E6: Essential Documents

Question 1

Essential Documents

8.1

a.

Answer 1

Essential Documents are those documents which individually and collectively permit evaluation of the conduct of a trial and the quality of the data produced. These documents serve to demonstrate the compliance of the investigator, sponsor and monitor with the standards of Good Clinical Practice and with all applicable regulatory requirements.

Question 2

Essential Documents

8.1

b.

Answer 2

Essential Documents also serve a number of other important purposes. Filing essential documents at the investigator/institution and sponsor sites in a timely manner can greatly assist in the successful management of a trial by the investigator, sponsor and monitor. These documents are also the ones which are usually audited by the sponsor’s independent audit function and inspected by the regulatory authority(ies) as part of the process to confirm the validity of the trial conduct and the integrity of data collected.

Question 3

Essential Documents

8.1

c.

Answer 3

The minimum list of essential documents which has been developed follows. The various documents are grouped in three sections according to the stage of the trial during which they will normally be generated: 1) before the clinical phase of the trial commences, 2) during the clinical conduct of the trial, and 3) after completion or termination of the trial. A description is given of the purpose of each document, and whether it should be filed in either the investigator/institution or sponsor files, or both. It is acceptable to combine some of the documents, provided the individual elements are readily identifiable.

Question 4

Essential Documents

8.1

d.

Answer 4

Trial master files should be established at the beginning of the trial, both at the investigator/institution’s site and at the sponsor’s office. A final close-out of a trial can only be done when the monitor has reviewed both investigator/institution and sponsor files and confirmed that all necessary documents are in the appropriate files.

Question 5

Essential Documents

8.1

e.

Answer 5

Any or all of the documents addressed in this guideline may be subject to, and should be available for, audit by the sponsor’s auditor and inspection by the regulatory authority(ies).

Question 6

Essential Documents

8.1

f.

Answer 6

The sponsor and investigator/institution should maintain a record of the location(s) of their respective essential documents including source documents. The storage system used during the trial and for archiving (irrespective of the type of media used) should provide for document identification, version history, search, and retrieval.

Question 7

Essential Documents

8.1

g.

Answer 7

Essential documents for the trial should be supplemented or may be reduced where justified (in advance of trial initiation) based on the importance and relevance of the specific documents to the trial.

The sponsor should ensure that the investigator has control of and continuous access to the CRF data reported to the sponsor. The sponsor should not have exclusive control of those data.

When a copy is used to replace an original document (e.g., source documents, CRF), the copy should fulfill the requirements for certified copies.

The investigator/institution should have control of all essential documents and records generated by the investigator/institution before, during, and after the trial.