In a September 7, 2007 “Legal Opinion Letter” published by the Washington Legal Foundation, attorneys Arnold I. Friede and John F. Kamp criticize legislation introduced earlier this year that would disallow a tax deduction for certain Direct-To-Consumer (“DTC”) prescription drug advertisements. The bill, H.R. 2823, …
On August 29, 2007, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts denied a motion for class certification in ongoing litigation concerning Parke-Davis’s (a then-Warner-Lambert and now-Pfizer subsidiary) anticonvulsant drug product NEURONTIN (gabapentin). The suit, filed in May 2004, alleges that Parke-Davis was involved …
Over the summer we posted on several preemption cases involving FDA-regulated products. In July, we reported that the Supreme Court agreed to hear Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc., which concerns whether the FDC Act preempts state tort claims regarding medical devices that entered the market pursuant …
On August 27, 2007, FDA published its long-awaited proposed rule to amend the final monograph for Over-the-Counter (“OTC”) sunscreen drug products. The rule, if finalized, would set standards for formulating, testing, and labeling OTC sunscreen drug products with Ultraviolet A (“UVA”) light and Ultraviolet B …
On August 1, 2007, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed (errata) the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia’s December 2005 ruling declaring that the District of Columbia’s Prescription Drug Excessive Pricing Act of 2005 (the “Act”) is preempted by …
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 …
