Pandemic Prompts Call for ‘Playbook’ to Spur Better Drug Studies

The public health agencies need to spur greater use of well-designed drug studies to get quicker answers about potential treatments for the next emergency, the FDA’s biologics head said.

Peter Marks’ remarks echo calls from acting agency Commissioner Janet Woodcock for a revamped clinical trials network that can quickly randomize patients to generate evidence on what treatments are working. His comments stem in part from criticism over how the agency handled convalescent plasma, a potential Covid-19 therapy that was later found to be ineffective.

“I’m hoping for the next time we will have a playbook perhaps that will let us ...