As the world grapples with the newest version of the coronavirus, regulatory agencies across the globe are reacting with a number of moves, mostly to relax existing regulatory requirements. In contrast, the European Medicines Agency is considering a delay in the implementation date of the as-yet unimplemented Medical Device Regulations, a change that would ease device makers’ concerns on several fronts.
MedTech Europe had posted a plea for a delay from the implementation date, originally set for May 26, 2020, citing the need to address the COVID-19 pandemic. However, device makers were already wary of the practicalities of that original implementation date, largely because of the difficulty in enlisting a sufficient number of notified bodies. The association’s plea was seconded by a range of members of the European Parliament, who made the case that the priority should be device availability until the pandemic becomes manageable.
The proposal to delay implementation for a year was announced March 25, with the acknowledgement that the notion would have to clear the European Parliament. MedTech Europe lent the development its full-throated support, stating March 25 that this change would allow industry to maintain the pressure on the pandemic. Nonetheless, MedTech Europe made the argument that a similar delay is called for in connection with the In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation as well, given the demands of the pandemic on the testing capacity in the EU member states.
Congress Pressing FDA on Serological Testing
The FDA has granted emergency use authorization to a number of diagnostics for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but until recently, those have all been molecular tests conducted with polymerase chain reaction methods. That approach has drawn the interest of at least one member of Congress, who is urging the FDA to take a more active role in ensuring that serological testing becomes more widely available.
Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), who is a member of several subcommittees of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in an April 10 statement that she had previously made known her views on serological testing to several senior Trump administration officials. She said serological testing for antibodies will prove crucial in returning the country to more routine economic activity, and urged FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn to press the case for serological testing with President Trump. Specifically, DeGette recommended that Hahn suggest the use of the Defense Production Act to boost production of the equipment and supplies needed for serological testing, which would allow those who have already been exposed and have recovered to return to work without incurring any undue hazard.
DeGette may or may not be concerned about the FDA’s stance on the question of false positives associated with serological testing, but the agency said in an April 7 statement that it has been in contact with more than 70 test developers about serological tests. The statement, attributed to Hahn, acknowledges the role that serological tests will play in the months ahead, but also points to concerns about false claims regarding FDA approval or emergency authorization.
Whether the FDA has sufficient data to back the use of serological testing as a population-level surveillance strategy is not entirely clear, but it has an ally in that effort in the form of the National Institutes of Health. NIH said in an April 10 statement that it will commence with a study of the presence of antibodies for SARS-CoV-2 in those who have had no prior confirmed diagnosis, but there is a question of how quickly these data will become available.
According to the NIH, the study will enroll as many as 10,000 subjects who will be consented via telephone, although enrollment is limited to those aged 18 years and older. The study will tests for two immunoglobulins via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and enrollees can handle the blood draw via a home collection kit. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the study should shed light on the “true magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic” by characterizing the rate of non-diagnosed illness.
The registration of this study at clinicaltrials.gov indicates that enrollment may be completed with as few as 1,000 patients despite the ten-fold higher number noted in the NIH press release. Whether the final enrollment volume will be closer to the lower or upper stated enrollment targets will not be clear for some time, as the estimated primary completion date is March 31, 2022, the same date as the projected full study completion date.