Drug interaction studies on new drug applications: current situations and regulatory views in Japan

Drug interaction studies on new drug applications (NDAs) for new molecular entities (NMEs) approved in Japan between 1997 and 2008 are examined in the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA). The situations of drug interaction studies in NDAs have changed over the past 12 years, especially in metabolizing enzyme and transporter-based drug interactions. Materials and approaches to study drug-metabolizing enzyme-based drug interactions have improved, and become more rational based on mechanistic theory and new technologies. On the basis of incremental evidence of transporter roles in human pharmacokinetics, transporter-based drug interactions have been increasingly studied during drug development and submitted in recent NDAs. Some recently approved NMEs include transporter-based drug interaction information in their package inserts (PIs). The regulatory document "Methods of Drug Interaction Studies," in addition to recent advances in science and technology, has also contributed to plan and evaluation of drug interaction studies in recent new drug development. This review summarizes current situations and further discussion points on drug interaction studies in NDAs in Japan.