U.S. flag An official website of the United States government
  1. Home
  2. Science & Research
  3. Science and Research Special Topics
  4. Real-World Evidence
  5. Real-World Evidence Submissions to the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
  1. Real-World Evidence

Real-World Evidence Submissions to the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research

As part of the reauthorization of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA VII), FDA committed to reporting aggregate and anonymized information on submissions to the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) and the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) that contain real-world evidence (RWE).

The tables below describe submissions to CDER containing RWE that meet reporting criteria. This report is not intended to include all submissions to CDER containing analyses of real-world data (RWD). Columns will be added annually to represent submissions by fiscal year (FY) from FYs 2023 through 2027.

Overview

The table below provides an overview of submissions to CDER containing RWE by category. A study that generates RWE may be reflected in more than one category depending on the status of the study.

CategoryFY 2023FY 2024
Protocola1011
New drug application (NDA)/biologics license application (BLA)b41
Final study report to satisfy a postmarketing requirement (PMR) or postmarketing commitment (PMC)cn/ad5

a Submission of an interventional study protocol to an IND or submission of a non-interventional study protocol to an existing IND or to a pre-IND.
b NDA and BLA submissions are reported in the fiscal year in which FDA took regulatory action.
c Final study reports to satisfy a PMR or PMC are reported in the fiscal year in which FDA determines that the PMR or PMC was satisfied.
d Does not include submissions before FY 2023. There were no final study reports to satisfy a PMR or PMC submitted in FY 2023 for which FDA took regulatory action in FY 2023.


Protocols

The table below describes the characteristics of new protocols containing RWD as well as protocol amendments that added RWD to a study that did not previously include RWD. The numbers include submissions of interventional study protocols to an IND and submissions of non-interventional study protocols to an existing IND or to a pre-IND. The numbers do not include protocols or protocol amendments submitted only as part of a background package for a meeting with FDA. Protocols are reported in the fiscal year during which they are submitted.

Primary FocusaFY 2023FY 2024
Effectiveness12
Safety99

Intended Regulatory PurposebFY 2023FY 2024
To support the demonstration of safety and/or effectiveness for a product not previously approved by FDA00
To support labeling changes for an approved product, including:00
  • Add or modify an indication
00
  • Change dose, dose regimen, or route of administration
00
  • Expand the labeled indication of the product to a new population
00
  • Add comparative effectiveness information
00
  • Add or modify safety information
00
To satisfy a PMR69
To satisfy a PMC42

Data SourcebFY 2023FY 2024
Electronic health records34
Medical claims67
Product, disease, or other registryc31
Digital health technologies in non-research settings00
Otherd03

Study DesignFY 2023FY 2024
Randomized controlled trial00
Externally controlled trial00
Non-interventional (observational) study1011
Other00

NDAs/BLAs

The table below describes the characteristics of studies containing RWD to generate RWE submitted to CDER in an original or supplemental NDA or BLA. An NDA or BLA may include more than one relevant study. Each NDA and BLA is reported in the fiscal year during which a regulatory action is taken.

Primary FocusaFY 2023FY 2024
Effectiveness32
Safety10

Intended Regulatory PurposebFY 2023FY 2024
To support the demonstration of safety and/or effectiveness for a product not previously approved by FDA22
To support labeling changes for an approved product, including:20
  • Add or modify an indication
10
  • Change dose, dose regimen, or route of administration
10
  • Expand the labeled indication of the product to a new population
00
  • Add comparative effectiveness information
00
  • Add or modify safety information
00

Data SourcebFY 2023FY 2024
Electronic health records22
Medical claims00
Product, disease, or other registryc10
Digital health technologies in non-research settings00
Otherd20

Study DesignFY 2023FY 2024
Randomized controlled trial10
Externally controlled trial20
Non-interventional (observational) study12
Other00

NDA/BLA Approvals

The table below includes information on NDA/BLA approvals based, at least in part, on RWE. For additional information, see Drugs@FDA.

Approval DateDrug NameCompany
December 21, 2022Actemra (tocilizumab)Genentech
April 28, 2023Vimpat (lacosamide)UCB Inc.
February 13, 2024Aurlumyn (iloprost)Eicos Sciences, Inc.

Final Study Reports to Satisfy a PMR or PMC

The table below describes the characteristics of studies containing RWD to generate RWE submitted to CDER as final study reports to satisfy a PMR or PMC. Final study reports to satisfy a PMR or PMC are reported in the fiscal year during which FDA determines that the PMR or PMC was satisfied.  There were no final study reports to satisfy a PMR or PMC submitted in FY 2023 for which FDA took regulatory action in FY 2023, so that column is omitted from the table below.

Primary FocusaFY 2024
Effectiveness0
Safety5

Intended Regulatory PurposebFY 2024
To support the demonstration of safety and/or effectiveness for a product not previously approved by FDA0
To support labeling changes for an approved product, including:0
  • Add or modify an indication
0
  • Change dose, dose regimen, or route of administration
0
  • Expand the labeled indication of the product to a new population
0
  • Add comparative effectiveness information
0
  •  Add or modify safety information
0
To satisfy a PMR5
To satisfy a PMC0

Data Sourceb FY 2024
Electronic health records2
Medical claims4
Product, disease, or other registryc1
Digital health technologies in non-research settings0
Otherd1

Study Design FY 2024
Randomized controlled trial 0
Externally controlled trial0
Non-interventional (observational) study5
Other0


aStudies often provide information on both effectiveness and safety. For this report, a study was classified as “safety” if it was conducted primarily to assess a known or potential safety risk. All other studies were classified as “effectiveness.”
bA study may have more than one regulatory purpose or data source and therefore may be included in more than one category.
cThe term “registry” is sometimes used to refer to a non-interventional cohort study that is intended to address a specific regulatory question in a targeted population. For such studies, this report provides the original source(s) of study data.
dIncludes patient-level data from publications and national death records.

Back to Top