Clinical Trial Application (CTA) Submissions

Clinical Trial Application (CTA) Submissions – An Overview

A Clinical Trial Application (CTA) is a Regulatory dossier that is submitted to the Health Authority (HA) of the country in which a sponsor would like to conduct clinical trials with Investigational Medicinal Products (IMPs) or with approved drugs to explore new indications. To obtain clinical trial authorization, a CTA application must be submitted with all the required documentation per the regulations of the competent HA. The regulations and safety reporting requirements for clinical trials vary from one country to another.

In the case of the US FDA, a Clinical Trial Application (CTA) is submitted in the form of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application, whereas for MHRA (UK) and the EU Member States, such requirements include the submission of the Investigational Medicinal Product Dossier (IMPD) along with the Clinical Trial Authorization application. In Canada and most of the world countries, a clinical trial authorization application is commonly referred to as a Clinical Trial Application (CTA).

In general, a Clinical Trial Application (CTA) contains information on the quality, safety, and efficacy (or proposed therapeutic uses) of the investigational drug. The Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) and safety/efficacy data requirements will vary based on the phase of the clinical trial conducted (i.e., Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III). Once submitted, the CTA shall be reviewed by the respective HA. Upon satisfactory review and evaluation of the information submitted in a CTA, the sponsor will receive formal authorization from HAs to conduct the proposed clinical trials. The Regulatory requirements for different phases of clinical trials and the type of study population are divergent in different countries of the world.

The general challenges in conducting clinical trials are planning clinical trials, CTA/IMPD/IND application preparation, and submission as per country-specific regulations. In the case of global clinical trials (trials in multiple countries), integration of the Regulatory process (CTA submission in multiple countries) with clinical material manufacturing/supply logistics & engagement with clinical trial sites is crucial and requires prior experience and thorough knowledge of CTA filing process in each country.

Moreover, the right Clinical Trial Management System (CTMS) with Clinical Data Management Systems (CDMS) is essential to effectively conduct clinical trials and for clinical data management from multiple trials/sites.

Freyr assists sponsors in the planning, preparation, and submission of CTA in different countries for varied types of medicinal products such as small molecules, recombinant protein products, vaccines, cellular and gene therapy products, etc.