This document provides an overview of Investigational New Drug Applications (INDAs), which are required for clinical trials of unapproved drugs in the US. It defines INDAs and explains why they are needed, the types of INDAs, contents of an INDA submission, resources for preparing INDAs, the INDA review process, and the phases of investigation that can occur after an successful INDA. The goal of an INDA is to obtain permission to ship an experimental drug and begin human clinical trials before the drug is approved for marketing.