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Approval Status and Regulatory Actions for Radiopharmaceuticals in the United States and Japan

  • International Regulatory Science
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Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify the differences between Japan and the United States in the approval status and regulatory actions for radiopharmaceuticals. The package inserts of radiopharmaceuticals that have been approved in the United States and Japan were used to investigate the status of approval in each country, examining the similarities and differences thereof and taking the regulatory systems of the 2 countries into account. Results revealed that since 1995, fewer products have been approved in Japan than in the United States: 16 radiopharmaceuticals have been approved in the United States, compared to only 7 in Japan. Although the clinical evaluation methodology for radiopharmaceuticals is still being developed, study results suggest that international harmonization of the regulatory systems and manufacturing controls for positron emission tomography drugs will be important for the development of such drugs in multinational countries, including Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Joint Graduate School of Tokyo Women’s Medical University and Waseda University, 8-1 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 162-8666, Japan

    Nobuyuki Hanamura MS, MBA & Atsushi Aruga MD, PhD

Authors
  1. Nobuyuki Hanamura MS, MBA
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  2. Atsushi Aruga MD, PhD
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Correspondence to Atsushi Aruga MD, PhD.

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Hanamura, N., Aruga, A. Approval Status and Regulatory Actions for Radiopharmaceuticals in the United States and Japan. Ther Innov Regul Sci 48, 635–643 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1177/2168479014524406

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2168479014524406

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