By Riëtte van Laack & J.P. Ellison – The Seventh Circuit’s March 12, 2009 decision in United States v. Farinella starkly shows what can happen when, as the court concluded, a prosecutor relies on bad facts for the government and combines that with no controlling law, …
By Ricardo Carvajal – The Augusta Chronicle reports that the Georgia legislature will soon be sending new food safety legislation to Gov. Sonny Perdue for his signature. Senate Bill 80 (S.B. 80), which was unanimously approved by both houses, directs the Commissioner of Agriculture to issue …
By Alan M. Kirschenbaum – Yesterday, we reported on the Department of Defense’s final regulation implementing section 703 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (NDAA-2008). The regulation establishes a framework for manufacturers to pay refunds to the government on NDA drugs dispensed …
By Michelle L. Butler & Alan M. Kirschenbaum – On March 17, 2009, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) issued a final rule implementing section 703 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (“NDAA-08”). Section 703 of the NDAA-08 provides that, for any prescriptions …
The American Intellectual Property Law Association (“AIPLA”) has appointed Hyman, Phelps & McNamara, P.C. attorney Kurt R. Karst as Chair of the organization’s Hatch-Waxman Subcommittee of the Special Committee on the FDA. “I am honored to have been nominated for this position, and look forward …
By Riëtte van Laack & Ricardo Carvajal – In a reversal of a U.S. Court of Federal Claims decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held in Rose Acre Farms, Inc. v. United States that an egg producer did not suffer a …
By Kurt R. Karst – Late yesterday, Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), along with Reps. Jay Inslee (D-WA), and Joe Barton (R- TX), announced the introduction of the Pathway for Biosimilars Act (H.R. 1548). (A copy of the bill should be available soon). The introduction of …
By Kurt R. Karst – FDA has issued its highly anticipated decision concerning whether the QI Program Supplemental Funding Act of 2008 (“QI Act”) imposes a 30-month stay of approval of an ANDA referencing an old antibiotic drug product if that ANDA contains a Paragraph IV certification …
By Riëtte van Laack – In 2004, the State of California sued three tuna companies, Tri-Union Seafoods, LLC, Del Monte Corporation, and Bumble Bee Seafoods, LLC, for violation of California’s Proposition 65 because they failed to provide the required clear and reasonable warning that their …
Hyman, Phelps & McNamara, P.C. (“HP&M”) has issued a detailed analysis of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Wyeth v. Levine. A copy of the analysis, written by James P. Ellison and Carrie S. Martin, is available here. In Wyeth, the Court ruled that, based …
By Ricardo Carvajal– In an address highlighting the need to tackle problems with the nation’s food safety system, President Obama today announced the appointments of Dr. Margaret Hamburg as the new FDA Commissioner and Dr. Joshua Sharfstein as Principal Deputy Commissioner with primary responsibility for …
By Bryon F. Powell – On March 11, 2009, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health ("DPH") Public Health Council unanimously approved a final rule on Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Manufacturer Conduct. This vote came just seven months after Massachusetts’ Governor Deval Patrick signed into law …
By James P. Ellison – Despite the Supreme Court’s 2008 ruling in Riegel v. Medtronic, in which the Court found express preemption for devices subject to premarket approval based on express statutory language, the judge in Minnesota overseeing multi-district device litigation granted the plaintiffs’ motion to …
By Kurt R. Karst – Earlier this week, FDA announced that the Agency will reverse course and grant Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (“ALS”) patients “compassionate use” access to IPLEX (mecasermin rinfabate [rDNA origin] injection). FDC Act § 561, which was added to the statute in 1997 …
By Kurt R. Karst – Earlier today, Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) (along with Representatives Nathan Deal (R-GA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), and Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO)) announced the introduction of H.R. 1427, the Promoting Innovation and Access to Life-Saving Medicine Act, which authorizes FDA to approve …
