By Karla L. Palmer – On April 15, 2016, FDA released a draft guidance document providing clarification concerning FDA’s position on prescription requirements for compounding human drug products for identified individual patients. Since the 2013 passage of the Drug Quality and Security Act, there has been …
By Karla L. Palmer – On April 18, 2016, FDA released draft guidance addressing what it considers a “facility” under FDCA Section 503B (the section of the Drug Quality and Security Act that created outsourcing facilities back in 2013). The draft guidance was prompted FDA was …
By Kurt R. Karst – Last month, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced the filing of a Complaint For Injunctive and Other Equitable Relief in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania alleging that Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. (“Endo”) and other drug manufacturers, including …
By Jeffrey K. Shapiro & Charlene Cho – In the emerging world of regenerative medicine, there is a stark dichotomy in the level of regulation applied to products derived from human cells and tissues, or what FDA calls “human cells, tissue or cellular and tissue‑based products” (HCT/Ps). If …
By Karla L. Palmer – On Tuesday, March 15, 2016, HHS Secretary Burwell testified before the House Education and the Workforce Committee, during which Representative Buddy Carter (R. Ga.), who is a pharmacist, asked Secretary Burwell about office use compounding. Representative Carter expressed his concern about …
By James C. Shehan – On March 21, 2016, Amgen filed a brief opposing Sandoz’s request that the Supreme Court overturn last year’s Federal Circuit ruling that the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act’s ("BPCIA's") notice of commercial marketing provision is mandatory and can only be …
By Kurt R. Karst – For several years now we have been following instances in which FDA designated, and later approved, a drug (including a biological product) as an “orphan drug” on the basis that it is not the “same drug” as a previously approved product …
By Alexander J. Varond – FDA’s breakthrough therapy designation (BTD) program has been, by all accounts, a popular program. Sponsors, looking to gain extra support from the Agency, shorten review times, and signal to investors that FDA views their preliminary clinical evidence favorably, have submitted over …
By Larry K. Houck – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) has released its final guidelines for prescribing opioids for chronic pain. CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain-United States, 2016, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Mar. …
By Kurt R. Karst – Earlier this week, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (Judge Rudolph Contreras) issued a 33-page Memorandum Opinion in a case stemming from a Complaint filed in June 2015 by Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. (“Ferring”) against FDA challenging the Agency’s …
By James C. Shehan & Kurt R. Karst – On March 10, 2016, FDA released a draft guidance interpreting the “deemed to be a license” provision of the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 (“BPCIA”). This provision, at BPCIA § 7002(e)(4), is one of a …
By James C. Shehan – More than one commentator predicted that the Federal Circuit’s decision in Amgen v. Sandoz interpreting the patent dance provisions of the Biologics Price Competition Innovation Act ("BPCIA") would be a fertile source of new litigation rather than a definitive decision laying …
By David C. Gibbons & John R. Fleder – On March 8, 2016, Amarin Pharma, Inc. (“Amarin” or “the Company”) and FDA filed a proposed Stipulation And Order Of Settlement (“Proposed Settlement Order”) with Judge Paul Engelmayer in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of …
By Kurt R. Karst – The ongoing controversy over drug pricing has raised debate on many aspects of drug approval, and, in particular, on the approval of generic drugs. Over the past several months, there have been numerous letters from Members of Congress to FDA – …
By Alexander J. Varond – On March 2, 2016, GAO released its report, “RARE DISEASES – Too Early to Gauge Effectiveness of FDA’s Pediatric Voucher Program.” While the report nicely summarizes the history of the program, it contains little new information. Highlights from the report include: FDA …
