Botanical Drug IND Pathway
Modern herbal medicines, particularly those formulated as pills or capsules and supported by extensive historical real-world clinical experience, are ideal candidates for botanical drug development in the U.S. prescription market. By leveraging herbal medicines with well-established safety and efficacy profiles in international markets, pharmaceutical companies can potentially reduce the risks, time, and costs associated with drug discovery and development.
While the number of approved botanical drugs is currently limited, the FDA's Botanical Drug Development Guidance for Industry provides clear and actionable directions for conducting botanical INDs. The limited number of approved botanical drug products more related to following factors:
The concept of "botanical drugs" is still relatively new, and there has been insufficient investment in this area.
The guidance has only recently gained broader industry recognization, and developing a drug product is a lengthy process, often exceeding a decade. Numerous botanical drug candidates are currently in FDA IND process.
Botanical drug APIs are the full-spectrum extractions from plants. This poses a challenge for chemists who are more experienced with single-molecule drug development.
The FDA's Botanical Guidance offers a clear pathway for transforming herbal medicines into prescription botanical drugs, unlocking new opportunities for innovation and growth in the prescription drug market.