DOJ Announces an Enhanced Approach to Corporate Criminal Enforcement

On September 15, 2022, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco of the Department of Justice (DOJ) delivered a speech at New York University addressing new guidance on corporate criminal enforcement. Her speech made it clear that DOJ is prioritizing investigations and prosecutions against corporate entities. DOJ’s approach in this area is fundamentally grounded in individual accountability and corporate responsibility. Building off those ideas, the new guidance provides for: (1) increased focus on individual liability; (2) consideration of the full criminal, civil and regulatory record of any company when deciding the appropriate resolution; (3) expanding voluntarily self-disclosure programs across DOJ; and (4) the consideration of compensation systems that reward or deter compliance when evaluating the strength of a company’s compliance program. Monaco also announced increased transparency and consistency by DOJ when determining issues related to monitors. DOJ intends these policies to communicate to corporate entities that it is “not accepting business as usual” and that personal liability and the specifics of a corporation’s cooperation and integration of compliance programs will be heavily scrutinized in criminal corporate prosecutions.

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

FDA’s Guidance Creates Administrative Burden for Animal Drug Compounding Documentation

On April 13, 2022, the FDA issued Guidance for Industry #256 about the enforcement policy regarding the compounding of animal drugs from bulk drug substances by or under the direct supervision of veterinarians or pharmacists in either state-licensed pharmacies or federal facilities. FDA has spent several years and gone through multiple iterations trying to develop new industry guidance on compounding animal medications. While changes have been made from previous iterations, FDA has implemented significant administrative burdens for documentation of clinical need and limitations on drug substances that can be compounded for office use.

FDA has taken the current position that drugs compounded from bulk substances violate the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) because they are not approved or indexed, are not made according to current good manufacturing practice and cannot satisfy the FD&C Act’s adequate directions for use provision. However, FDA has generally refrained from taking enforcement action against animal drugs compounded from bulk drug substances under certain circumstances when no other medically appropriate treatment options exist. Especially for animal drugs, compounding plays a crucial role in providing medically appropriate treatments for a wide variety of species of all different shapes and sizes―specifically, those for whom a single dosage form or level will not be medically appropriate.

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

New Guidance Reveals FDA’s Thinking on Imposition of Civil Monetary Penalties for Violations of Clinical Trial Reporting Requirements

In August 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued guidance on the imposition of civil monetary penalties for violations of clinical trial reporting requirements. The new guidance is welcome insight for members of the pharmaceutical, biologics and medical device industries, particularly in light of the race to develop—and convince FDA of the safety and effectiveness of—COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostic tests.

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

FDA’s Bark May Be Worse Than Its Bite: Revised Guidance Permits Certain Compounding of Animal Drugs from Bulk Drug Substances

On November 19, 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released revised guidance concerning the compounding of animal drugs from bulk drug substances—in particular, the circumstances under which the FDA would not plan to take enforcement action for certain violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) when pharmacists and veterinarians compound or oversee the compounding of animal drugs from bulk drug substances. The guidance is intended to replace a withdrawn draft guidance concerning the compounding of animal drugs initially released in May 2015.

View the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

Federal Agencies Issue Draft Guidance for Drug Master Files for First Time in 30 Years

For the first time since September 1989, federal agencies have issued draft guidance concerning drug master files (DMFs), submissions to the FDA that may be used to provide confidential, detailed information concerning the manufacturing, processing, packaging and storing of human drug products. Notably, the release of this draft guidance comes on the heels of a recent executive order by President Trump aiming to curb the use of agency guidance documents to avoid the formal rule-making process.

View the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

FDA Releases Guidance on REMS Modifications and Revisions

On July 9, 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a final guidance on changes to approved Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS). For certain drugs, the FDA may require a REMS as an additional risk management plan to ensure that the benefits of the drug outweigh the risks. The final guidance describes the three different types of changes to an approved REMS, how application holders should submit changes to REMS, and how the FDA will process submissions from application holders for changes to REMS.

View the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

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.

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 Issues Draft Guidances for Prior Approval Supplements and Amendments / Easily Correctable Deficiencies Under GDUFA

The Generic Drug User Fee Amendments of 2012 (GDUFA) were signed into law on July 9, 2012, in an effort “to speed access to safe and effective generic drugs to the public and reduce costs to industry.” In July 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued two draft Guidances for Industry: one relating to Prior Approval Supplements Under GDUFA and one relating to Amendments and Easily Correctable Deficiencies Under GDUFA.

Click here to read the full Alert written by Duane Morris partner Rick Ball and associate Carolyn Alenci.

FDA Issues Draft Guidance for Identification and Notification of Suspect Products

As discussed in our April 11, 2014 Alert, the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) was enacted “to build an electronic, interoperable system to identify and trace certain prescription drugs as they are distributed within the United States.” Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a draft Guidance for Industry for implementing the DSCSA with respect to identification of suspect products and notification thereof.

Starting January 1, 2015, trading partners and manufacturers are required to “notify FDA and immediate trading partners (that they have reason to believe may have received [or possess] the illegitimate product) not later than 24 hours after making the determination.”

Click here to read the full Alert, written by Duane Morris partner Rick Ball and associate Carolyn Alenci.

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

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