[Response of Pharmaceutical Companies to the Crisis of Post-Marketing Clinical Trials of Anti-Cancer Agents -- Results of Questionnaires to Pharmaceutical Companies].

Investigator-oriented post-marketing clinical trials of anti-cancer agents are faced to financial crisis due to drastic decrease in research-funds from pharmaceutical companies caused by a scandal in 2013. In order to assess the balance of research funds between 2012 and 2014, we made queries to 26 companies manufacturing anti-cancer agents, and only 10 of 26 responded to our queries. Decrease in the fund was observed in 5 of 10, no change in 1, increase in 3 and no answer in 1. Companies showed passive attitude to carry out doctor-oriented clinical trials of off-patent drugs or unapproved drugs according to advanced medical care B program, though some companies answered to proceed approved routines of these drugs if clinical trials showed good results. Most companies declined to make comments on the activity of Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED), but some insisted to produce good corroboration between AMED and pharmaceutical companies in order to improve the quality of trials. Further corroboration must be necessary for this purpose among researchers, governmental administrative organs, pharmaceutical companies, patients' groups, and mass-media.