By Andrew J. Hull* & William T. Koustas – With the January 1, 2015 implementation of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) looming over the heads of both FDA and industry, the Healthcare Distribution Management Association (HDMA) held its annual track-and-trace conference November 10-12, 2014. …
By James E. Valentine* & James C. Shehan – On November 4, 2014, FDA’s Office of Health and Constituent Affairs and an Agency-wide working group posted a notice requesting comments generally on all its various patient engagement activities and specifically on FDASIA Section 1137— the provision on …
By Michelle L. Butler – We previously reported that FDA had filed a notice of appeal in Depomed Inc. v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services et al., Case No. 1:12-cv-01592. In another turn of events, on November 6, 2014, FDA filed an unopposed motion to dismiss …
By Kurt R. Karst – We learned this week that FDA finally approved ANDAs for generic versions of Hoffmann-LaRoche, Inc.’s VALCYTE (valganciclovir) Tablets, 450 mg (NDA 021304). We don’t usually post on FDA’s daily ANDA approval activities, but the valganciclovir ANDA approvals are …
By Kurt R. Karst – Last week when this blogger reported on the lawsuit filed by Amgen, Inc. (“Amgen”) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California alleging that Sandoz Inc. (“Sandoz”), in its efforts to obtain approval of a Section 351(k) application …
By Kurt R. Karst – Ever since the July 2014 announcement by Sandoz Inc. (“Sandoz”) that FDA accepted the first ever application for a biosimilar biological product submitted pursuant to Section 351(k) of the Public Health Service Act (“PHS Act”) – in this case, a biosimilar …
By Etan J. Yeshua – Drug developers targeting acute migraines may now have a new path to approval. In a draft guidance document issued on Tuesday by the Division of Neurology Products ("DNP"), FDA offers a novel primary endpoint that has not been used before to …
By Jay W. Cormier & Alan M. Kirschenbaum – As we previously reported, in late August, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied PhRMA’s request that the Court vacate a recent HRSA interpretive rule on the orphan drug exception under the 340B drug …
By Kurt R. Karst – For several months now we have been monitoring an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit concerning a patent – U.S. Patent No. 6,878,703 (“the ‘703 patent”) – listed in the Orange Book for Daiichi Sankyo Inc.’s …
By Kurt R. Karst – In recent comments submitted to FDA, the American Academy of Pediatrics (“AAP”) is taking a stand against the relief requested in a June 2014 Citizen Petition (Docket No. FDA-2014-P-0830) submitted on behalf of Merz North America. The petition calls into question …
By Kurt R. Karst – Last Friday morning (October 10th) something interesting popped up out of the blue on FDA’s “What’s New Related to Drugs” webpage: the final version of FDA’s “Guidance for Industry – New Chemical Entity Exclusivity Determinations for Certain Fixed-Combination Drug Products.” But …
By Andrew J. Hull* & William T. Koustas – FDA has published its second draft guidance in a much-awaited series of industry guidance documents related to the implementation of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act ("DSCSA"), enacted on November 27, 2013. (We posted on the first …
By Kurt R. Karst – Colchicine is one of those drugs that has a long and storied history at FDA. It’s an old drug (about 200 years old) that was marketed for decades without FDA approval. Then, in 2009, FDA approved Mutual Pharmaceutical Company, Inc.’s (and …
By Jamie K. Wolszon – On September 25, 2014, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division dismissed a claim that a drug company co-pay subsidy program (also known as coupon program) violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) under theories …
By Kurt R. Karst – In a September 30, 2014 decision, a unanimous panel of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed an August 2013 decision from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California finding that a first-in-the-nation …
