By Alan M. Kirschenbaum, Michelle L. Butler & David C. Gibbons – On August 28, 2015, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the Department of Health and Human Services published an omnibus guidance document to implement the 340B Drug Discount Program (the Proposed Guidance). Since …
By James C. Shehan & Andrew J. Hull – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently issued an opinion in the case of Lytle v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Nos. 14-3715, 15-1214 (8th Cir. Aug. 21, 2015), affirming that private membership …
By Ricardo Carvajal – FDA issued a warning letter to Hampton Creek alleging that its Just Mayo products are misbranded, in part because they purport to be a food governed by a standard of identity – namely, mayonnaise – that the products fail to meet. This alleged …
By David C. Gibbons – An August 28, 2015 letter to Judge Paul Engelmayer, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, from the attorneys representing Amarin, Inc. (“Amarin”) indicated that the parties on both sides of Amarin Pharma, Inc. v. FDA, No. 15-3588 …
By Alexander J. Varond – Hardly a week goes by without news of FDA’s priority review voucher (“PRV”) programs. The last several weeks are no exception. In this blog post, we focus on five key updates related to FDA’s tropical disease and rare pediatric disease (“Pediatric”) …
By James C. Shehan – On August 27, 2015, FDA published its much–anticipated views on the non-proprietary naming of biological products. Set forth in a proposed rule, a draft guidance, and a blog post, FDA proposes that a four letter suffix “devoid of meaning” be part …
By David C. Gibbons – As we reported in a previous post, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce requested that FDA answer a number of questions regarding how FDA Centers issue and publicly disclose Untitled Letters (“ULs”). As readers may recall, the letter to FDA …
By Alexander J. Varond & James E. Valentine* – FDA recently released a draft guidance, titled “Rare Diseases: Common Issues in Drug Development.” The fourteen-page document amounts to more of a primer than a focused discussion of technical issues. It serves as a useful reminder of the …
By James E. Valentine* – On August 17, 2015, FDA announced the availability of an update to its 11 year old guidance on botanical drug development. Botanicals are plant materials, algae, macroscopic fungi, and combinations of those things that can be regulated as a food (including a …
By Riëtte van Laack - As we previously reported, FDA and FTC are reviewing their regulation of homeopathic drugs. In March 2015, FDA issued a notice requesting comments on the current use of homeopathic drugs, and that agency’s approach to regulation of the category. In June 2015, FTC …
By James C. Shehan – We’ve all been told that consistency is a virtue and some recent developments have AbbVie’s consistency on display while that company questions FDA’s biosimilar labeling morality, or at least decision-making. In a citizen petition supplement recently submitted to FDA, AbbVie renewed …
By Jenifer R. Stach* & Ricardo Carvajal – On July 24, 2015, FDA issued a proposed rule amending the Agency’s previously issue proposed rule on Accreditation of Third-Party Auditors/Certification Bodies (see our prior posts here and here) and establishing user fees for the Agency’s proposed accreditation …
By Karla L. Palmer – The GAO was asked to review DEA registrants’ and others’ interactions with DEA. The GAO Report, released at the end of July examines the following: (1) To what extent registrants interact with DEA about their Controlled Substances Act (CSA) responsibilities and registrants’ …
By Kurt R. Karst – Back in September 2013, when FDA’s Office of Generic Drugs (“OGD”) was gearing up for significant implementation of the Generic Drug User Fee Amendments of 2012 (“GDUFA”) (and the associated Performance Goals and Procedures), the Office issued a Manual of Policies …
By Kurt R. Karst – It seems that hardly a week passes (and sometimes, hardly a day or two) without news of a new merger or acquisition in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industries. Indeed, 2015 may be a record-breaking year for such deals (see here, here, …
