By Jennifer D. Newberger – It is not often that CDRH guidance documents get much attention outside the trade press and medical device circles. So when The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post both publish articles about a draft guidance document on the same day, …
By Jennifer D. Newberger – On June 14, 2013, FDA issued a draft guidance, “FDA Decisions for Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) Clinical Investigations,” to provide clarity around certain IDE decisions, and to introduce a “voluntary program intended to facilitate the development of trial designs that may …
Transparency and data disclosure are this year’s hot issues for pharmaceutical companies. On the clinical trial front, Europe is leading the way, with initiatives from the European Medicines Agency and the European Parliament that will impact drug research and development world-wide. The proposed TEST Act …
FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez announced on Monday the appointment of Jessica Rich to head the agency’s Bureau of Consumer Protection ("BCP"). Ms. Rich is a 20-year veteran of the FTC with experience overseeing policy work and enforcement especially in the areas of privacy, data security, and …
By Karla L. Palmer – On Friday, June 14, 2013, Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) released a draft bill addressing compounding of human drugs. The draft primarily was influenced by the revised draft guidance document the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) was prepared to release in …
By Kurt R. Karst – On June 17th, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated opinion in Federal Trade Commission v. Actavis, Inc., 570 U.S. ___ (2013) (Docket No. 12-416) concerning drug patent settlement agreements (aka “reverse payment agreements” or “pay-for-delay agreements”). In a 5-3 …
By Ricardo Carvajal – In previous postings (see here and here), we reported on the Center for Food Safety’s ("CFS’s") lawsuit seeking to compel FDA to accelerate its implementation of FSMA. In April, the presiding court ruled that FDA’s delay violated the APA and ordered …
By James E. Valentine* & David B. Clissold – The pendulum has been swinging: the medical research community and public health advocates want access to clinical trials data used to support marketing applications of FDA-regulated medical products. In 2007 that pendulum picked up momentum, with the …
By Larry K. Houck – Pharmacists are under increasing pressure to take extraordinary steps to verify prescriptions for controlled substances, especially in light of the fact that the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) has asserted that pharmacists are the gatekeepers or the “last line of defense” …
By Kurt R. Karst – A Draft Committee Report made available by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations that would, once finalized, accompany the Fiscal Year 2014 Agriculture/FDA Apprropriations bill (currently available as a Full Committee Draft), lays out a laundry list of …
By Michelle L. Butler – On June 12th, the final rule to amend FDA’s 1992 orphan drug regulations was published in the Federal Register. 78 Fed. Reg. 35117 (June 12, 2013). This final rule, which largely finalizes the revisions as proposed in October 2011, will …
By William T. Koustas – The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has just released a revised guidance on its Red Flags Rule (“the Rule”) based on the amended Rule issued late last year in an effort to comply with the Red Flag Program Clarification Act of …
By Riëtte van Laack – On Friday, May 24, 2013, the California Assembly unanimously voted (72-0) for bill AB 227, amending Proposition 65 by including a new provision allowing certain small business owners 14 days to fix an alleged violation of Proposition 65’s warning requirements. AB …
By Kurt R. Karst – In a surprising turn of events, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) sent a letter to Judge Edward R. Korman of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York indicating that FDA and HHS have complied with his …
By William T. Koustas & Jessica A. Ritsick – In light of California’s looming electronic pedigree requirement, still scheduled to become effective in 2015, we have been following Congress’s progress toward a national prescription drug track and trace system (see our previous post here). The …
