FDA’s Office of Pharmaceutical Quality (OPQ) in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) is charged with assuring that drugs marketed in the U.S. are safe, effective, and meet appropriate quality standards. While no office at FDA truly works in a vacuum, we can …
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently published a White Paper on Policy Considerations to Prevent Drug Shortages and Mitigate Supply Chain Vulnerabilities in the United States—with input from several HHS stakeholders, including FDA, CMS, and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and …
While Covid is in the rear view for most of us, FDA has had a tough time shaking off the effects of the pandemic on its inspection output. Inspections went down—way down—during the pandemic. In March 2020, FDA temporarily postponed all foreign and domestic and …
Last week FDA published a long-awaited Draft Guidance for outsourcing facilities addressing the Prohibition on Wholesaling Under Section 503B of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (Draft Guidance). As a reminder, in Title I of the 2013 Drug Quality and Security Act (DQSA) (the …
Early on March 29, 2023, FDA announced the landmark approval of Narcan (naloxone hydrochloride) Nasal Spray for use as a nonprescription opioid overdose reversal agent. I previously blogged on the February 15, 2023 Joint Meeting of the Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee (NDAC) and the Anesthetic …
As of the morning of March 1, the hotly anticipated Joint Meeting of the Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee and the Anesthetic and Analgesic Drug Products Advisory Committee originally scheduled for March 20 has been cancelled. The March 20 Joint Meeting concerned the NDA for naloxone …
On February 15, 2023, the Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee (NDAC) and the Anesthetic and Analgesic Drug Products Advisory Committee (AADPAC) held a joint meeting to discuss an application pending before FDA that would switch Narcan (naloxone) Nasal Spray from prescription to over-the-counter (OTC) status. All …
While COVID-19 and monkeypox may be the public health emergencies garnering much of our current attention, we have been in the midst of another declared public health emergency for nearly 5 years: the opioid crisis. FDA recently issued a Guidance (Exemption and Exclusion From Certain …
On October 6, President Joe Biden issued a brief but sweeping three-step statement towards reforming Federal marijuana law. The president’s first step was a pardon of all prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession and a direction to the Attorney General to develop an administrative …
FDA has released its Proposed Rule of National Standards for Third-Party Logistics Providers (“3PLs”) and Prescription Drug Wholesale Distributors (“WDDs”). The Drug Supply Chain Security Act (“DSCSA”), enacted back in November 2013, directed FDA to create national licensure standards for wholesale distributors and 3PLs within …
On September 24, 2021, the owner of a pharmacy in Puerto Rico pleaded guilty to participating in a felony conspiracy to convert government property and to commit health care fraud in connection with the illegal vaccination of minors between the ages of 7 to 11 …
In what appears to be an “about face” in terms of Facebook’s historical wooing of big pharma (are we the only ones that immediately thought, “More Cowbell” when seeing that headline? You can thank us for that 5 minute rabbit hole later), the social media …
A recent proposed amendment to Minnesota’s Opiate Product Registration Fee appears intended to ensure continued availability of certain opiate products at hospitals. On June 26, 2021, during the Minnesota legislature’s special session, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed HF33, an omnibus health and human services …
On Monday, September 14, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed the December 2018 opinion from the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York that invalidated the New York Opioid Stewardship Act (OSA). In Association for Accessible …
State regulators across the healthcare professions continue to issue a number of guidances and waivers as part of the larger COVID-19 response. We have previously blogged on a number of waivers issued by state pharmacy regulators in connection with COVID-19 response related to pharmacy staffing …
