By Alexander Varond – On December 14, FDA released a draft guidance document entitled “Enrichment Strategies for Clinical Trials to Support Approval of Human Drugs and Biological Products” (“Enrichment Guidance”). The thirty-nine-page document was more than six years in the making and aims to provide …
By Kurt R. Karst – While Congress and The White House debate whether user fees paid pursuant to various UFAs – User Fee Acts – will be sequestered under the terms of the Budget Control Act (see here), FDA continues to move forward with planning …
By Alexander J. Varond – The Institute of Medicine (“IOM”) recently issued a paper titled “Accelerating the Development of New Drugs and Diagnostics: Maximizing the Impact of the Cures Acceleration Network: Workshop Summary.” The IOM paper summarizes the “Maximizing the Goals of the Cures Acceleration Network to …
By Kurt R. Karst – Just before Congress recessed for the month of August, and less than a month after the July 9th enactment of the FDA Safety and Innovation Act, several FDA-related bills were placed in the hoppers in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House …
By Kurt R. Karst – In two Federal Register notices (here and here) scheduled for publication on August 1st, FDA will announce the Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2013 user fee rates pursuant to the fifth iteration of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (“PDUFA”) and pursuant to …
By Kurt R. Karst – Last week, Representative William Keating (D-MA) announced the introduction of new legislation – the Stop Tampering of Prescription Pills Act of 2012, or STOPP Act (H.R. 6160) – that is intended to direct companies “to invest in research and production to …
Earlier this week, President Obama signed into law the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (“FDASIA”) (usually pronounced “fuh-day-zha”). In addition to reauthorizing and amending several drug and medical device provisions that were scheduled to sunset, FDASIA establishes new user fee statutes for …
By Anne Marie Murphy & Benjamin K. Wolf* – On June 12, 2012, FDA announced the availability of a draft guidance, titled “Considerations When Transferring Clinical Investigation Oversight to Another IRB” (“FDA Draft Guidance”). This is the first time FDA has provided through guidance specific direction …
By Kurt R. Karst – After a round of congratulatory speeches, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 5651, the FDA Reform Act of 2012, as amended, on May 30th by a vote of 387-5. Unlike the U.S. Senate, which passed its version of the bill …
By Kurt R. Karst – After days of debate and a slew of proposed amendments, the U.S. Senate passed S. 3187, the FDA Safety and Innovation Act, on Thursday afternoon by a roll call vote of 96-1. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who cast the lone vote against passage, …
By Kurt R. Karst – Two new reports were published this week analyzing FDA’s performance under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (“PDUFA”). The reports – one from the California Health Institute (“CHI”) and The Boston Consulting Group (“BCG’), and another from the Tufts Center for …
By Kurt R. Karst – Representative Tom Reed (R-NY) recently introduced legislation (H.R. 5283) that is intended to clarify that the PHS Act’s clinical trial registry data bank reporting requirements apply to clinical trials regardless of a trial’s outcomes. The bill would also amend the PHS …
By Kurt R. Karst – A report released earlier this week by the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) says that FDA has met most of the Agency’s PDUFA performance goals for priority and standard original NDA and BLA submissions and for priority and standard original efficacy supplements …
By Nisha P. Shah – FDA issued a final rule that amends the regulations to expand the scope of disqualification of clinical investigators. 77 Fed. Reg. 25353 (Apr. 30, 2012). We previously reported on the proposed rule issued in April 2011, and there are no substantive …
By John R. Fleder & Jennifer M.Thomas— As previously reported here, on April 13, 2012 ViroPharma Incorporated (“ViroPharma” sued FDA to challenge the agency’s April 9, 2012 approval of three Abbreviated New Drug Applications (“ANDAs”) for generic versions of the company’s antibiotic drug Vancocin® (vancomycin hydrochloride). …
