Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies With Elements to Assure Safe Use

The Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 gave the FDA the authority to require drug sponsors to submit a risk evaluation and mitigation strategies (REMS) program for those medicines with serious risks such that failure to effectively manage these risks would tip the benefit-risk balance. As of August 8, 2013, the 34 distinct individual and shared REMS programs that have specific elements to assure safe use (ETASU) were reviewed to ascertain the types of risks managed, the goals of the REMS, and the tools that were employed targeting prescribers, health care facilities, pharmacists, and particular conditions for safe use. Most REMS (65%) have a combination of risk mitigation and educational goals, but 4 REMS programs (12%) have exclusively educational goals. Preventing fetotoxicity (25%) is the most common risk managed by REMS with ETASU. Seventy-nine percent of ETASU REMS employ prescriber-based tools that include performing laboratory testing (eg, pregnancy, hepatic enzymes) or monitoring (eg, ophthalmologic examinations, documenting vaccination). The goals of REMS programs should focus on measurable behaviors that directly reduce risk. The tools that are employed should create the appropriate conditions for safe use. With the number of programs and the plethora of tools applied, serious consideration should be given to better integration of risk management into health care and pharmacy systems that are best equipped to manage such risks.