The United States Supreme Court has declined to hear a challenge to the Alameda County Drug Disposal Ordinance (“Ordinance”) brought by three pharmaceutical trade organizations. The Court’s decision leaves in force the Ninth Circuit decision, which found that the Ordinance, requiring pharmaceutical manufacturers to fund drug take-back programs in the county, did not interfere with … Continue Reading
On May 5, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report entitled "FDA Has Made Progress on Oversight and Inspections of Manufacturers of Generic Drugs" in response to a Congressional request expressing concerns about the safety and quality of generic drugs produced by manufacturers outside the United States. The OIG report contains an analysis of FDA's inspections of generic drug manufacturers over the past several years, and provides several recommendations for the FDA going forward.… 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
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), and the Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA) have jointly filed a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking for review of the Ninth Circuit's decision in PhRMA v. County of Alameda, in which the court ruled that Alameda County's Safe Drug Disposal Ordinance - requiring pharmaceutical manufacturers to establish or participate in a program for collecting unwanted prescription drugs from consumers - was constitutional.… Continue Reading
The Alameda County (CA) Safe Drug Disposal Ordinance (Alameda County Code Chapter 6.53, §§ 6.53.010-6.53.120) is one of several county-wide regulations across the United States to enforce the establishment of and/or participation in Product Stewardship Plans on the part of pharmaceutical manufacturers, with the ultimate goal of collecting unwanted drugs for purposes of disposal. The … Continue Reading
As mentioned on our Health Industry Washington Watch blog, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it will hold a public hearing on March 25 and 26, 2014 to receive input on the current processes for reviewing over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. In the announcement, the FDA concedes that the current OTC drug review “needs … Continue Reading
This post was written by Jay J. Yan, Hugh T. Scogin, Jr., John J. Tan, Mao Rong, Katherine Yang, May Wong, Amy Yin and Gordon B. Schatz. Reed Smith’s China Life Sciences and Health Industry Client Briefing provides a summary of the monthly news and legal developments relating to China’s Pharmaceutical, Medical Device, and Life … Continue Reading
Reed Smith's Life Sciences Health Industry China Briefing provides a summary of the monthly news and legal developments relating to China's Pharmaceutical, Medical Device, and Life Sciences/ Health Care Industries.… Continue Reading
The Food and Drug Law Institute (FDLI) has an interesting upcoming conference on June 13-14 in Beijing, China that will address current legal, regulatory and economic issues regarding food, cosmetics, dietary supplements, pharmaceuticals and medical devices in China and the United States. Speakers are top government officials and internationally renowned experts who will discuss the issues in both countries.… Continue Reading
On September 30, the House Energy and Commerce Committee is holding a hearing on draft drug safety legislation (per http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?option=com_jcalpro&Itemid=54&extmode=view&extid=230&date=2010-09-30, witness list not yet available). The legislation, which was drafted by Reps. John Dingell, Henry Waxman, Frank Pallone, and Bart Stupak, requires parity between foreign and domestic drug facility inspections, increases the number of pre-approval drug inspections, prohibits the entry of drugs into the United States lacking documentation of safety, requires manufacturers to ensure the safety of their supply chain, and grants FDA authority to mandate recalls of unsafe drugs. For background information on the draft legislation (including the text), see http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2123:waxman-dingell-pallone-a-stupak-open-discussion-on-potentially-historic-changes-in-drug-safety-laws&catid=122:media-advisories&Itemid=55&layout=default&date=2010-10-01.… Continue Reading
As reported by our sister site, Health Industry Washington Watch, on Wednesday the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee will hold a hearing entitled, "Drug Safety: An Update from the FDA." At the hearing, the FDA will detail its current challenges and successes in the area of drug safety. Joshua M. Sharfstein, M.D., FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner, is slated to testify.… Continue Reading
The Reed Smith Health Industry Washington Watch blog has been updated to discuss a variety of health policy developments, including the following:
- FDA Transparency Task Force
- Toll-Free Numbers for Adverse Events Reporting
- Generic Drugs… Continue Reading
Recent posts on www.lifescienceslegalupdate.com include:
"Commentary: FDA's New Good Reprint Practice Rule". The Food and Drug Administration's new Good Reprint Practice ("GRP") Guidance went into effect January 2009. The GRP Guidance establishes criteria that FDA will now use to determine whether the distribution of medical or scientific reprints and reference texts about off-label uses of a drug or device would constitute impermissible promotional activity under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
https://www.lifescienceslegalupdate.com/2009/01/articles/regulatory-developments/commentary-fdas-new-good-reprint-practice-rule/
...and "Dept. of Bad Ideas: Criminalization of Product Liability" regarding the 2006 proposal by Senator Arlen Specter (R.-PA) to criminalize aspects of product liability law. https://www.lifescienceslegalupdate.com/2009/01/articles/product-liability/dept-of-bad-ideas-criminalization-of-product-liability/… Continue Reading
The FDA published a notice January 15, 2009 announcing the launch of a voluntary Secure Supply Chain pilot program to help promote the safety of imported drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). According to the FDA, the program would enable the FDA to focus its resources on imported drugs that fall outside the program and that … Continue Reading
On January 13, 2009, the FDA announced on behalf of the Interagency Working Group on Import Safety the availability of draft guidance on “Good Importer Practices.” The draft guidance document provides general recommendations to importers on possible practices and procedures they may follow to increase the likelihood the products they import (including drugs) comply with applicable … Continue Reading
The FDA has released draft guidance on “Standards for Securing the Drug Supply Chain – Standardized Numerical Identification for Prescription Drug Packages,” which recommends standards industry should use for the identification of individual packages containing prescription drugs under the FDAAA. The standards are designed to facilitate adoption of a uniform electronic track and trace system for … Continue Reading
On January 16, 2009, the FDA published a notice announcing “Draft Guidance for Industry on Submission of Laboratory Packages by Accredited Laboratories,” which is intended to enhance the quality and reliability of test results submitted by importers to demonstrate that their products meet the FDA’s requirements. The guidance advises importers how to use accredited laboratories and … Continue Reading
