By Kurt R. Karst – Earlier this week, Representatives John Carney (D-DE) and Larry Bucshon (R-IN) introduced H.R.3839, the “Drug Shortage Prevention Act,” which, according to its sponsors, is intended to bring “more efficiency to the manufacturing and distribution processes” and to require “FDA to …
By Kurt R. Karst – A new report released by the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”), titled “Antibiotics: FDA Needs to Do More to Ensure That Drug Labels Contain Up-to-Date Information,” says that since the September 27, 2007 enactment of the FDA Amendments Act (“FDAAA”) FDA has …
By Kurt R. Karst – The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) has been sued once again after denying a Patent Term Extension (“PTE”) request. The latest case in a long line of lawsuits concerns U.S. Patent No. 5,206,248 (“the ‘248 patent”), which is listed in …
By Kurt R. Karst – In a recent Hatch-Waxman decision from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Eastern Division), the court denied Plaintiffs’ Seattle Children’s Hospital, Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, Inc., and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (collectively “Novartis”) Motion to Dismiss the lawsuit …
By Kurt R. Karst – It’s absolutely amazing how, after nearly 28 years, the 1984 Hatch-Waxman Amendments continue to provide surprises. Consider the latest example we came upon recently (with a little help) involving PRISTIQ (desvenlafaxine) Extended-Release Tablets. FDA approved PRISTIQ under NDA No. 021992 in a …
Pharmaceutical and medical device applicants faced with an adverse decision from FDA (e.g., regarding data requirements, study design, or regulatory pathway) may dispute that decision through multiple routes. The appeal processes in both CDER and CDRH offer numerous strategic and procedural advantages that, when used …
The American Conference Institute will be holding its FDA Boot Camp conference in New York City from Tuesday, March 20 to Wednesday, March 21, 2012. A copy of the conference program can be obtained here. Hyman, Phelps & McNamara, P.C.’s Kurt R. Karst will be …
By Kurt R. Karst – Last week, FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. announced that the Agency sent to Congress packages for three user fee programs, including proposed statutory language for the fifth iteration of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (“PDUFA V”), and two new …
By Kurt R. Karst – FDA recently denied a 2008 citizen petition (Docket No. FDA-2008-P-0291) requesting that the Agency amend its drug label regulations to require that product labels include the Orange Book-listed NDA number under which the product is approved. According to the petition, “[i]ncreasingly, …
By Kurt R. Karst – In what appears to be a further sign of FDA’s efforts to clamp down on differences between brand-name Reference Listed Drugs (“RLDs”) and their proposed generic counterparts, FDA’s Office of Generic Drugs (“OGD”) is now looking more closely at tablet size …
By Kurt R. Karst – Representatives Cliff Stearns (R-FL) and Ed Towns (D-NY) recently introduced H.R. 3737, the Unlocking Lifesaving Treatments for Rare-Diseases Act (“ULTRA”). The bill would amend the FDC Act to “improve access to the existing accelerated approval pathway for patients with life threatening …
By Jennifer M. Thomas – A Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) Report released on December 15, 2011, the same day as a Senate Committee hearing, finds that FDA needs increased authority in order to address the growing problem of drug shortages. In her statement before the Senate …
By Kurt R. Karst – We had hoped that our post from earlier this week, titled Pending DESI Program Proceedings – The List, would stimulate some discussion. And it did. One comment in particular that we received from an authoritative source caught our attention and deserves greater …
By James R. Phelps – Many seasoned FDA watchers are surprised by the kerfuffle raised when HHS overturned FDA’s plan to allow Plan B emergency contraception available over the counter (see here and here). This is first time HHS has publicly put its thumb on the …
By Kurt R. Karst – For years we’ve heard rumors of a relatively current list, compiled by FDA, of proceedings pending under the Drug Efficacy Study Implementation (“DESI”) program. At one time, in the early 1980s, the list was included as an addendum to the Orange …
