Aptiv Solutions Improves Accuracy of Dose Escalation Studies with Launch of ADDPLAN® DF 3.0

Major Pharmaceutical Companies Serving in ADDPLAN DF Consortium Providing Early Feedback

Dublin, Ireland (PRWEB) May 13, 2014

ICON plc ICLR, today announced that Aptiv Solutions, an ICON plc company leading the design and implementation of adaptive trials, has released ADDPLAN® DF 3.0, which incorporates complex statistical methodologies to prevent under and over-estimation of a therapeutic's maximum target dose (MTD) during Phase I dose escalation trials. Accurate estimation of MTD minimises safety and efficacy issues leading to late phase clinical trial failures and is of particular importance for oncology, which has one of the highest Phase III attrition rates among all major therapeutic classes.

“Inaccurate dose selection in Phase I can place a ceiling on drug efficacy in all subsequent phases, potentially dooming a good drug, or expose patients to needlessly high and harmful doses. Operational tools that improve accuracy of Phase I trials is a major objective for drug developers,” says Professor Andy Grieve, Senior Vice President of Clinical Trial Methodology at Aptiv Solutions.

The pharmaceutical industry is well aware that the traditional 3+3 approach, which is still used in more than 95% of Phase I trials, is slow and often underestimates the MTD. Alternative model-based approaches, such as the continual reassessment method (CRM) and the modified toxicity probability interval (mTPI) approach, have broader appeal. Regulatory agencies are supportive of the development of innovative dose escalation procedures. For example, Sue-Jane Wang of the Office of Biostatistics at the FDA co-authored a recent publication in the Journal of Clinical Oncology on the mTPI methodology.

Despite clear advantages, adoption of these model-based approaches has been slow due to the intensive programming required for confident implementation and avoidance of MTD over-estimation. Aptiv Solutions developed ADDPLAN DF 3.0 to provide a validated platform for simulating and comparing dose escalation designs without the need for intensive programming. The software, which benefited from beta testing feedback from ADDPLAN DF Consortium members at Eli Lilly, Janssen, and Novartis, simulates and allows comparison of the 3+3, mTPI, classical CRM, and a modified CRM approach known as Bayesian logistic regression with overdose control. The latter methodology was originally developed by Novartis.

“Several dose escalation methods exist but without a tool to compare these methods, the effectiveness of Phase I studies is significantly reduced. Simulations comparing the impact of dose-response assumptions, dose selection rules, and stopping rules increase the transparency of these methods and help statisticians select the appropriate dose escalation design,” says Grieve. “ADDPLAN DF 3.0 is a robust tool to help resolve dose-related drug failures and supports the industry's push to adopt innovative design and execution strategies to improve drug development.”

Executing adaptive designs in Phase I and beyond can require sophisticated logistics and robust firewalls to maintain trial integrity. ADDPLAN DF software provides direct integration with AptivAdvantage®, the leading real-time execution technology platform for seamless implementation of dose adaptations and operational modifications in adaptive design trials.

In addition to its utility for Phase I studies, ADDPLAN DF is the first validated software to utilise the EMA-qualified MCP-Mod methodology for more accurate analysis of Phase II dose-finding designs. The ADDPLAN DF Consortium members are currently collaborating to develop the first toolset for applying the MCP-Mod methodology to adaptive trial designs, expected in late 2014.

Earlier this year, the FDA, EMA, and PMDA licensed the ADDPLAN family of innovative software for the design, simulation, and analysis of adaptive clinical trials.

The ADDPLAN DF development team, led by Grieve, has published a white paper on Phase I dose escalation designs, titled “ADDPLAN® DF for Designing More Accurate Dose Escalation Studies in Exploratory Drug Development,” that is available at http://www.aptivsolutions.com/ADDPLAN-DF-Dose-Escalation-White-Paper.

About ICON plc
ICON plc is a global provider of outsourced development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. The company specialises in the strategic development, management and analysis of programs that support clinical development - from compound selection to Phase I-IV clinical studies. ICON currently has approximately 10,300 employees, operating from 76 locations in 37 countries.
Further information is available at http://www.iconplc.com

About Aptiv Solutions
Aptiv Solutions, an ICON plc company, is a global development services company focused on enhancing clinical trial decision-making and development through the design, simulation and execution of adaptive clinical trials and a novel statistical sampling approach to risk-based monitoring. These services span the entire product development cycle from first in human through regulatory approval to post-marketing. Learn more at http://www.aptivsolutions.com.

About ADDPLAN®
ADDPLAN is the leading fully validated statistical design, simulation and analysis software for adaptive clinical trials and is widely used by regulatory agencies and the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. It is available in the following modules:

•     ADDPLAN Base: Adaptive group sequential designs and sample size re‐estimation
•     ADDPLAN MC: Adaptive multiple comparison procedures
•     ADDPLAN PE: Adaptive population enrichment designs
•     ADDPLAN DF: Adaptive dose finding designs (including MCP-Mod)

For additional details about ADDPLAN software, including eLearning modules, pricing and ordering information, visit http://www.aptivsolutions.com/addplan-software/.

Contact:

Media Inquiries
Ryan Ferrell
Tel: +1 312.506.5202
Email: ryan(dot)ferrell(at)hdmz(dot)com

Alan Zachary, Ph.D.
Tel: +1 312.506.5220
Email: alan(dot)zachary(at)hdmz(dot)com

Niamh Murphy
Tel: +353-1-2912000
Email: Niamh(dot)murphy(at)iconplc(dot)com

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/5/prweb11845049.htm