Regulatory Rapporteur, the journal for regulators, focus in May ( Vol 14, No 5, May 2017) at the older populations. Consulting editors Richard Huckle and Anita Sibal for this edition say:
First considerations with the design and development of medicines are not with the older population in mind, despite them contributing significantly to overall pharmaceutical sales and having the longest contributions into healthcare sectors. As with all populations, there are many considerations and practical aspects to be addressed when designing medicines. For the older generation, as well as safety and efficacy of the medicine itself, a patient friendly tablet design, easy-to-use packaging and ease of review of information leaflets, even down to details of font size, are all important considerations. This patient population also requires specifically targeted risk minimisation materials as well as education for healthcare professionals, patients and care providers. All these factors and much more have been addressed in our three focus articles on older adult populations. These articles include an interview provided by Dr Diana Van Riet, senior assessor at the Netherlands MEB, and a co-author of “Regulatory incentives to ensure better medicines for older people: From ICH E7 to the EMA reflection paper on quality aspects” (International Journal of Pharmaceutics, Volume 512, Issue 2, 30 October 2016). This informative and wide-reaching interview discusses the importance of collaboration with all stakeholders to include patient groups, healthcare professionals, care-givers as well as regulatory and HTA assessors, and pharmaceutical companies.