FDA Releases Draft Guidance on Voluntary Recalls – Comments Due June 24

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently released a draft guidance on voluntary recalls urging companies to institute recall plans and procedures in advance to ensure quick and effective execution when a recall is necessary: Initiation of Voluntary Recalls Under 21 CFR Part 7, Subpart C. FDA broke the guidance into four main parts: (1) preparation for a recall; (2) response to a reported problem with a product; (3) initiation of a recall; and (4) FDA’s role in initiation of a recall. As firms develop plans for voluntary recalls, we recommend that they consult with counsel to ensure that they comply with regulatory requirements and appropriately address the concerns raised by the FDA in this draft guidance.

View the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

FDA Announces Its Next Steps for Cannabis Products

With the enactment of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (also known as the 2018 Farm Bill), hemp-derived CBD appeared to be on the table for marketing all across the country. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) press release issued that same day put a hold on the jubilation, stating that FDA considered any and all cannabis-containing or cannabis-derived products as drug products and not food or dietary supplements, regardless of whether the CBD was hemp-derived.

On April 2, 2019, departing FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb issued a statement about FDA’s next steps to advance a regulatory pathway for cannabis-containing and cannabis-derived products. At the same time FDA updated its cannabis-containing products and cannabis-derived products Q&A. It is clear that, at this point, FDA has not changed its position.

Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

FDA Issues Final Guidance on Data Integrity and Compliance with Drug CGMP

Data integrity means complete, consistent and accurate recording of data. This requires an original or true copy of contemporaneously recorded data that is attributable to a specific individual and is legible and accurate. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers data integrity to be critical throughout the current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) to ensure product quality and public safety. In response to an increased number of data integrity violations, which have led to warning letters, import alerts and consent decrees, the FDA published a draft guidance on Data Integrity and Compliance with CGMP on April 14, 2016. After considering comments to the draft guidance, the FDA has now issued its Final Guidance on Data Integrity and Compliance with Drug CGMP on December 12, 2018. The Final Guidance is in a Q&A format and provides detailed instructions to the industry that reflects the FDA’s current thinking on data integrity.

Read the full Duane Morris Alert.

FDA Announces New UDI Compliance Deadlines via Another Guidance Document

On September 24, 2013, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a “final” rule regarding the Unique Device Identification System to adequately identify devices through distribution and use. The FDA has since issued several guidances updating implementation of the unique device identifier (UDI). On November 5, 2018, the FDA issued its latest UDI policy, “Unique Device Identification: Policy Regarding Compliance Dates for Class I and Unclassified Devices and Certain Devices Requiring Direct Marking,” which supersedes the direct marking deadlines mandated by an earlier guidance.

Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris website. 

FDA Withdraws Proposed Generic Drug Labeling Rule

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently announced it will withdraw a proposed rule that would have required generic drug manufacturers to independently update their drug labels with new information. The proposed rule, Supplemental Applications Proposing Labeling Changes for Approved Drugs and Biological Products, would have imposed on generic drug manufacturers the same labeling-update mandates that now apply only to brand-name drug manufacturers.

To read the full text of this Alert, please visit the Duane Morris website.

New FDA Draft Guidance on Uncertainty Considerations in Benefit-Risk Determinations for Medical Device Premarket Approvals

The Food and Drug Administration recently issued draft guidance entitled “Consideration of Uncertainty in Making Benefit-Risk Determinations in Medical Device Premarket Approvals, De Novo Classifications, and Humanitarian Device Exemptions.” Comments to this draft guidance should be provided by December 5, 2018.

FDA provides authorization for marketing a device when its benefits outweigh its risks. Uncertainty surrounding these benefits and risks is a factor that FDA considers when making its determination with respect to premarket approval application (PMA) approvals, de novo classifications, 510(k) clearances, humanitarian device exemption (HDE) approvals and investigational device exemption approvals. As it has in previous guidances, FDA attempts to provide “a flexible, patient-centric, benefit-risk approach” that is “tailored to the type and intended use of the device and the type of decision” required. For example, PMA and de novo requests require a demonstration of reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness. However, HDE applications inherently have a greater uncertainty surrounding the benefit-risk profile as Congress provided that these applications need not show a reasonable assurance of effectiveness as the patient population is generally very small.

Visit the Duane Morris LLP website to read the full Alert.

FDA Publishes Redraft of 510(k) Third Party Review Program

Section 523 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act codifies the 510(k) Third Party Review Program (3P Review Program), which authorizes certain qualified third parties (3P Review Organizations) to conduct the initial review of premarket notification submissions for certain low-to-moderate risk medical devices. The 3P Review Program has been in existence since 1996, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has modified aspects of the 3P Review Program from time to time to comply with changes in the statutory framework. The FDA Reauthorization Act of 2017 (FDARA), which was signed into law on August 18, 2017, amended Section 523. In response, the FDA has now published a draft guidance, titled “510(k) Third Party Review Program Draft Guidance for Industry, Food and Drug Administration Staff, and Third Party Review Organizations,” which modifies the 3P Review Program guidance. Comments and suggestions are due by December 13, 2018. When finalized, this guidance will supersede FDA’s guidance documents from 2001 and 2004.

Read the full Duane Morris Alert.

FDA Rolls Out Pilot of New Quality in 510(k) “Quik” Review Program

The 510(k) process provides a review procedure for marketing clearance of devices that are “substantially equivalent” to other approved devices or to a standard recognized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

On September 6, 2018, the FDA launched an alternate to the Traditional 510(k) for submitting a Premarket Notification (510(k)). The FDA calls the alternative the Quality in 510(k) “Quik” Review Program Pilot. Under the program, the FDA’s goal is “to make a final decision within 60 days.”

Read the full text of this Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

FDA Estimates for Formal Meetings Show Continued Growth of Biosimilars in the United States

Among the key aspects in the development of a biosimilar product for the U.S. market is taking advantage of formal meetings with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to gain insight on moving a clinical development program for a proposed biosimilar product forward. Tracking meeting requests is also one way to measure the prospects for growth and health of the U.S. biosimilars industry. By that measure, the prospects for the U.S. biosimilars industry look bullish. This year, FDA revised its estimate for meeting requests upward by six respondents to Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) meeting requests, reflecting the industry’s confidence in the growth of biosimilar market share in the United States.

FDA’s upward projection is consistent with independent estimates of potential biosimilar cost savings in the United States. In 2014, Rand Corporation estimated biosimilar cost savings over the next decade to be $44 billion. By 2017, Rand Corporation estimated biosimilar cost savings over the next decade to be $54 billion. The increase in estimated cost savings is premised on biosimilars gaining in market share of biologics prescriptions. These signs are all pointing toward increased growth of the U.S. biosimilars industry.

Read the full text of this client Alert, including lists of what to have prepared for meeting requests and the actual meetings, on the Duane Morris LLP website.

Expanding Access to Experimental Drugs

Drug and biologic developers have faced increasing pressure from patients and their advocates to make investigational drugs available for compassionate use prior to approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Over the past year social media campaigns have spotlighted patients seeking early access to potentially life-saving treatments, drawing attention to the growing debate between patient advocates promoting wider access to investigational drugs, and those urging more cautious approaches. Propelled by the plight of critically ill patients desperately seeking new treatments, several states have passed laws giving patients the “Right to Try” investigational drugs or biologics. FDA has also taken steps to make its “Expanded Access” process more user-friendly, and the Agency continues to solicit input from patient groups on risk-benefit analysis and available treatments as part of its Patient-Focused Drug Development Initiative.

Companies may want to monitor regulatory and legislative developments relating to early access to investigational treatments, and to adopt formal compassionate use policies.

Continue reading “Expanding Access to Experimental Drugs”

© 2009- Duane Morris LLP. Duane Morris is a registered service mark of Duane Morris LLP.

The opinions expressed on this blog are those of the author and are not to be construed as legal advice.

Proudly powered by WordPress