By Jeffrey N. Gibbs and David A. Gibbs* – FDA’s premarket approval (PMA) advisory panels are high visibility events. Both FDA and companies invest heavily in preparing for these meetings. Thus, when the rules governing PMA panel meetings change, it should be big news. Yet, when FDA …
By far one of CDRH’s greatest recent successes has been the Pre-Submission program. In our experience, more companies have been engaging early and often with the Agency to discuss product-related regulatory issues and questions. Under the Food and Drug Administration Reauthorization Act and the MDUFA …
On June 5, 2018, FDA published a notice in the federal register finalizing the 510(k) exemption for several devices. The proposed list for 510(k) exemption was published last November and included two new devices that had been granted marketing authorization through the de novo process …
On May 31, 2018, CDRH issued the draft guidance, “Recommended Content and Format of Complete Test Reports for Non-Clinical Bench Performance Testing in Premarket Submissions.” The draft guidance is intended to provide an outline of the type of information to be included in non-clinical bench …
Since our last post on Digital Health, FDA has continued their public campaign to raise awareness and seek input on the Software Precertification (Pre-Cert) Program. This blog post covers topics that don’t affect only software companies. While the focus is on software, the potential implications …
On May 15, FDA issued a Report on the Quality, Safety, and Effectiveness of Servicing of Medical Devices in which FDA concludes that it will not impose additional or different regulatory requirements on the third-party servicers of medical devices at this time. FDA issued this Report …
On May 15th, FDA published in the Federal Register a proposal to amend the product jurisdiction regulation (21 C.F.R. Part 3). This proposal seeks to update, clarify, and streamline the product classification and designation process. However, the proposal fails to address some significant flaws in …
On April 27, 2018 FDA released a draft guidance describing the regulatory approach and policy for multiple function device products. The draft guidance, Multiple Function Device Products: Policy and Considerations, is available here and has been issued in response to the 21st Century Cures Act section …
On April 13, 2018, FDA issued the final guidance documents “Considerations for Design, Development, and Analytical Validation of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) – Based In Vitro Diagnostics (IVDs) Intended to Aid in the Diagnosis of Suspected Germline Diseases” (hereinafter the NGS Guidance, available here) and …
Earlier this month, FDA issued a draft guidance: Expansion of the Abbreviated 510(k) Program: Demonstrating Substantial Equivalence through Performance Criteria. This draft guidance would expand use of the Abbreviated 510(k) pathway as follows: “The intent of the guidance is to describe an optional pathway for …
On April 12, 2018, the three FDA Centers jointly issued the draft guidance, “Investigational In Vitro Diagnostics in Oncology Trials: Streamlined Submission Process for Study Risk Determination” (draft available here). The draft guidance outlines a process for obtaining FDA’s feedback regarding whether an investigational IVD …
On January 30, 2018, FDA issued revised guidance documents: Refuse to Accept Policy for 510(k)s and PMAs (here and here). These revised guidances may have gone unnoticed by many as there was no federal register notice announcing or discussing the revisions from the policy in …
In 1997, Congress directed FDA to use the “least burdensome” approach in reviewing device applications. This legislation resulted in little change in behavior. In 2012, Congress enacted new legislation with the same outcome. In 21st Century Cures, Congress addressed the “least burdensome” approach for the third …
On February 21, FDA published a final rule amending its regulations on the acceptance of data from clinical investigations for medical devices (83 Fed. Reg. 7366). These amendments are designed to ensure the quality and integrity of clinical data and the protection of human subjects. …
On February 15, FDA’s Office of Combination Products (OCP) announced the draft guidance, “How to Prepare a Pre-Request for Designation (Pre-RFD).” Don’t let the name fool you though. Unlike the similarly named Pre-Submission, a Pre-RFD does not need to precede a formal RFD. A Pre-RFD …
