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GUIDANCE DOCUMENT

Protocol Deviations for Clinical Investigations of Drugs, Biological Products, and Devices December 2024

Download the Draft Guidance Document Read the Federal Register Notice
Draft Level 1 Guidance

Not for implementation. Contains non-binding recommendations.

This guidance is being distributed for comment purposes only.

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Although you can comment on any guidance at any time (see 21 CFR 10.115(g)(5)), to ensure that the FDA considers your comment on a draft guidance before it begins work on the final version of the guidance, submit either online or written comments on the draft guidance before the close date.

If unable to submit comments online, please mail written comments to:

Dockets Management
Food and Drug Administration
5630 Fishers Lane, Rm 1061
Rockville, MD 20852

All written comments should be identified with this document's docket number: FDA-2023-D-5016

Docket Number:
FDA-2023-D-5016
Issued by:
Guidance Issuing Office
Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research
Center for Devices and Radiological Health
Oncology Center of Excellence

This guidance provides recommendations to assist sponsors, clinical investigators, and institutional review boards (IRBs) in defining, identifying, and reporting protocol deviations in clinical investigations. FDA regulations do not include a definition of the term protocol deviation or provide a system for classifying the various types of deviations that may occur during the conduct of a clinical investigation. A system that applies consistent classification, reporting, and documentation standards is important to assure the most interpretable and useful information emerges from the reporting of protocol deviations. To address these considerations, this guidance includes definitions for protocol deviations and important protocol deviations, recommendations on the types of protocol deviations that sponsors should report to FDA in clinical study reports for drugs and devices, recommendations on the types of protocol deviations that investigators should report to sponsors and to IRBs, and recommendations for IRBs in their evaluation of protocol deviations.

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