Hyman, Phelps & McNamara, P.C. is pleased to announce that J.P. Ellison has joined the firm as Of Counsel. Mr. Ellison joins HPM from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Consumer Litigation (“OCL”). By regulation, OCL has responsibility for representing the FDA, Federal Trade …
Hyman, Phelps & McNamara, P.C.’s Brian J. Donato cautioned companies about the dangers of “residual risk” while speaking at a recent conference on risk management sponsored by AdvaMed. Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry reported on the speech in an August 2007 article. Residual risk, which …
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York is expected to decide soon whether a New York City regulation requiring restaurants to post calorie content values on menus and menu boards is preempted by the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 …
Earlier today, FDA announced that Tim Coté, M.D., M.P.H., a Captain in the U.S. Public Health Service, has accepted the position of Director of the Agency’s Office of Orphan Products Development (“OOPD”). Dr. Coté is only the fourth OOPD Director since the office was created …
Since FDA announced its current enforcement policy for marketed unapproved drug products in a June 2006 Compliance Policy Guide (“CPG”), the Agency has taken various company- and product-specific enforcement actions. We have previously reported on some of these enforcement actions (here, here, and here). FDA …
Horace Scudder’s 1915 “The Book of Fables and Folk Stories” includes a story, titled “The Arab and His Camel,” that ends with the moral “It is a wise rule to resist the beginnings of evil.” This is, of course, a parable of the Middle Eastern …
In two previous posts (here and here), we reported on a trend in Warning Letters issued by FDA’s Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising, and Communications (“DDMAC”) that focuses on ensuring that promotional pieces contain substantial evidence to support advertising claims and proper presentations of safety …
We previously reported on some of the highlights of the most notable provisions of the final rule issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) on the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program. Today, Hyman, Phelps & McNamara, P.C. issued a detailed memorandum summarizing the …
In December 1992, FDA promulgated final regulations under which the Agency will accelerate the approval of certain new drugs and biologics for serious or life-threatening illnesses, and when such products provide a meaningful therapeutic benefit to patients over existing treatments. These regulations, which are commonly …
On August 7, 2007, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held in Abigail Alliance for Better Access to Developmental Drugs v. von Eschenbach in an 8-2 opinion “that there is no fundamental right ‘deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and …
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3161, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2008. The bill, which, among other things, funds FDA’s discretionary spending for the upcoming fiscal year, “fully funds the …
Legislation that would permit the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) to exercise discretion to accept untimely filed Patent Term Extension (“PTE”) applications has reportedly been added to the “Patent Reform Act of 2007” (S. 1145) by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA). Representative William Delahunt (D-MA), …
Last week, FDA announced the publication of a report by the Agency’s Nanotechnology Task Force (“NTF”) that recommends that FDA develop guidance and take other steps to address regulatory and scientific issues related to nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is an emerging field of applied science and technology …
Every so often something comes across our desk that is so comical that we feel compelled to share it with others in the food and drug community who will also appreciate it. One such story comes from a case involving Biovail and FDA in the …
If so, the Department of Health and Human Services (“DHHS”) is convening a four day stakeholders workshop in Washington, D.C. beginning on July 31, 2007. The purpose of the workshop is to enable stakeholders from government, industry, and academia to discuss the government’s plans to …
