By John A. Gilbert – The 57th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (“CND”) recently convened in Vienna, Austria. A prominent issue on the first day of the general session included concern over the increased use of cannabis, especially for recreational purposes. The International Narcotics …
By Riëtte van Laack – On March 13, 2014, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and U.S. Representative Ed Whitfield (R-KY) introduced the “Sunscreen Innovation Act” (S. 2141 and H.R. 4250, respectively). The proposed legislation would amend the FDC Act to include a process for the review …
By Wes Siegner – Does meeting the FTC legal standard for claim substantiation protect claims from action by the National Advertising Division (“NAD”)? If you think the answer should be “yes,” read on. FTC consent decrees often leave open the possibility that unsubstantiated claims may be resumed …
By Dara Katcher Levy – We have long been waiting for a company to sue FDA for failing to issue an export certificate. Unfortunately, we may need to wait a bit longer for a case that will resolve the standards for when FDA must issue an …
By Riëtte van Laack – Defendants Wellness Support Network, and co-owners Robert and Robyn Held, marketed two diabetes products – Diabetic Pack and Insulin Resistance – as medical foods. In 2005 and 2006, FDA issued two Warning letters to them (here and here), claiming the products …
By Ricardo Carvajal – Sabra Dipping Co., LLC ("Sabra") submitted a citizen petition (Dokcket No. FDA-2014-P-0259) asking FDA to establish a standard of identity ("SOI") for hummus. The proposed SOI would define hummus as “the semisolid food prepared from mixing cooked, dehydrated, or dried chickpeas and tahini” with …
By JP Ellison – In a recent post we described the Generic Pharmaceutical Association’s amicus brief in the POM case, which urged the Supreme Court to “be cognizant of the differences” among FDA regulated products. In particular, GPhA urged that ‘[e]ven if petitioner is allowed to …
By JP Ellison – We previously posted (here and here) about the Supreme Court case that will be argued next month in which the parties are debating the proper interplay between the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (“FDC Act”) and the Lanham Act. Briefly, the issue …
By Kurt R. Karst – It was only about a year ago when the topic du jour was generic drug labeling and whether federal law – the FDC Act and FDA’s implementing regulations – preempts state-law product liability claims (failure-to-warn, design defect, failure-to-conform/update, etc.) against generic …
By John A. Gilbert, Jr. & Larry K. Houck – A bill introduced in the Maryland House of Delegates, HB 0596, would require wholesale distributors to notify their pharmacy customers at least thirty days prior to “imposing a limit on the quantity” of prescription drugs or …
By Anne K. Walsh – Yes, this post relates to yet another off-label settlement between a pharmaceutical company and the federal government. But some aspects of this recent settlement, coupled with other recent cases, might indicate noteworthy trends in how these cases are being resolved. The …
By Robert A. Dormer – Every breath you takeEvery move you makeEvery bond you breakEvery step you takeI'll be watching you Every single dayEvery word you sayEvery game you playEvery night you stayI'll be watching you Our apologies to Sting and The Police, but we were reminded of the …
By Allyson B. Mullen – On February 18, 2014, the FDA issued the Final Guidance “Requests for Feedback on Medical Device Submissions: The Pre-Submission Program and Meetings with Food and Drug Administration Staff” (the “Pre-Sub Guidance”). FDA, Guidance for Industry and FDA Staff, Requests for Feedback …
By Delia A. Deschaine & Larry K. Houck – In just shy of three months following receipt of the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”)’s rescheduling recommendation, see prior post here, DEA announced the issuance of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) Thursday to reschedule all …
By Jay W. Cormier & Anne K. Walsh – It was a big day in January 2009 when FDA finally issued guidance for manufacturers governing the distribution of medical journal articles and reference publications. While some guidance was better than no guidance, FDA received several comments …
