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This week, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) published draft guidance, describing FDA’s policy and process for evaluating bulk drug substances used in compounding by outsourcing facilities that are registered under Section 503B of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act). 
Continue Reading FDA’s New Draft Guidance on Bulk Drug Substances in Compounding

On February 21, 2018, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a Final Rule, amending its regulations on acceptance of data from investigations for medical devices that are performed outside of the United States as well as modifying certain regulations applicable to data from US-sited investigations. The Final Rule does not go into effect until February 21, 2019 – a full year after promulgation.  The FDA also issued guidance in the form of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) addressing the new regulations.  In the FAQ document, the FDA explained its rationale that more research and marketing applications and submissions are being submitted that are supported by foreign investigations and that it was seeking to make its requirements more uniform.
Continue Reading FDA Amends Regulations for Acceptance of Data from Foreign and Domestic Investigation for Medical Devices

In January 2018, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) published two guidance documents on Compounded Drug Products That Are Essentially Copies Of Approved Drug Products under Section 503A and Section 503B of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act). As emphasized in a recent U.S. Department of Justice policy memorandum, FDA noted that its guidance documents do not establish legally enforceable responsibilities and, instead should be viewed only as agency recommendations, unless specific regulatory or statutory requirements are cited.


Continue Reading FDA Issues New Compounding Guidance

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has issued important guidance on how to prepare for hurricanes when dependent on medical devices.  FDA stresses that during hurricanes and other emergency situations, medical devices may be exposed to fluctuating power, contaminants, or unusual levels of heat or humidity. The guidance links to pages providing information on…

On July 7, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a federal district court’s dismissal of a False Claims Act (FCA) whistleblower suit in United States ex rel. Campie v. Gilead Sciences, explaining that the district court did not have “the benefit of” the Supreme Court’s 2016 decision in Escobar at the time the suit was dismissed for failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6).
Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Relies on Escobar to Revive False Claims Act Suit Against Pharmaceutical Manufacturer

On Monday, June 12, 2017, the United States Supreme Court in a unanimous decision held that manufacturers making biosimilars of biologic drugs did not have to wait until after gaining federal approval of the biosimilar to notify the manufacturer of biologic reference products (Sponsor) that they intend to commercially market a biosimilar drug. The Court’s decision addresses two cases in the same opinion: Sandoz v. Amgen and Amgen v. Sandoz. 
Continue Reading Supreme Court Decision Allows Faster Marketing of Biosimilars

The Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) recently issued strategic priorities for 2016-17.  The primary strategic priorities include:

  1.  Establish a National Evaluation System for Medical Devices (NEST), to efficiently harness real-world “evidence of clinical experience.” Actions taken to date include, among others:
  • A multi-stakeholder Planning Board and the Medical Device Registry Task Force issued a series of reports that outline the organizational structure and infrastructure for the NEST Coordinating Center, in February 2015, April 2016, August 2015, and September 2016.
  • The FDA awarded $3 million the Medical Device Innovation Consortium (MDIC) and $1 million to other organizations toward this goal in 2016.
  • CDRH issued draft guidance describing how real-world evidence may be used to support pre- and post-market regulatory decisions.
  1. Partner with patients, and work together to advance development and evaluation of innovative devices, and monitor performance of marketed devices. Actions taken to date include, among others:
    Continue Reading FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health Issues Strategic Priorities

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it was delaying until March 19, 2018, a Final Rule that has been viewed as having a chilling effect on scientific speech in attempting to broaden FDA’s authority to find an “intended use” for an approved or cleared medical product.  FDA extended the effective date to allow additional public comments after a petition filed on behalf of various industry groups challenged the Final Rule (dockets FDA-2011-P-0512, FDA-2013-P-1079, FDA-2015-N-2002, and FDA-2016-N-1149).

In the Final Rule, FDA had amended the intended use regulations for drugs and devices at 21 C.F.R 201.128 (drugs) and 21 C.F.R. 801.4 (devices).  In announcing the delayed implementation, FDA attempted to clear up what it viewed as a misunderstanding about the Final Rule.  FDA emphasized that one of the revisions was meant to clarify that mere knowledge that the product was being prescribed or used by healthcare providers for an unapproved new use would not be sufficient on its own for FDA to find an unapproved new intended use for an approved or cleared drug or device.  In addition, the Final Rule was “intended to embody FDA’s longstanding position . . . that intended use can be based on ‘any relevant source of evidence,’ including a variety of direct and circumstantial evidence.”  The Final Rule used the phrase “the totality of the evidence” to accomplish this goal.Continue Reading FDA Delays Intended Use Regulations

On March 2, 2017, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that the United States had reached an agreement with the European Union (EU) that will allow FDA and EU regulators to use each other’s good manufacturing practice (GMP) inspections of pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities.  The agreement, entered into after several years of joint collaboration and…