharmazeutischen Indust-
rie (now DGPharMed, German society of physicians in the
pharmaceuticalindustry)
FBC FullBlood Count
FC F
or Cause inspection (FDA)
FCA Freund’s Complete Adjuvant
FD
A (1)Food and Drug Administration (US);
(2) Federal Drug Agency (US)
FD&C F
ood, Drugs and Cosmetics (US)
FDD FunctionalDigestive Disorders
FELASA Federationof European Laboratory Animal
Science Associations
FERQAS Federationof European Research Quality AssuranceSocieties
FEFIM FédérationFrançaise des Industries du Médicament
FFPM Fello
w of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine (UK)
FI achinformation
F (German international physician’s circular)
FIA Landelijke Vereniging van Farmaceutische Industrie-Artsen
(Dutch association of physicians in the therapeutical industry)
FIH First-in-Human
FIP FédérationInternationale Pharmaceutique (International
PharmaceuticalFederation)
FLE oreningen
F af Laeger i Erhvervslivet (Danish assocationof
physicians in private employment)
FMP FirstMenstrual Period
FOI Freedomof Information (US)
FORTRAN F
ormula Translation
FP F
amily Practitioner
FPI FirstPatient In
FPIF FinnishPharmaceutical Industry Federation
282 Abbreviations/Acronyms

FPO FirstPatient Out

FRAM Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Research
FRCGP Fello
w of the Royal College of General Practitioners
FRCP Fello
w of the Royal College of Physicians
FSC FreeSales Certi fi cate
FTC FreeTrade Commission (US)
5-FU 5- fl uorouracil
FUO Fe
ver of Unknown (Undetermined) Origin
FYI F
or Your Information

GALP GoodAutomated Laboratory Practice

GALM GoodAutomated Manufactoring Practice
GA
O GeneralAccounting Of fi ce(US)
GAR GrantAppropriation Request
GA
TT GeneralAgreement on Tariffs and Trade
GCP GoodClinical Practice
GCRP (1) Good Clinical Research Practice; (2) Good Clinical
Regulatory Practice
G-CSF Granuloc yte-Colony Stimulating Factor
GCTP GoodClinical Trial Practice
GDP (1)Gross Domestic Product; (2) Good Distribution Practice
GERD Gastro-OesophagealRe fl uxDisease
GFR GlomerularFiltration Rate
GH Gro wth Hormone
GHTF GlobalHarmonization Task Force
GI (1)Gastro-Intestinal; (2) Gingival Index
GILSP GoodIndustrial Large Scale Practice
GIT Gastro-IntestinalTract
GLC GasLiquid Chromatography
GM GeneralMedicine
GMC GeneralMedical Council
GM-CSF Granulocyte Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor
GMM GeneticallyModi fi edMicroorganism
GMDN GlobalMedical Device Nomenclature
GMO GeneticallyModi fi edOrganism
GMP GoodManufacturing Practice
GNP GrossNational Product
GORD Gastro-OesophagealRe fl uxDisease
GP GeneralPractitioner
GPCRs G-ProteinCoupled Receptors
GPDR GeneralPractice Research Database (UK; formerly VAMP)
GPIA GenericPharmaceutical Industry Association
GPM (1)Gesellschaft für Pharmazeutische Medizin (Austria);
(2) German Project Management Association
Abbreviations/Acronyms 283

GPMSP GoodPostmarketing Surveillance Practice (Japan)

GPS GoodPasture Syndrom
GPvP GoodPharmacovigilance Practice (also GVP)
GRAS GenerallyRecognised as Safe
GRG Gesundheits-Reform-Gesetz(Germany)
GRP GoodRegulatory Practice
GSG Gesundheit-Struktur-Gesetz (Germany)
GSL GeneralSale List medicine (UK)
GSP GoodStorage Practice
GTT GlucoseTolerance Test
GU GastricUlcer
GVHD GraftVersus Host Disease
GVP (Guidelineon) Good Pharmacovigilance Practice (also GPvP)
GxP GoodPractice (of any activity)

H0 NullHypothesis
H1 Alternative Hypothesis
HA HepatitisA Haemophilia A
HAM-A HamiltonAnxiety Scale
HAM-D HamiltonDepression Rating Scale
HAV HepatitisA Virus
HB HepatitisB
HBV HepatitisB Virus
HC HepatitisC
HCFA HealthCare Fiancing Administration (US)
HCL HairyCell Leukemia
HCMV HumanCytomegalovirus
HCV HepatitisC Virus
HDP Hypertensi ve Disease in Pregnancy
HDRS HamiltonDepression Rating Scale
hESCs humanEmbryonic Stem Cells
HHV HumanHerpes Virus
HIMA (1) Health Industry Manufacturers Association (US); (2) Heads of
Medicines Agencies (EU)
HIV HumanImmunode fi cieny Virus
HLA HumanLeucocyte Antigen
HLGT HighLevel Group Term (MedDRA)
HL
T HighLevel Term (MedDRA)
HMA (1) Host Mediated Assay; (2) Heads of Medicines Agencies (EU)
HMO HealthMaintenance Organisation (US)
HME Hot-MeltExtrusion
HNANB Hepatitisnon A non B
HO (1)Heterotrophic Ossi fi cation;(2) House Of fi ce, junior hospital
doctor
284 Abbreviations/Acronyms

HPI Historyof Present Illness

HPLC HighPerformance Liquid Chromatography
HPRSD HamiltonPsychiatric Rating Scale for Depression
HPV HumanPapilloma Virus
HR HeartRate
HRQOL HealthRelated Quality Of Life
HRS HerpesSimplex Encephalitis
HRT HormoneReplacement Therapy
HSA HealthScience Authority (US)
hSC humanStem Cell
HSV HerpesSimplex Virus
HT Highlevel Term
HT
A HealthTechnology Assessment
HUGO HumanGenom Organization
HYE HealthyYear Equivalent
HZV HerpesZoster Virus

IABS InternationalAssociation of Biological Standardisation

IAPM InternationalAssociation of Medical Prosthesis Manufacturers
IB In
vestigator’s Brochure
IBC InstitutionalBiosafety Committee
IBD (1)In fl ammatoryBowel Disease; (2) International Birth Date
IBS IrritableBowel Syndrome
IBW IdealBody Weight
IC InhibitoryConcentration
ICAT InternationalComprehensive Anatomical Terminology
ICD IntrauterineContraceptive Device (=IUD)
ICD-9 InternationalClassi fi cationof Diseases, 9th edition
ICD-10 InternationalClassi fi cationof Diseases, 10th edition (1992)
ICDA InternationalClassi fi cationof Disease Adapted
ICD-O InternationalClassi fi cationof Diseases for Oncology (WHO)
ICE Inno vative Chemical Extension
ICF InformedConsent Form
ICGEB InternationalCentre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology
ICH InternationalConference on Harmonisation (EC)
ICIDH InternationalClassi fi cationof Impairments, Disabilities,and
Handicaps (WHO)
ICPC InternationalClassi fi cationof Primary Care (ICPC-2)
ICTRP InternationalClinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO)
ICSR Indi vidual Case Safety Report
ICU Intensi ve Care Unit
IDB In
vestigator’s Drug Brochure
IDCT In
vestigator Driven Clinical Trial
IDD Immunode fi cen y Disease
Abbreviations/Acronyms 285

IDDM Insulin-DependentDiabetes Mellitus

IDE In
vestigational Device Exemption
IDLH Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (gas-concentrations)
IDMP Identi fi cation
of Medicinal Products (standards, ISO)
i.e. idest (namely)
IEC IndependentEthics Committee
IEEE Instituteof Electrical and Electronic Engineers (US)
IF
APP InternationalFederation of Associations
of PharmaceuticalPhysicians
IFDES InternationalFoundation for Drug Ef fi cay and Safety
IFN Interferon
IFPMA International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Associations
IFPP InternationalFederation of Pharmaceutical Physicians
IGES InitialGraphics Exchange Standard
IH InfectiousHepatitis
IHD IschaemicHeart Disease
IIT In
vestigator Initiated Trial
IKS InterkantonaleKontrollstelle für Heilmittel
ILS Increasein mean/median Life Span
IME InbornMetabolic Error
IMP In
vestigational Medicinal Product
IMPD In
vestigational Medicinal Product Dossier
IMRAD Introduction,Material/Methods, Results, Discussion
IMRBF InternationalMedical Risk Bene fi F t oundation
IND (1)
Investigational New Drug; (2) Innovative New Drug
INN InternationalNon-Proprietary Name
INTDIS InternationalDrug Information System
IOCU InternationalOrganisation of Consumers Unions
IOP Increasein intraocular Pressure
IP IntellectualProperty
IP
AC InternationalPharmaceutical Aerosol Consortium
IPEC InternationalPharmaceutical Excipients Council
IPH InternationalPharmacopoeia
IPMRG InternationalPharmaceutical Market Research Group
IPO InitialPublic Offering
IPRG InterdisciplinaryPharmacogenomics Review Group
iPSC inducedPluripotent Stem Cell
IPTSB InternationalPrograms and Technical Support Branch (FDA of fi ce
for inspections)
IQ InstallationQuali fi cation(of software)
IRB InstitutionalReview Board
IRDS Inf
ant Respiratory Distress Syndrome
IS Inf
arct Size
ISBN InternationalStandard Book Numbering
ISO InternationalOrganization for Standardization
286 Abbreviations/Acronyms

ISPOR InternationalSociety for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcome

Research
ISRCTN InternationalStandard Randomised Controlled Trial Number
ISS (1)Installation Support Services; (2) Integrated System Support
IT InformationTechnology
ITC IndirectTreatment Comparison
ITP ImmuneThrombocytopenic Purpura
ITQS InformationTechnology Quality System
ITT Intent-T o-Treat
IU InternationalUnit
IUCD Intra-UterineContraceptive Device
IUD Intra-UterineDevice
IUPAC InternationalUnion of Pure and Applied Chemistry
IVD (1)In-Vitro Diagnostic; (2) In-Vitro Device
IVP Intravenous Pyelography
IVRS Interacti
ve (or Integrated) Voice Response System
IWRS Interactive Web Response System

JPMA JapanesePharmaceutical Manufacturers Association

JRA Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis

K
OL K
ey Opinion Leader

LA LicensingAuthority
LAF L
ymphocyte Activating Factor
LAg1 Longevity Assurance Gene
LAL LimulusAmebocyte Lysate Test
LAN LocalArea Network
LASA LinearAnalogue Self Assessment
LD LethalDose
LDLo Lo
west Lethal Dose
LFT Li
ver Function Test
LHA LocalHealth Authority
LLOQ Lo
wer Limit Of Quanti fi cation
LMWH Lo
w Molecular Weight Heparin
LNT LinearNo Threshold
LOCF LastObservation Carried Forward
LPI LastPatient In
LPO LastPatient Out
LREC LocalResearch Ethics Committee
LRTI Lo
wer Respiratory Tract Infection
LUTI Lo
wer Urinary Tract Infection
LUTS Lo
wer Urinary Tract Symptoms
L
VCF Last
Visit Carried Forward, Last Value Carried Forward
Abbreviations/Acronyms 287

L
VF LeftVentricular Failure
L
VH LeftVentricular Hypertrophy

MA (1)Marketing Authorisation; (2) Master of Arts

MAA (1)Marketing Authorisation Application; (2) Marketing
Approval Authorisation
MAbor mAB MonoclonalAntibody
MABEL MinimumAnticipated Biological Effect Level
MADRS Montgomery–Asber g Depression Rating Scale
MAFS MezinarodniAsociace Farmaceutickych Spolecnosti (Czech
Association of Research Based Pharmaceutical Companies)
MAH Mark eting Authorisation Holder
MAL MaximumAdmissible/Allowed Limit
MaLAM MedicalLobby for Appropriate Marketing
MANOVA Multivariate Analysis of Variance
MAP MeanArterial Blood Pressure
MB (1)Bachelor of Medicine; (2) Mängelbericht
(report of the German BGA concerning deficiencies of a new
drug application)
MBD MetastaticBone Disease
MBO ManagementBuy-Out
MCA MedicinesControl Agency (UK)
MCD MultipleCarboxylase De fi cieny
MCID MinimalClinically Important Difference
MCT Multi-CentreTrial
MCO ManagedCare Organisation
MD (1)Maximum Acceptable Difference; (2) Medical Doctor
MDD (1) Medical Devices and Diagnostics; (2) Medical Device
Directive
MDEG MedicalDevice Expert Group (EC)
MDI MeteredDose Inhaler
MDR Multi-DrugResistance
MEC MinimumEffective Concentration
MED MinimumEffective Dosage
MEDDRA MedicalDictionary for Drug Regulatory Activity
MEDIF (Pharmaceuticalindustries association in Denmark)
MEDLARS Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System (of the
National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, Md., US)
MEDORA MedicalDictionary for Drug Regulatory Affairs
MEF
A (Danishdomestic pharmaceutical industry association)
MEMS MedicationEvent Monitoring System
MeSH MedicalSubject Heading
MFPM Memberof the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine(UK)
MHRA Medicinesand Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (UK;
previous: MCA)
288 Abbreviations/Acronyms

MI (1)Medicines Inspectorate (UK);

(2) Myocardial Infarction; (3) Mitotic Index
MIC MinimalInhibitory Concentration
MID MinimalInfective Dose
MIF MigrationInhibition Factor
MIMS MonthlyIndex of Medical Specialities
miRNA microRNA
MIS ManagementInformation System
ML MaximumLimit
MLD MinimumLethal Dose
MMR Measles/Mumps/Rubella
MMRM Mix ed Models Repeated Measures
MNC Multi-NationalCompany
MNLD MaximumNon-Lethal Dose
MODEM MOdulator/DEModulator
MODS Multi-Organ Dysfunction Syndrome
MOS MedicalOutcome Study (quality of life instrument)
MOU MemorandumOf Understanding (US)
MPD MaximalPermissible Dose
MR MedicalRepresentative
MRC MedicalResearch Council (UK)
MRCP MagneticResonance Cholangio-Pancreatography
MRD MaximumRepeatable Dose
MRFG MutualRecognition Facilitation Group
MRL MaximumResidue Limit
MRP MutualRecognition Procedure (EMA)
MRSD MaximumRecommended Starting Dose
MRT MultipleSclerosis
MS MassSpectrometry
MS MeanResidence Time
MSA MultiState Application
MSF MédecinsSans Frontières
MTC MinimumToxic Concentration
MTD (1)Maximal Tolerated Dose; (2) Minimal Toxic Dose
MTR Monitor’s Trip Report
MU MillionUnits
MUL T Mucosa-AssociatedLymphoid Tissue
MW MolecularWeight

N
A NotApplicable
N
ACDS NationalAssociation of Chain Drug Stores (US)
N
AD NoAbnormality Detected
N
ADA Ne
w Animal Drug Application
N
AF Noti fi cation
of Adverse Findings (US)
Abbreviations/Acronyms 289

N
AFTA NorthAmerican Free Trade Agreement
N
AI NoAction Indicated (FDA)
N
ANDO Ne
w Approach Noti fi edand Designated Organisations informa-
tion system (EU, devices)
N
APM NationalAssociation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (US)
N
AS New Active Substance
NB Noti fi ed
Body (EU)
NBAS New Biological Active Substance
NC NoChange
NCA NationalCompetent Authority (EU)
NCC NationalComputing Centre (UK)
NCD Non-CommunicableDisease
NCE New Chemical Entity
NCI NationalCancer Institute (US)
NCR NoCarbon Required paper
NCTC NationalCollection of Type Cultures (London)
ND (1)Not Done, (2) Nil Detected
NDA New Drug Application
NDDP New Drug Development Plan
NEC NotElsewhere Classi fi ed(MedDRA)
NF NationaryFormulary (USA)
NfG Notefor Guidance (EC)
NGF NeurotrophicGrowth Factor, Nerve Growth Factor
NGO Non-Go vernmental Organisation
NHS NationalHealth Service (UK)
NIAID NationalInstitute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (US)
NICE NationalInstitute for Health and Clinical Excellence (UK)
NIDDM Non-InsulinDependent Diabetes Mellitus
NIDPOE Noticeof Initiation of Disquali fi cationProceedings and Opportu-
nity to Explain (FDA)
NIGMS NationalInstitute of General Medical Sciences (US)
NIH NationalInstitutes of Health (US)
NIMP Non-Investigational Medicinal Product
NLN (NordicCouncil on Medicines)
NLR NormalLaboratory Range
NME New Molecular Entity
NMR NuclearMagnetic Resonance
NMS NeurolepticMalignant Syndrome
NMSP New Mathematical Statistical Package
NNT NumberNeeded to Treat
NOAEL No-Observ ed Adverse Event Level
NOEL No-Effect Level
NPS NumericalPain Scale
NRG NameReview Group (EMA)
nsAE non-seriousAdverse Event
NSAID Non-SteroidalAntiin fl ammatoryDrug
290 Abbreviations/Acronyms

NSR NonSigni fi cantRisk

NT
A Noticeto Applicants (EC)
NTR Narro
w therapeutic range
NUG NecrotizingUlcerative Gingivitis
NUI NonUrgent Information (EU)
NYHA New York Heart Association (scale of heart failure severity)

O
A Osteoarthritis
O
AI Of fi cial
Action Indicated (FDA)
O
AIC Of fi cial
Action taken and/ or case Closed (FDA)
OB OhneBefund (no abnormality detected)
OC OralContraceptive
OCD Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
OCR OpticalCharacter Recognition
OD (1)Once Daily; (2) Overdose;
(3) Oculus Dextra (right eye)
ODE Of fi ce
of Drug Evaluation (US)
ODT OrallyDisintegrating Tablet
OECD Or
ganisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
OHE Of fi ce
of Health Economics (UK)
OHS OccupationalHealth & Safety
OMB Of fi ce
of Management and Budget
OMR OpticalMark Recognition
OOS Out-Of-Speci fi cation(FDA; test results for pharmaceutical
production)
OPC One-Point-Cut(ampoules)
OPRR Of fi ce
for Protection from Research Risks (US)
OQ OperationQuali fi cation(of software)
OR OutcomesResearch
OS OculusSinistra (left eye)
OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Administration (US)
O
TA Of fi ce
of Technology Assessment (US)
O
TC Over-The-Counter
OU OculusUterque (both eyes)

P Pharmac y Only
pa Perannum
A
P CT PrescribingAnalysis and Cost Data
A
P ES Post-AuthorisationEf fi cay Study
A
PF PlateletAggregating Factor
A
PN PesticideAction Network
A
P OD PeripheralArterial Occlusive Disease
A
PR (1)Post-Approval Research; (2) Public Assessment Report (EU)
Abbreviations/Acronyms 291

A
P SS Post-AuthorisationSafety Study
PBM Pharmacy (Pharmaceutical) Bene fi M t anagement, Pharmacy
(Pharmaceutical) Bene fi M t anager
PBO Placebo
PBRER PeriodicBene fi Rt isk Evaluation Report (EC)
PC Postcibum (after meals)
PCA P
atient Controlled Analgesia
PCP Pneumoc ystis Carinii Pneumonia
PCR PolymeraseChain Reaction
PCSO PharmaceuticalContract Support Organization
PD Progressive Disease
PDA P
arenteral Drug Association
PDCA PlanDo Check Action-Cycle
PDCO P
aediatric Committee (EC)
PDD PrescribedDaily Dosage
PDE Phosphodiesterase
PDF PortableDocument Form
PDGF PlateletDerived Growth Factor
PDR PhysiciansDesk Reference
PDUF A PrescriptionDrug User Fee Act (FDA)
PE PulmonaryEmbolism
PED Pharmakoepidemiologische Datenbank (Germany)
PEF PeakExpiratory Flow Rate
PEM Prescription-Ev ent Monitoring
PER PharmaceuticalEvaluation Report
PERT ProgramEvaluation Review Technique
PhD Doctorof Philosophy
PhRMA PharmaceuticalResearch and Manufacturers of America
PhV(or PV) Pharmaco vigilance
PI (1)
Parallel Import; (2) Principle Investigator;
(3) Package Insert
PIC PharmaceuticalInspection Convention
PICS PharmaceuticalInspection Cooperation Scheme
PID PelvicIn fl ammatoryDisease
PIH Pre
gnancy-Induced Hypertension
PIL P
atient Information Lea fl et
PILS P
atient Information Lea fl ets
PIN PersonalIdenti fi cationNumber
pINN proposedInternational Non-Proprietary Name
PIP (1)
Pediatric Investigational Plan;
(2) Prescription Information Package;
(3) Peak Inspiratory Pressure; (4) Positive Inspiratory
Pressure; (5) Project Implementation Plan; (6) Process
Improvement Project
PL ProductLicence, Parallel Import Product Licence
292 Abbreviations/Acronyms

PLA ProductLicence Application (US)

PMA (1)Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association;
(2) Pre-Market Approval
PMA
C PharmaceuticalManufacturers’ Association of Canada
PMC Post-Mark eting Commitment
PMCF PostMarket Clinical Follow-up
PMO PostMenopausal Osteoporosis
PMP ProprietaryMedical Product
PMS (1)Post-Marketing Surveillance; (2) Premenstrual Stress
Syndrome
PMSS Post-Mark eting Safety Study;
POM Prescription-Only-Medication
POMS ProcessOperation Management System
PP
A PrescriptionPricing Authority
PPI (1)Patient Package Insert; (2) Patient ProductInformation;
(3) Pharmaceutical Product Information;
(4) Producer Price Index
PPLO Pleuro-PneumoniaLike Organisms
PPM PhysicianPractice Management companie
PPRS PharmaceuticalPrice Regulation Scheme
PQ PerformanceQuali fi cation(of software)
PQR ProductQuality Review
PR Partial Response
PRA C Pharmaco vigilance Risk Assessment Committee (EMA)
PRISMA ReportingItems for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses
PRO Patient Reported Outcome
prn pro re nata (medication to be taken as needed,
at discretion of the nurse)
PSA PrescriptionSequence Analysis
PSF ProductSpeci fi cationFile (EC)
PSMF Pharmaco vigilance System Master File
PSP Patient Support Program
PSUR PeriodicSafety Update Report
PT PhysicalTherapy
PT PreferredTerm
PtC Pointsto Consider (EU)
PTCA PercutaneousTransluminal Coronary Angioplastie
PT
O Patent and Trade Mark Of fi ce
PTP Previously Treated Patient
PUD PepticUlcer Disease
PUO Pyre xia of Unknown Origin
PUP Previously Untreated Patient
PUVA Psoralen+ Ultraviolet A
PV(or PhV) Pharmaco vigilance
PVT Paroxysmal Ventricular Tachycardia
Abbreviations/Acronyms 293

QA QualityAssurance
Q&A Questionsand Answers
QAL Y Quality-AdjustedLife-Years
QAU QualityAssurance Unit
QC QualityControl
QD QuaqueDie (once daily)
qhs quaquehora somni, i.e. “every bedtime”
QID QuarsIn Die (four times daily)
QL Qualityof Life
QMS QualityManagement System
QoL Qualityof Life
QPPV Quali fi Person
ed responsible for Pharmacovigilance (EEC)
QRD QualityReview of Documents (EMA)
Q
UID Quantitative Ingredients Declaration

r recombinant
R Revision
RA (1)Rapid Alert (EU); (2) Regulatory Affairs;
(3) Rheumatoid Arthritis
RAD-AR Risk Assessment of Drugs – Analysis and Response
RAM RandomAccess Memory
RAPS Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society
RAS RapidAlert System
RCGP Royal College of General Practitioners
RCC RenalCell Carcinoma
RCT RandomisedControlled Clinical Trial
R&D Researchand Development
RD
A (1)Recommended Daily Allowance;
(2) Recommended Dietary Allowance
RDE RemoteData Entry
RDS RespiratoryDistress Syndrome
REM RapidEye Movement
REMS RiskEvaluation and Mitigation Strategy (FDA)
RFP Requestfor Proposal
RHA Regional Health Authority
RIA Radioimmunoassay
RL Richtlinie(directive)
RMP RiskManagement Plan
RMS ReferenceMember State (EC)
R
OC ReturnOn Capital
R
OM ReadOnly Memory
RPSGB Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain
RR (1)Response Rate; (2) Riva Rocci
RSI Reference Safety Information (as in SmPC or IB)
294 Abbreviations/Acronyms

RSM Ro
yal Society of Medicine
RSV RousSarcoma Virus
R
TECS Re
gistry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances
R
TI (1)Respiratory Tract Infection; (2) Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor

S&A (urine)Sugar and Acetone test

SAARD Slow-Acting Antirheumatic Drug
SA
C (1)Standardised Assessment of Causality;
(2) Safety Assessment Candidate
sAE seriousAdverse Event
SA
G Scientifc Advisory Group (EMA)
SAL SterilityAssurance Level
SAMM SafetyAssessment of Marketed Medicines
SAPS SwedishAcademy of Pharmaceutical Sciences
SAS StatisticalAnalysis System
SB
A SummaryBasis of Approval
SBP SystolicBlood Pressure
SCE SisterChromatide Exchange
SCI (1)Science Citation Index; (2) Spinal Cord Injury
SCS (1) Supply Chain Solution; (2) Source Control System; (3) Spe-
cial Communication System; (4) Spinal Cord Stimulation;
(5) Scienti fi cCerti fi cationSystem
SD (1)Standard Deviation; (2) Stable Disease
SD
A StandardisedDecision Aids
SDI SpineDeformity Index
SDLC SystemsDevelopment Life Cycle
SD
V SourceData Veri fi cation
SDR Signalsof Disproportionate Reporting
SEAR Safety, Ef fi cay, and Adverse Reactions subcommittee(UK,
advisory committee)
SEC Securitiesand Exchange Commission (US)
SEM (1) Standard Error of the Mean; (2) Scanning Electron
Microscopy
SES SummaryEffect Sizes
SF 36 Short Form (36 items long) of the “Medical Outcome Study”
SG&A Sellingand General Administration
SI SystèmeInternational
SIDS SuddenInfant Death Syndrome
SII ScienceImpact Index
siRNA smallinterfering RNA
SIRS SystemicIn fl ammatoryResponse Syndrome
SLE SystemicLupus Erythematosus
SLS SelectedList Scheme
Abbreviations/Acronyms 295

SM Self-Medication
SMAR T SubmissionManagement and Review Tracking
SMDA SafeMedical Devices Act
SME Smalland Medium-sized Enterprises
SMO SiteManagement Organisation
SMON Sub-AcuteMyelo-Optical Neuropathy
SmPC Summaryof Product Characteristics
SNIP SyndicatNational de l’Industrie Pharmaceutique (French
pharmaceuticalindustry association)
SNOMED SystematizedNomenclature of Medicine
SNP SingleNucleotide Polymorphism
SO SafetyOf fi cer
SO SafetyOf fi cer
SOC SystemOrgan Classes (MedDRA)
SOP StandardOperating Procedures
Spa sanitasper aquas (health through water)
SPC (1)Summary of Product Characteristics;
(2) Supplementary Protection Certi fi cate
SPECT SinglePhoton Emission Computed Tomography
SPID Sumof Pain Intensity Differences
SPMP Softw are Project Management Plan
SPR Surf ace Plasmon Resonance
SPS Summaryof Pharmacovigilance System
SPSS StatisticalPackage for the Social Sciences
SR (1)Sustained Release; (2) Signi fi cantRisk
SRD Softw are Requirements Document
SRS SpontaneousReport System
SSAR SuspectedSerious Adverse Reaction
SSFA Societàdi Scienze Farmacologiche Applicate
(Society for Applied Pharmacological Sciences,
Italian association of pharmaceutical physicians)
SSI StructuredSubstance Information (EC)
SSRI Selecti ve Serotonine Reuptake Inhibitor
ST
ARD Standardsfor the Reporting of Diagnostic
accuracy studies
STD Sexually Transmitted Disease
STF StudyTagging File
STM ShortTerm Memory
Stp Statuspost
STROBE ST
rengthening the Reporting of Observational studies in
Epidemiology
SUR SafetyUpdate Report
SUSAR Suspected Unexpected Serious
Adverse Reaction
296 Abbreviations/Acronyms

Susp Suspicionof
SVT Supra
ventricular Tachycardia

T
AA T
est Article Accountability (US)
T
AP T
ransporter associated with Antigen Processing
TB T
uberculosis
TBI T
raumatic Brain Injury
TCID T
issue Culture Infectious Dose
TdP T
orsades de Pointes
TEN T
oxic Epidermal Necrolysis
TESS T
reatment Emergent Signs and Symptoms
TCE T
ime and Cost Estimate
TGA TherapeuticGoods Administration (Australia)
TGF T
ransforming Growth Factor
TIA T
ransitory Ischaemic Attack
TID T
res In Die (three times daily)
TIF Tlymphocyte-targeted Immunofusion protein
TIND T
reatment IND
TMF T
rial Master File
TMO T
rial Management Organisation
TNF T
umor Necrosis Factor
TNM umor
T Node Metastase (assessments in tumor patient)
T
OC T
otal Organ Carbon analysis
T
OTPAR T
otal Area under the Pain Relief curve
TPN T
otal Parenteral Nutrition
TQM T
otal Quality Management
TRIC T
rachoma and Inclusion Conjunctivitis
TRIPS T
rade-Related Intellectual Property (talks)
TSCA T
oxic Substance Control Act (US)
TSE T
ransmissible Spongioform Encephalopathie
TTO T
ime Trade-Off
TUR-P T
rans-Urethral Resection of the Prostate

UCUM Uni fi ed
Code for Units of Measure
UDI UniqueDevice Identi fi cation
UDS UnscheduledDNA repair Synthesis
UF
AW UnitedFederation of Animal Welfare
UICC UnioInternationalis Contra Cancrum
UGT UDP-glucuronosyltransferase
UMDNS Uni
versal Medical Device Nomenclature System
Abbreviations/Acronyms 297

UML Uni fi ed
Modeling Language
UMLS Uni fi ed
Medical Language System
UNDP UnitedNations Development Programme
UNICEF UnitedNations International Children’s Emergency Fund
UNIDO UnitedNations Industrial Development Organization
UPDRS Uni fi ed
Parkinson Disease Rating Scale
UPTD Unitof Pulmonary Toxicity Dosage
UR
TI UpperRespiratory Tract Infection
USAN UnitedStates Adopted Names
USP UnitedStates Pharmacopoeia
USPDI UnitedStates Pharmacopoeia Dispensing Information
USPTO UnitedStates Patent and Trademark Of fi ce
USR Ur
gent Safety Restriction
USTR USTrade Representative
UTI UrinaryTract Infection
UUTI UpperUrinary Tract Infection

V
A V
eterans Administration
V
AI V
oluntary Action Indicated (FDA)
V
AS V
isual Analogue Scale
V
AT V
alue Added Tax
VD (1)Volume of Distribution; (2) Venereal Disease
VDGS V
oluntary Genomic Data Submission
VDP V
isual Display Unit
VF
A erband
V Forschender Arzneimittelhersteller (Germany)
VHP V
oluntary Harmonisation Procedure (EC)
V
O V
erordnung (regulation)
VPC V
eterinary Products Committee (UK)
VT V
entricular Tachycardia

WBS Work Breakdown Structure

WDLL Well Differentiated Lymphocytic Lymphoma
WFPMM World Federation of Proprietary Medicine Manufacturers
WHO World Health Organisation
WHO-ARD Adverse Reaction Dictionary (WHO)
WHO-AR
T Adverse Reaction Terminology (WHO)
WHO-DD DrugDictionary (WHO)
WHO-DRL DrugReference List (WHO)
WHtR World Medical Association
WMA Waist-to-Height-Ratio
298 Abbreviations/Acronyms

W
ORM WriteOnce Read Many
WP W
orking Party (EMA)
WTO W
orld Trade Organisation
WTP W
illingness to Pay

XEVMPD ExtendedEudraVigilance Medicinal Product Dictionary

XEVPRM ExtendedEudraVigilance medicinal Product Report Message
XML Ex
entsible Markup Language

Additional acronyms may be found at

< http://www.abbreviations.com/>
Recommended Reading

Standard Textbooks in Pharmaceutical Medicine

Principles and Practice of Pharmaceutical Medicine. 2 nd Edition Edw ards.

Lionel D; Fletcher, Andrew J; Fox, Anthony W; Stonier Peter. ISBN 978-0-
470-09313-9 (John Wiley & Sons 2007)
The Textbook of Pharmaceutical Medicine. J.P . Grif fin; J.G. O’Grady . ISBN
0-7279-1523-1 (2002, Publ. BMJ Books)

Drug Research and Development

Pharma 2020: The Vision which Path will you take? Price WaterhouseCoopers
(2007) via web www.pwc.com/pharma
The Future of Pharma R&D Challenges and T rends Harald Pacl, Gunter Festel,
Günther Wess (Eds.). ISBN 3-00-014012-3. (Festel Capital, 2004)
Guide to Drug De velopment. A Comprehensi ve Re view and Assessment.
Spilker Bert. ISBN 10-7817-7424-1. (Lippincott W illiams and W ilkins,
2009)
IBM Global Services: Pharma 2010: The Threshold of Innovation. Arlington S
et al. (2004) via Web www.ccm/bcs/pharma 2010
The Investigators Guide to Clinical Research. A step by step guide to becoming
a successful clinical in vestigator. David Gisberg / Robert Whitak er. ISBN
1-930-62430-1 (Pub Center Watch Publications 2002)
Fraud and Misconduct in Biomedical Research. Wells Frank, Farthing Michael
(4th edition, Royal Society of Medicine Press, 2008)
A Guide to the Global Pharmaceutical Industry. Mark Greener. ISBN 1-85978-
498-4 (Informa Publishing Group Limited 2001)
A Guide to Clinical Drug Research. Cohen Adam M. & Posner John. 2nd edition.
ISBN 0-792-36172-5 (Publ Kluwer Academic Publishers 2000)
Expediting Drug & Biologics De velopment: A Strategic Approach. Ed. Ste ve
Linberg. ISBN 978–1882615766. (Parexel 2006)

299
300 Recommended Reading

Pharmaindustry and Biotech Indsutry

From Alchemy to IPO: The Business of Biotechnology. Robbins-Roth C.Basic

Books; 1 edition (April 10, 2001)
Drugs-From Discovery to Appro val. Ng, R W iley-Liss; 1 edition (January 2,
2004)
Science Business: The Promise, the Reality , and the Future of Biotech Pisano
G. Harvard Business School Press; 1 edition (November 14, 2006)
The Business of Healthcare Innovation. Burns LR. Cambridge University Press;
1 edition (September 19, 2005)
Inside the FDA: The Business and Politics Behind the Drugs W e Take and the
Food We Eat. Hawthorne F. Wiley; 1 edition (February 25, 2005)
Building Biotechnology: Starting, Managing, and Understanding Biotechnology
Companies - Business Development, Entrepreneurship, Careers, Investing,
Science, P atents and Re gulations. Friedman Y . Thinkbiotech; 2 edition
(August 1, 2006)
Science Lessons: What the Business of Biotech T aught Me About Management.
Binder G, Bashe P. Harvard Business School Press (April 15, 2008)

Pharmacology and Toxicology

Clinical Pharmacokinetics: Concepts & Clinical Applications. Ro wland M.

(3rd edition, Lippincott, W illiams & W ilkins, Baltimore, March
2006)
Introduction to Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics. T ozer TN,
Rowland M. ISBN 0781-75149-7 (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, February
2006)
Good Practice of Clinical Drug T rials. Spriet A, Dupin-Spriet P . 3 rd edition,
revised and expanded. ISBN 3-8055-77249 (Karger Publishers, 2005)
The Practice of Medicinal Chemistry . 2 nd edition, edited by Camille Geor ges
Wermuth. ISBN 978-0-12-374194-3 (Academic Press/Elsevier, Amsterdam,
2008)
Goodman & Gilman’ s The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics. ISBN
0-0713-5469-7 (McGraw Hill Publishing 2001).
The Dose Mak es the Poison. A plain language guide to toxicology . M Alice
Ottoboni. ISBN 0-442-02556-4 (Pub V an Nostrand Rheinhold,
1997)
Presenting Toxicology Results. How to evaluate date and write reports. Gerhard
Nohynek. ISBN 07848 0476 7 (Pub Taylor Francis 1996)
Recommended Reading 301

Clinical Trial Design

Modelling and Simulation in Clinical Drug Development. Rooney KL, Snoeck

E, Watson PA. Drug Discov Today 2001, 6 (15), 802–806
Biomarkers Definitions Working Group: Biomarkers and Surrogate Endpoints:
Preferred De finitions and Conceptual Frame work. Clin Pharmacol Ther
2001, 69 (3), 89–95.
Fundamentals of Clinical Trials. Friedman L M, Furberg C D, and DeMets D L.
3rd edition. ISBN 0-387-98586-7 (Springer-Verlag, New York, 1998)
Clinical Trials: A Methodologic Perspecti ve. Piantadosi S. 2 nd edition. (John
Wiley & Sons 2005)
Clinical Trials: A Practical Approach. Pocock S. (John W iley & Sons 1996;
reprints only: 2002)
Statistical Tables for the Design of Clinical Studies. Machin D, Campbell MJ.
(Oxford, Blackwell 1996)
Guide to Clinical T rials. Spilk er B. (Lippincott W illiamns & W ilkins 1991;
reprint only 2000)
The Use of Computer Assisted Design to Support Good Clinical Trials. Snoeck
E & Watson MB. Good Clinical Practice Journal Vol 6, No 5
Randomised Controlled Trials: Questions, Answers and Musings, 2nd Edition.
Jadad AR, Enkin MW. BMJ Books 2007
Designing Clinical Research; An epidemiologic approach. Hulle y SB at al.
Lippincott William Wilkins 3rd Ed. 2006
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research, Second Edition (Principles &
Practice of Clinical Research). Gallin JI, Ognibene F . Academic Press; 2
edition (May 8, 2007)

Introduction to Biostatistics

Primer of Biostatistics. Stanton A. Glantz. (McGra w-Hill Medical Publishing

2005)
Systematic Reviews in Health Care. Meta-analysis in context. Egger M, Smith
GD, Altman DG. ISBN 0-7279-1488-X (2nd edition, BMJ Books 2001)
Statistical Methods in Medical Research. (ICH 9 1999) via Web.
FAQ’s on Statistics in Clinical T rials. Grie ve AP . (Brookw ood Medical
Publications 1998)
Using and Understanding Medical Statistics. Matthe ws DE, F arewell VT .
3rd edition. ISBN 3-8055-6276. (Karger Publishers 1996)
Practical Statistics for Medical Research. Altman DG. ISBN
0-412-27630-5(Chapman and Hall 1991; reprint only: 1999, but 2nd edition
anticipated 2007)
302 Recommended Reading

How to Report Statistics in Medicine: Annotated Guidelines for Authors,

Editors, and Reviewers Paperback Lang TA, Secic M. American College of
Physicians; 2nd edition (December 30, 2006)

Odds Ratio, Relative Risks

Survival analysis. A Self-learning T ext. Kleinbaum DG. 2 nd edition. ISBN

0-387-23918-9 (Springer 2005)
Statistical Methods in Medical Research. Armitage P, Berry G et al. 4 th edition.
(2002)
Medical Statistics – A common-sense Approach. Campbell MJ & Machin D.
3rd editon. (John Wiley & Sons 1999)
Applied Re gression Analysis and Other Multi variable Methods. Kleinbaum
DG, K upper LL, Muller KE, Nizam A. ISBN 0-534-20910-6 (Duxb ury
1998)

Mantel-Haenszel Tests

Statistical Methods for Rates and Proportions. Fleiss JL (page 173). 3 rd edition.
(John Wiley & Sons 2003)

Sequential and Cross-Over Trials, Bayesian

and Frequentist Methods

Statistical Issues in Drug De velopment. Senn S. (John W iley & Sons 1997;
2nd edition anticipated 2007)
The Design and Analysis of Sequential Trials. Whitehead J revised 2nd edition.
(John Wiley & Sons 1997)

Epidemiology

Epidemiology in Medicine. Hennek ens CH, Buring JE. ISBN 0-316-35636-0

(Little, Brown 1987)
Modern Epidemiology. Rothman K, Greenland S, Lash TL. Lippincott Wilkins
2008
Epidemiology. L. Gordis. Saunders; 4 edition (May 14, 2008)
Recommended Reading 303

Clinical Epidemiology: The Essentials. Fletcher RH, Fletcher SW . Lippincott

Williams & Wilkins; Fourth Edition edition (March 1, 2005)

Health Economics/Pharmacoeconomics/Decision Analysis

Introduction to health economics for physicians. Meltzer MI Lancet

2001;358(9286):993–8
Decision Making in Health and Medicine. Hunink M, Glasziou P. ISBN 0-521-
77029-7 (Cambridge University Press 2001)
Methods for the Economic Evaluation of Health Care Programmes. Drummond
M et al. Oxford, 3rd Edition 2005.
Designing and Conducting Cost-Ef fectiveness Analyses in Medicine and
Health Care. Muennig P, Khan K Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (March 18, 2002)
Cost-effectiveness in Health and Medicine. Siegel JE, Russell LB, Weinstein
MC, Gold MR. ISBN 0-19-510824-8 (Oxford University Press 1996)
Medical Decision Making. Sox H. The American Colle ge of Physicians; 1st
edition (November 15, 2006)
Meta-Analysis, Decision Analysis, and Cost-Ef fectiveness Analysis: Methods
for Quantitative Synthesis in Medicine. Petitti DB. Oxford University Press,
USA; 2 edition (January 15, 2000)

Other

Glossary of terms used in Pharmaco vigilance; WHO Glossary08.doc. http://

ebookbrowse.com/glossary-revised-08-doc-d419740300
Useful Websites

International Bodies and Societies

CIOMS. Council for International Or ganizations of Medical Science. http://

www.cioms.ch/
DIA. Drug Information Association. http://www.diahome.org
DPMA. Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt. http://depatisnet.dpma.de
EFPIA. European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries Associations. http://
www.efpia.org
EFSA. European Food Safety Authority. http://www.efsa.eu.int/ In close collabo-
ration with national authorities and in open consultation with its stak eholders,
EFSA pro vides independent scienti fic advice and clear communication on
existing and emerging risks regarding food and feed safety.
EMA. European Medicines Agency. http://www.ema.europa.eu/
ENCePP. European Netw ork of Centres for Pharmacoepidemiology and
Pharmacovigilance. http://www.encepp.eu/
EPO. European Patent Office. http://worldwide.espacenet.com/
FDA. F ood and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/. Entry to FD A
guidelines on policy, procedures etc.

Common Website for the Human and Veterinary Medicines

Authorities in Europe

HMA. Heads of Medicines Agencies. http://www.hma.eu/

ICH. International Conference on Harmonisation. http://www.ICH.org/ web
site for ICH; synopsis of ICH guidelines and topics.
IFAPP. International Federation of Associations of Pharmaceutical Physicians.
http://www.ifapp.org
ISO. International Organization for Standardization. http://www.ICH.org/
ISOP. International Society of Pharmacovigilance. http://www.isoponline.org/

305
306 Useful Websites

NANDO. New Approach Noti fied and Designated Or ganisations Information

System (List of Noti fied Bodies in the EC). http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/
newapproach/nando/index.cfm?fuseaction = country.main
OECD. Or ganization for Economic Co-Operation and De velopment. http://
www.oecd.org/ehs/
RAPS. Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society Europe. www.raps.org
USPTP. United States Patent and Trademark Office. www.uspto.gov/
WHO. W orld Health Or ganisation. http://www.who.int/. W orld Health
Organisation, headquarter home page
Re
gional Of fi cefor Europe. http://www.who.ch/ http://www.who.dk
WHO Collaborating Centre for International Drug Monitoring Uppsala,
Sweden. http://www.who-umc.org
WMA. World Medical Association Inc. (Declaration of Helsinki). http://www.
wma.net .

Schools and Bodies Providing Postgraduate Training

for Pharmaceutical Physicians

ACRP. Association of Clinical Research Professionals. www.acrpnet.org .

Cardiff University, BrAPP course. http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/phrmy/degreepro-
grammes/postgraduate/pharmaceuticalmedicine/index.html . http://www.
cardiff.ac.uk/pharmy/index
DGPM. Deutsc he Gesellsc haft für Pharmazeutisc he Medizin. (former FÄPI ,
Fachgesellschaft der Ärzte in der Pharmazeutischen Industrie). www.
dgpharmed.de
ECPM. European Center of Pharmaceutical Medicine. http://www.ecpm.ch/
EUCRAF. European Center for Re gulatory Af fairs Freib urg. http://www.
eucraf.eu
GPM. Gesellschaft für Pharmazeutische Medizin e.V . http://www.gpmed.at
homepage of the Society for Pharmaceutical Medicine (Austria)
MEGRA. Mitteleur opäische Gesellsc haft für Re gulatory Af fairs e .V. http://
megra.org
SGPM/SwAPP. Schweizersche Gesellschaft für Pharmazeutische Medizin.
www.sgpm.ch and www.swapp.ch
ULB. Université Libre de Bruxelles / Vrije Universiteit Brussel. http://medinfo.
ulb.ac.be/pharmed .

Medical Websites, Dictionaries, Codes and Other

Science Oriented Web Sites

http://invention.swmed.edu/argh. acronyms and abbre viations; world’s largest

and most comprehensive catalogue of biomedical acron yms and abbrevia-
tions with nearly 260,000 entries;
Useful Websites 307

http://www.medlexicon.com. acron yms and abbre viations; contains around

200.000 abbreviations and acron yms, but also links to search engines lik e
allhealthnet.com, web sides of pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, pro-
fessional associations, health ministries, directories, journals, and consult-
ing companies with e-mail, f ax- and phone numbers or other useful
information.
http://www.infobiogen.fr/services/chromcancer/index.html. atlas on chromo-
somes involved in cancer;
http://www.reviewscience.com. antimicrobial database about antimicrobial
activities of pharmaceutical drugs and of compounds occurring in nature;
AMICBASE(−EssOil) displays the antimicrobial spectra of drugs, antibiot-
ics, compounds produced by higher plants etc.
http://www.madgc.org. autoimmune diseases; website maintained by a group
of leading genetic researchers who have joined efforts to identify and under-
stand the genes that autoimmune diseases have in common;
http://www.orpha.net/consor/cgi-bin/index.php portal of rare diseases and
orphan drugs;
http://www.hon.ch/HONselect/RareDiseases/ list of rare diseases with terms in
English, French, German, Spain and Portuguese.
http://www.dimdi.de/germ/klassi/icdg/fr-icdg.htm . classi fi cationof diseases
(ICD); website of DIMDI (Deutsches Insitut für Medizinische
Dokumentation und Information) with access to the International
Classification of Diseases ICD-10 (in German) and all older versions of the
ICD (downloadable);
http://www.cochrane.org. The Cochrane Collaboration, an international not-
for-profit organization, providing up-to-date information about the ef fects
of health care;
http://dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov/Health_Information/IBIDS.aspx .
dietary supplements data base; o ver 700,000 citations on dietary supple-
ments; source of information on vitamin, mineral, phytochemical, botani-
cal, and herbal supplements in human nutrition;
http://afen.onelook.com. dictionary; 13,090,565 w ords in 1100 dictionaries
indexed, including special medical terms, glossary of oncology terms, etc.
http://www.yourdictionary.com. dictionary with de finitions, thesaurus entries,
spelling, pronunciation, and etymology results; one can browse the English
dictionary alphabetically or by related terms to find meanings and syn-
onyms. In addition, YourDictionary provides resources to find the best dic-
tionary and translation sites for French, Spanish, Italian, German and
hundreds of other languages; about e very language on the w orld can be
found here, from Bengali to Lithuanian; the site includes both language and
specialised dictionaries (medicine, law etc.) and 96 grammars;
http://www.hyperdictionary.com/medical/ Medical Dictionary providing expla-
nations of various medical terms and diseases.
308 Useful Websites

http://www.cancer.gov/dictionary/ Dictionary of Cancer Terms; contains more

than 4,000 terms related to cancer and medicine
http://www.virtualhealthlibrary.org/php/index.php?lang=en. homepage of the
Virtual Health Library; provides access to databases of Medline, Cochrane
etc.
http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmanual/ Merck Manual; searchable access
to The Merck Manual with a lot of information such as normal laboratory
values, disease,
http://rxlist.com. medicinal products; a very complete searchable crossindex of
almost 5,000 US prescription products, O TCs and nurtraceuticals; permits
fuzzy search for generic or brand name drug b ut also for NDC code search
and medical abbreviations.
http://www.whocc.no/atc_ddd_index/ a searchable v ersion of the complete
ATC index with DDDs maintained by WHO; search options enable to find
ATC codes and DDDs for substance name and/or ATC levels;
http://www.hardlink.com/~tsute/bacteria/index.html microbiology; informa-
tion on many aspects of microbiology incl. bacterial genera
http://www.bacterio.cict.fr microbiology; list of prokaryotic names with stand-
ing in nomenclature (LPSN); hyperlinked information such as descriptions
of a particular species/genus and references;
http://www.oecd.org/ OECD, Or ganisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development
http://www.lenntech.com/periodic-chart.htm periodic table – chart of all chem-
ical elements;
http://www.mhc.com/Cytochromes/Links.HTML P450 and P-glycoprotein
Drug Interactions Web Sites;
http://medicine.iupui.edu/clinpharm/ddis/cytochrome P450 Drug Interactions
table;
http://www.cypalleles.ki.se/ home page of the Human Cytochrome P450 (CYP)
Allele Nomenclature Committee, allele nomenclature for Cytochrome P450
enzymes;
http://www.rarediseases.org website of the National Or ganisation for Rare
Disorders (NORD) with information on 1,150 diseases that can be accessed
in a free or subscription version;
http://medicine.wustl.edu/%7Evirologyviruses; information on viruses, incl.
structure and biology;
http://www.eudrapharm.eu a database for independent information about all
medicines, both human and v eterinary, available to Europeans, no matter
whether these medicines have been authorised at EU or national level.
http://www.healthcalculators.org/index.html free access to various risk calcula-
tors such as for diabetes.
http://www.ehealthme.com/drug_interactions_checker drug interactions
checker, operated free of charge by eHealthMe ,identi fi esdrug interactions,
side effects, and interacting drugs.
Useful Websites 309

Important Guidelines

EMA
http://www.emea.eu.int/index/indexh1.htm. Website of the EMEA for the latest
updates of Community/ICH guidelines (Re gulatory Guidance and
Procedures – Notes for Guidance).
www.ema.europa.eu/Inspections/index.html. GMP, GCP or GLP inspections

EU
EuropeanUnion http://ec.europa.eu/health/documents/eudralex/index_en.htm .
EudraLex – The Rules Go verning Medicinal Products in the European
Union.

FDA
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/CFR/. Code of Federal Regulations
www.fda.gov/RegulatoryInformation/Guidances/default.htm. FDA Guidances
www.fda.gov/ora/compliance_ref/part11. Office of Regulatory Affairs.
Compliance References: Title 21 CFR Part 11
www.21cfrpart11.com . www .21cfrpart11.com/ fi les/library
government/21cfrpart11_ fi nal_rule.pdf21 .CFR Part 11

Other
Declarationof Helsinki. http://www.wma.net/e/policy/b3.htm
CommonToxicity Criteria. http://ctep.cancer.gov/reporting/ctc.htm
Drug Development and Drug Interactions. http://ctep.cancer.gov/reporting/ctc.
html
CommonTechnical Document. http://www.ich.org/cache/compo/1325-272-1.
html - http://www.fda.gov/cber/gollns/m4ctd.pdf