By Karla L. Palmer & Jeffrey N. Gibbs – Marking a significant victory for the pharmaceutical compounding industry, a Florida federal district court ruled that FDA did not have authority to enjoin the “long-standing, widespread, state-regulated practice of pharmacists filling a veterinarian’s prescription for a non-food …
By Susan J. Matthees – The Center for Inquiry, a non-profit organization with a mission to “promote scientific inquiry,” recently submitted a Citizen Petition to FDA requesting that the Agency initiate rulemaking for a proposed rule that would require all homeopathic drugs to be tested for …
By Kurt R. Karst – September 12th marked the beginning of the eighth round of Trans-Pacific Partnership (“TPP”) negotiations, which are taking place in Chicago, Illinois. The TPP is an Asia-Pacific regional trade agreement being hammered out among the United States and eight other partners. The …
By Nisha P. Shah – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently revised conflict of interest rules for Public Health Service ("PHS") related grants and research (i.e., the National Institutes of Health (“NIH”)) in response to congressional and public concerns over potential conflicts between …
By Kurt R. Karst – On September 8th, the U.S. Senate passed, by an 89-9 vote, H.R. 1249, the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act. Final passage of the bill, which will make significant changes to the U.S. patent system, was preceded by a contentious vote on, you …
By Kurt R. Karst – The National Organization for Rare Disorders (“NORD”) announced the submission of a Citizen Petition to FDA requesting “that a documented policy be established regarding the review of potential treatments for people with rare diseases.” The petition comes on the heels of …
By Kurt R. Karst – Last week, FDA issued its highly anticipated Proposed PDUFA V Reauthorization Performance Goals and Procedures for Fiscal Years 2013 through 2017, which were hammered out between FDA and industry after long negotiations. The proposal includes several new provisions compared to the …
By Kurt R. Karst – A recent Citizen Petition submitted on behalf of Abbott Laboratories (“Abbott”) calls into question FDA’s authority for granting Therapeutic Equivalence (“TE”) ratings (i.e., “A” ratings) for drug products approved pursuant to FDC Act § 505(b)(2). Specifically, Abbott’s petition requests that FDA …
By Kurt R. Karst – In what appears to be the first instance in which a court has considered the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in PLIVA, Inc. v. Mensing in the context of a preemption defense in a state tort-law failure-to-warn case, Nevada State Court Judge Jerry …
By Kurt R. Karst – In a Report to Congress issued earlier this year and recently made public, FDA’s Rare Disease Group (“RDG”) and Neglected Tropical Disease Group (“NTDG”) report on their findings and recommendations to improve the current regulatory/scientific armamentarium to facilitate the development of …
By Kurt R. Karst – On August 31, 2011, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced the issuance of its final report, titled “Authorized Generic Drugs – Short-Term Effects and Long-Term Impact,” which has been in the works for years since it was requested in 2005 by …
By Anne Marie Murphy – This week FDA announced the publication of a draft guidance titled, “Oversight of Clinical Investigations: A Risk Based Approach to Monitoring.” This is the first time since 1988 that the agency issued a specific guidance document on how a study sponsor …
By Kurt R. Karst – On August 29, 2011, Public Citizen announced that it submitted a citizen petition to FDA requesting that the Agency amend its regulations to permit ANDA sponsors to revise their labeling through the Changes Being Effected (“CBE”) and Prior Approval Supplement (“PAS”) …
By Kurt R. Karst – Recently we reported on the “other battle” going on concerning patents listed in the Orange Book for The Medicines Company’s (“MDCO’s”) ANGIOMAX (bivalirudin) Injection. With patent reform reportedly high on President Obama’s agenda, and with the fast approaching September 6th return of …
By Kurt R. Karst – The court battle over the “new drug” status of Cody Laboratories, Inc.’s and Lannett Co., Inc.’s (collectively “Cody/Lannett’s”) Morphine Sulfate Oral Solution 20mg/mL drug product has taken a new turn. FDA’s Motion to Dismiss the case on mootness grounds has been …
