By Kurt R. Karst – Earlier today (September 9th), in a notice filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (Alexandria Division), the government informed the court that “the Solicitor General has, at this time, elected against appeal” of Judge …
By Ricardo Carvajal – In late August, FDA issued warning letters to Unilever and Dr. Pepper Snapple Group objecting to the use of unauthorized nutrient content claims for antioxidants in the labeling of certain products containing green tea. Similar warning letters addressing other types of …
By Kurt R. Karst – Earlier this week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second circuit denied without comment a Petition for Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc filed on behalf of certain plaintiffs-appellants in In Re Ciprofloxacin Hydrochloride Antitrust Litig,, an antitrust challenge to …
By Ricardo Carvajal – Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Rule 10b-5 prohibits “any act, practice, or course of business which operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon any person, in connection with the purchase or …
By Michelle Butler & Alan Kirschenbaum – It took CMS 17 years to issue a regulation implementing the Medicaid Rebate Program, and much of that regulation is turning out to be short-lived. On Friday, September 3, CMS published a proposal to withdraw provisions of its 2007 …
By Kurt R. Karst – The dispute between Cody Laboratories, Inc. and Lannett Co., Inc. (collectively “Cody/Lannett”) and FDA over marketed unapproved Morphine Sulfate Solution Immediate-Release 20mg/mL drug products did not end with the July 26, 2010 decision from the U.S. District Court for the District …
By Kurt R. Karst – A recent report issued by Morgan Stanley, titled Pharmaceuticals – Potential Selective Upside for Industry post Prandin Ruling, predicts “increasing probability for the innovative pharmaceutical industry to successfully delay US generic approval of select innovative drugs” following a pair of rulings …
By Kurt R. Karst – The long-running dispute over a Patent Term Extension (“PTE”) for U.S. Patent No. 5,196,404 (“the ‘404 patent”) covering The Medicines Company’s (“MDCO’s”) ANGIOMAX (bivalirudin) may be far from over. On September 1st, APP Pharmaceuticals, LLC, which previously submitted an amicus brief …
By William T. Koustas – Franck’s Lab, Inc. (“Defendant”), an Ocala, Florida veterinary compounding pharmacy, resumed compounding after a federal judge in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida denied the Government’s (“Plaintiff”) request for a preliminary injunction on August 19, 2010 that …
By Nisha P. Shah – At the conclusion of a multi-year federal investigation, Allergan Inc. ("Allergan") announced today it has reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and will pay $600 million to resolve criminal and civil claims related to the sales and …
By Kurt R. Karst – Some drugs, it seems, are destined for Hatch-Waxman controversy and lore. Eisai, Inc.s’ ARICEPT (donepezil HCl) Tablets is one of those drugs. As the battle over pre-Medicare Modernization Act shared 180-day exclusivity takes off – with a recent citizen …
By Ricardo Carvajal – According to one working definition, synthetic biology encompasses "the design and fabrication of biological components and systems that do not already exist in the natural world" and "the re-design and fabrication of existing biological systems." Recent developments in the field prompted …
By Kurt R. Karst – Responding to a request from certain Members of Congress, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) has released a report evaluating FDA’s use of evidence from non-inferiority trials to establish a drug’s effectiveness and support approval of new therapies. As …
By Riëtte van Laack – In anticipation of the possible approval of the New Animal Drug Application (“NADA”) for genetically engineered AquAdvantage Salmon (“GE salmon”), FDA announced a public hearing on September 21, 2010, concerning the labeling of food made from such salmon. This is …
By Oisin A. Mulvihill* & Peter M. Jaensch – A recent string of high-profile pharmaceutical and medical device product recalls appears to be reigniting FDA’s interest in pressing misdemeanor charges against corporate executives under the Responsible Corporate Officer Doctrine, or Park Doctrine. Lewis Grossman, professor …
