US FDA draft Guidance Standard for Clinical Trial Imaging Endpoints: more than just imaging?

The current cost of developing a successful drug is typically over a billion dollars, with the registration trial(s) determining the success or failure of the entire development program. Often the primary endpoint of these trials is a subjective assessment. For registration trials with subjective endpoints, a regulatory agency may require a blinded independent central review (BICR) of the trial data. The BICR is a mechanism to reduce bias in open-labeled trials and to potentially increase accuracy and precision. A decision tree algorithm has been developed that can be used to determine when and what type of a BICR is needed. The US FDA draft Guidance Standard for Clinical Trial Imaging Endpoints can be used as an effective process map in exploring the value and use of BICRs in imaging, and in any hard to interpret variable subjective assessment in general.