3D printing has been a common topic of discussion of the blog. We’ve written about it here and in a more in-depth review of the legal issues raised by the emergence of 3D printing in the medical device industry in our September 2015 white paper. 3D printing is in the news again thanks to the … Continue Reading
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standards Association (IEEE) is developing new interoperability standards for medical devices, 3D printers and other eHealth devices. IEEE P3333.2.5, Draft Standard for Bio-CAD File Format for Medical 3D Printing is intended to develop standard methods for the printing of 3D-printed prosthetics and medical devices. IEEE proposes to define … Continue Reading
Today, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report entitled “Medical Devices: FDA Ordered Postmarket Studies to Better Understand Safety Issues, and Many Studies Are Ongoing.” According to the report, “GAO was asked to report on the characteristics and status of postmarket studies. This report describes (1) the types of devices for which FDA has ordered … Continue Reading
3D Printing has been a hot subject on this blog lately. From our first 3D Printing white paper, “3D Printing of Medical Devices: When a Novel Technology Meets Traditional Legal Principles” to our posts here, here and here. Our friends over at the Drug and Device Law blog are no stranger to the subject either. … Continue Reading
Our 3D Printing task force prepared our first 3D Printing white paper, “3D Printing of Medical Devices: When a Novel Technology Meets Traditional Legal Principles” last month because we are thrilled at the prospect of 3D printing changing the future of health care for the patients who need new treatments, devices and drugs, and we … Continue Reading
3D printing is quite possibly the next greatest chapter in the industrial revolution, and the technology is moving rapidly. Reed Smith’s Life Sciences Health Industry Group recently launched its first 3D printing publication white paper – 3D Printing of Medical Devices: When a Novel Technology Meets Traditional Legal Principles. This paper explores unchartered legal issues … Continue Reading
Cybersecurity issues are nothing new to those operating in the health care industry. But while these issues have most commonly been faced by hospitals and health care providers, medical device companies must now take note. As reported recently in the news, medical devices have increasingly become the targets for cybersecurity breaches, given the information contained … Continue Reading
The FDA announced that it will be holding a public 2-day workshop on September 29-30, 2015, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. titled, “Medical Device Patient Labeling.” The purpose of the public workshop is to discuss issues associated with the development and use of medical device patient labeling including content, testing, use, access, human factors, … Continue Reading
On July 10, 2015, the U.S. House of Representatives passed with an overwhelming majority (344-77), the 21st Century Cures bill (H.R. 6), a high-profile bipartisan bill intended to speed up and improve the process for approving innovative drugs and medical devices, and to address other issues, including those regarding clinical trial design, research funding, and … Continue Reading
Over on the Health Industry Washington Watch blog, Reed Smith attorneys Katie Pawlitz and Jeremy Alexander highlight the proposed changes to the Sunshine Act contained within H.R. 6, the “21st Century Cures Act,” which (as previously reported on Life Sciences Legal Update) was approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee last Thursday, May 21, … Continue Reading
3D printing is providing physicians with a steady flow of new options for medical treatment. Reports are constantly emerging about novel, life-saving procedures made possible through 3D printing. As one might imagine, however, 3D printing a medical device for use in humans carries particular challenges not present with 3D printing in other contexts.… Continue Reading
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a notice announcing the availability of a draft guidance document clarifying its acceptance of medical device clinical data from studies conducted in countries other than the United States. The document is intended to provide guidance regarding the 2012 Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act § 1123, amending Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act § 569B, which codified FDA's policy of accepting scientifically-valid clinical data obtained from non-U.S. clinical studies in support of premarket submissions for medical devices.… Continue Reading
Country of origin labeling issues can be exceedingly complex, as we have noted before. Several manufacturers have recently paid multi-million dollar settlements for alleged misstatements about their products’ country of origin, under the Trade Agreements Act (TAA) and False Claims Act (FCA). As described by Reed Smith attorneys Larry Sher, Larry Block and Jeffrey Orenstein … Continue Reading
FDA has issued a draft guidance providing recommendations for clinical investigators, sponsors and institutional review boards on the use of electronic informed consent for FDA-regulated clinical investigations of medical products, including drugs, medical devices and biological products. FDA is accepting comments on the draft guidance until May 8, 2015. In addition, the HHS Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) is considering whether to adopt the positions and recommendations proposed in this guidance for research regulated under the HHS protection of human subjects regulations and to issue a joint OHRP/FDA guidance document on this topic once the FDA's final guidance document has been developed.… Continue Reading
FDA has released the Medical Device Postmarket Surveillance System Planning Board’s report, Strengthening Patient Care: Building an Effective National Medical Device Surveillance System, which outlines recommended steps toward achieving the National Medical Device Postmarket Surveillance System (MDS) and strategies for implementation. For more information, see http://blogs.fda.gov/fdavoice/index.php/2015/02/moving-toward-a-national-medical-device-postmarket-surveillance-system/.… Continue Reading
Over on the Drug & Device Law blog, Reed Smith partner Jim Beck (aka "Bexis") offers his thoughts on the possible product liability implications of printing 3D medical devices. Specifically, Jim examines the question of what party (or parties) would be held liable as the manufacturer in a product liability case involving 3D printing. There are uncertainties surrounding each of the three primary parties who may be considered for liability: the hospital that owns the 3D printer used to produce medical devices; the manufacturer of the 3D printer; or the designer of the software used by the 3D printer to create the products. Jim's post discusses the current issues around naming each of those parties as the manufacturer, and concludes that - at least for the time being - 3D printing presents an unusual situation in which it is feasible that no entity qualifies as a "manufacturer" under the Restatements for strict liability. Additional legal issues like this will likely emerge as 3D printing's popularity continues to increase.… Continue Reading
As mentioned on our Health Industry Washington Watch blog, committees in both the House of Representatives and Senate last week addressed the speed at which medical innovations are approved and available for patient use. The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s “21st Century Cures Act” discussion draft, released on January 27, 2015, is a wide-reaching bill … Continue Reading
On January 27, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a 71-page Staff Report on privacy and security issues with the Internet of Things (IoT) - the growing ability of everyday devices to monitor and communicate information through the Internet. The Staff Report - which follows up on the FTC's public workshop over concerns with the IoT, as well as the FTC's first enforcement action brought in September 2013 - is especially relevant in the life sciences industry, which may see potentially revolutionary advances as a result of the IoT.… Continue Reading
The January 25, 2015 edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette featured an article in which Reed Smith partner Chris Healy commented on the dramatic rise in popularity of 3D printing technology and the legal issues that have come about – and may arise in the future – as a result of this trend. The article, “3D … Continue Reading
The past few years have seen 3D printing – a process that involves the creation of a three-dimensional object from a pre-conceived design – evolve from a futuristic idea into a multi-billion dollar business, and few industries have benefitted more from this technology than life sciences and health care. 3D printing has been used to … Continue Reading
The National Institutes of Health has released a proposed rule designed to provide clarity on the requirements surrounding the submission of information to ClinicalTrials.gov, as mandated by the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007. Among these requirements is the submission of summary results for clinical trials involving all pharmaceuticals, medical devices and biological products, regardless of whether they have been approved, licensed or cleared by the Food and Drug Administration. The rule also provides timetable restrictions for the registration of a clinical trial and submission of summary results, as well as guidelines for the reporting of adverse events.… Continue Reading
The Drug & Device Law blog recently posted an analysis of an interesting case, United States ex rel. Solis v. Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., that takes an issue the government has fought in the past – off-label promotion – and attempts to provide a link between it and the false claims issues that relators bring under … Continue Reading
Earlier this week, numerous media outlets reported on the Russian crime ring which had managed to steal more pieces of Internet data than any other group of hackers in history – a whopping collection of at least 1.2 billion user name and password combinations and over 500 million email addresses. The magnitude of data that … Continue Reading
Earlier this week, the FDA issued two draft guidances on social media, and Reed Smith attorneys Colleen Davies, Celeste Letourneau, Kevin Madagan, and Jennifer Pike have written a client alert that analyzes them both in detail. The first guidance pertains to product claims and risk information on platforms like Twitter and sponsored links, and the second to correcting third party misinformation that appears in social media, such as in comments on a Facebook page or website.
A key date to keep in mind is that the deadline for comments is September 16, 2014.… Continue Reading
