Import/Export

By Kurt R. Karst –  It was 75 years ago today, on June 25, 1938, that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed into law the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (“FDC Act”), which replaced the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, 34 Stat. 768, …

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 Kurt R. Karst –       Briefing is underway in K-V Pharmaceutical Company’s (“KV’s”) appeal of a September 2012 decision from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that stymied the company’s efforts to “restore” orphan drug exclusivity for the pre-term birth drug MAKENA …

By Kurt R. Karst –       FDA’s opening brief in the Agency’s appeal of a March 27, 2012 Memorandum Opinion and accompanying Order issued by Judge Richard J. Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (as modified by a June 22, 2012 …

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 –       Last week, the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) released a report, titled “Food and Drug Administration: Better Coordination Could Enhance Efforts to Address Economic Adulteration and Protect the Public Health,” in which the GAO examines FDA’s approaches to detecting and preventing so-called …

By Ricardo Carvajal – Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A., Inc. ("Del Monte Fresh") sued to invalidate an FDA import alert on cantaloupe from Productos Agricolas de Oriente, S.A. ("PAO"), a Guatemalan producer that is one of Del Monte Fresh’s principal suppliers.  FDA imposed the import alert …

By Kurt R. Karst –     Over the Independence Day holiday, in between the family BBQ and fireworks, we had a few minutes to reflect on what a hectic month June was for FDA and the regulated industry.  There were the decisions handed down by the U.S. …

By Dara Katcher Levy – Earlier this week, FDA announced the release of a report regarding the increasing globalization of FDA-regulated products that are consumed by Americans, and how FDA intends to improve the safety and quality of these products.  FDA states that the report was prompted …

By Susan J. Matthees –   In an interesting twist in a developing story on the importation of thiopental, a drug used to administer the death penalty by lethal injection, the attorney for Georgia death row inmate Andrew Grant DeYoung sent Attorney General Eric Holder a …

By Dara Katcher Levy – We previously blogged about the Amphastar lawsuit – a suit seeking declaratory judgment and injunctive relief with regard to FDA’s detention of two entries of semi-purified heparin.  Amphastar had responded to each of FDA's allegations,  however, the shipments remained detained.  On November …

By Dara Katcher Levy – The government is surely persistent when it comes to imported products that relate to FDA. On November 2, 2010, the U.S. Court of International Trade denied the U.S.’s application for a default judgment of $17,734,926 against a British corporation that many years …

By Dara Katcher Levy – How many lawsuits will it take before FDA starts exercising better judgment on imports?  On October 25, 2010, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Inc. (“Amphastar”) filed suit against FDA seeking declaratory judgment and injunctive relief with regard to FDA’s detention of two entries of …

By Kurt R. Karst –    Since 2008, FDA’s annual guidance document agendas (here, here, and here) have noted FDA’s plans to issue guidance on the Agency’s so-called Pre-Launch Activities Importation Request (“PLAIR”) program.  Although FDA officials have discussed PLAIRs in presentations, the Agency has not …