<img alt="" src="https://secure.lote1otto.com/219869.png" style="display:none;">
Skip to content

Non-Compartmental Analysis and the Early Phase Regulatory Environment

 details

By Esha Senchaudhuri

With thanks also to Jitendarreddy Seelam and Ramanatha Saralaya for their input.

The fact of the matter is that I now want to recall everything, every trifle, every little detail. I still want to collect my thoughts and - I can't, and now there are these little details, these little details...”
― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Meek One

Old Fyodor was hardly talking about clinical trials, but early phase trial sponsors can probably relate to a regulatory environment which requires systematic attention to details, the little details and all these little details. When conducting early phase studies, global regulators require submission of Non -Compartmental Analyses (NCAs) that measure factors such as extent and rate of exposure to a drug, without the complexity of strenuous assumptions or complex models. Through the use of rudimentary methods such as linear trapezoidal rules, NCAs make it relatively easy to measure the concentration of a drug in a body over time. They can capture length of exposure, and time of peak exposure, without the challenges of models that require independent validation [1]. While those other models are also becoming more common in quantitative pharmacometrics, ideally NCAs can complement these other methods.


It may be tempting to assume that due to the ease of measurement, it is unnecessary to invest in statistical expertise and reliable software for NCAs. While the calculations may not be as complex as other forms of pharmacometric modeling, taking shortcuts at this stage can prove problematic later on. 
Widely recognized for being ‘assumption-free’ [1] NCAs are a common subject of regulatory inquiries. Exposure and absorption data is obviously important for early phase trials, so NCAs are required for submission throughout the process. A strong data management system with reliable software can ensure that findings collected at this stage are streamlined across several early phase trials, making such information easy to access and ensuring a rapid response for regulators. Further, NCAs are often required to be submitted with early protocols making it useful to have statistical designers familiar with the NCA findings. As NCAs are an integral part of establishing an early phase audit trail, it is important to use NCA software that streamlines a detailed and complex workflow such as Phoenix WinNonlin. 


Accurate NCAs can combine with other forms of quantitative pharmacometric models like PK/PD analysis to build strong dose-response models for Phase 2. It is common knowledge that unreliable dose-response models in Phase 2 can create headaches for Phase 3 tests. Only 13.2% of Phase 3 trials that are accepted after initial rejection, are rejected on grounds of efficacy. More common reasons are dose selection, choice of endpoints, and other challenges that better Phase 2 modeling can prevent [2]. Working with statistical experts as early as Phase 1 can ensure that knowledge gleaned from NCAs can be employed to build stronger Phase 2 models, thus avoiding Phase 3 pitfalls.


Cytel has a dedicated team that has developed efficiencies and experience in early phase trials, including Non-Compartmental analyses. To learn more about our capabilities in this area, please click on the button below.

NCA
[1] Gabrielsson, J. and Weiner, D., 2012. Non-compartmental analysis. In Computational toxicology (pp. 377-389). Humana Press, Totowa, NJ.
[2] Sacks, L.V., Shamsuddin, H.H., Yasinskaya, Y.I., Bouri, K., Lanthier, M.L. and Sherman, R.E., 2014. Scientific and regulatory reasons for delay and denial of FDA approval of initial applications for new drugs, 2000-2012. Jama, 311(4), pp.378-384.

 

contact iconSubscribe back to top