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.
Some important developments during January include:
- Outline of China's Nursing Development Plan from 2011 to 2015
- Promulgation of Eight Recommended Medical Product Industry Standards
- Strengthening Implementation of 2010 GMP Amendment
- Circulation of the 12th Five-Year Plan for Medical Device Technology Industry… Continue Reading
On December 19, 2011, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") published a proposed rule (the "Proposed Rule") related to section 6002 of the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as the "Physician Payment Sunshine Act." The Physician Payment Sunshine Act requires applicable manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologicals, or medical supplies covered under Medicare, Medicaid, or CHIP to report annually to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services ("Secretary") certain payments or other transfers of value to physicians and teaching hospitals. Additionally, applicable manufacturers and applicable group purchasing organizations ("GPOs") must report certain information regarding the ownership or investment interests in them that are held by physicians or their immediate family members.… 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
This post was written by Jay Yan, Mao Rong, Zack Dong, Zhao Hong, Gordon Schatz, Dr. David Kan and Katherine Yang. 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. Some important developments during … 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.
Some important developments during October include:
- SFDA Issues 2010 Annual Report on Drug Registration and Approval
- CCTV to Restrict Advertisement of Alcohol, Medical Institutions
- MOH Requires Improvement of the Reward and Penalty System for Antibacterial Drug Administration
- Draft Mental Health Law Submitted to NPC Standing Committee for First Deliberation
- SFDA: All Drugs on Market to Have E-ID by End of 2015
- SFDA Releases 3rd Batch of Illegal Drugs, Medical Devices and Health Food Advertisements in 2011
- SFDA issues Notice on Release and Delivery of GMP Certification Announcement - SFDA issues
- Notice concerning Circulation of the Administrative Measures on Drug Supervision in Medical Institutions
- Detailed Summary of SFDA 2010 Annual Report on Drug Registration and Approval… Continue Reading
On November 14, 2011, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing called "Medical Devices: Protecting Patients and Promoting Innovation." The hearing focused on the continued viability of a medical device clearance process that clears for market medical devices that are "substantially equivalent" devices to previously cleared devices (also known as the "510(k) process," in reference to the statutory provision governing this process). Class III medical devices not cleared through this process must undergo the more rigorous and time-consuming Premarket Approval process. Among the issues considered were whether the 510(k) process sufficiently evaluated the safety of devices when clinical data is not necessarily always considered or part of the submission; whether high-risk medical devices should always be considered for the 510(k) process; the user fees for medical device applications; strengthening post-approval monitoring requirements; and the resources and needs for the FDA and the Center of Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) in reviewing, clearing and approving medical devices.… 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
On Friday, October 7, 2011, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") and the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") (collectively, the "Agencies") announced they were soliciting nominations from sponsors of medical devices to participate in the Agencies' parallel review pilot program. The Agencies officially published a Federal Register notice announcing the program October 11, 2011 (the "Notice"), with an effective date of November 10, 2011, although the Agencies began accepting nomination submissions October 7.… Continue Reading
Notably absent from last month's Department of Health and Human Services Semiannual Regulatory Agenda was any indication of where the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ("CMS") and the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") stand with respect to their notice with request for comments, issued last fall, on the proposed parallel review process for medical products. While CMS and FDA officials confirmed that they are currently reviewing comments submitted during the review period, they declined to speculate on when they intend to act. The comments submitted, however, provide insight into industry views on this important issue, including widespread discontent with the approval mechanisms currently available. We have undertaken a review of all of the comments submitted and extracted the eight main concerns cited in the following analysis.… Continue Reading
On June 9, 2011, Senator Orrin Hatch released a report by the Senate Finance Committee Minority Staff that outlines key concerns about Physician-Owned Distributors ("PODs"), specifically regarding the lack of regulatory oversight and clear guidance from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General ("OIG"). The Committee Minority's report, Physician Owned Distributors (PODs): An Overview of Key Issues and Potential Areas for Congressional Oversight, set forth findings of committee staff who spoke to over fifty people and reviewed thousands of pages of documents. In addition to the report, the Chairman and Ranking Members of the Senate Financial Committee, Special Committee on Aging, and Judiciary Committee sent letters on the same day to the Administrator for Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") and the Inspector General of Health and Human Services ("HHS") requesting further inquiry into the concerns set out in the Senator Hatch's report.… Continue Reading
On May 26, 2011, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed into law Senate Bill 104 ("S.104"), significantly modifying Vermont law banning the provision by manufacturers of gifts to health care providers and requiring disclosure of certain allowable expenditures and gifts to health care providers (18 V.S.A. § 4631a and 18 V.S.A. § 4632). S.104 follows amendments made to the Vermont gift ban and disclosure law enacted just last year. This Client Alert includes a summary of the modifications pursuant to S.104. Except as otherwise noted, the changes are effective July 1, 2011.… 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
States are increasingly imposing marketing restrictions on device manufacturers through laws that previously focused more specifically on pharmaceutical manufacturers. These laws affect compliance activities and relationships with providers, and create new reporting obligations. The impact is significant in that these state laws directly influence how companies conduct business and interact with customers, but implementation is complicated by the variations that exist between states.
Most significantly, under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("ACA"), beginning March 31, 2013, and annually thereafter, device manufacturers must report payments to physicians and teaching hospitals during the preceding calendar year. This means manufacturers must be prepared to track payments in a comprehensive manner as of January 1, 2012. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") is now in the early stages of developing specific provisions to implement the new ACA provisions, with publication of proposed regulations to occur not later than October 1, 2011.
This Client Alert provides a brief overview of the existing state marketing laws that apply to device manufacturers, including recent changes to those laws, as well as federal reporting requirements under the ACA. Although the laws discussed may apply broadly to other entities, we refer in our Client Alert specifically to medical device manufacturers.… Continue Reading
In February we noted that the perennial "Sunshine in Litigation" bill had been introduced again. The Senate version in S. 623 and the House version is H.R. 592 but there is no real difference. It now is scheduled for consideration in Senate Judiciary on May 5 at 10:00 a.m. A link to the webcast should be available then from the relevant Senate Judiciary Committee hearing and meeting page.… Continue Reading
On February 15, 2011, the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") published a final rule reclassifying Medical Device Data Systems ("MDDS") as Class I medical devices exempt from 510(k) premarket notification requirements. FDA defined MDDS as medical devices that are intended to transfer, store, convert from one format to another according to preset specifications, or display "medical device data." FDA explicitly excluded electronic health record ("EHR") and computerized physician order entry ("CPOE") systems from the MDDS Final Rule. Because MDDS do not "provide new or unique algorithms or functions," FDA concluded that general controls, such as the Quality System Regulations are sufficient to mitigate any risks associated with MDDS.… Continue Reading
Law360 is reporting that Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) is seeking to revive the 2009 "Sunshine in Litigation Act," a bill we covered previously. H.R. 592 would turn around the Supreme Court's Seattle Times Co. v. Rhinehart, 467 U.S. 20, 33 (1984), which concluded that discovery materials are not public components of a civil trial. As a result, litigation protective orders are permissible to protect the confidential and proprietary information of parties to civil litigation, at least until information produced in discovery is filed with the court or introduced into evidence for determination of a merits issue (such as on a motion for summary judgment or at trial.… Continue Reading
On January 19, 2011, FDA announced its long-awaited plans for revising the premarket notification (510(k)) process for medical devices to address the concerns that have been raised about the process by industry, consumers and Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) staff regarding the lack of predictability, consistency, transparency of the process, the inadequacy of the process to ensure the safety and effectiveness of products, and the lack of flexibility of the process to address changing technology and complexity. In 2009, CDRH established working groups to address these concerns. In August 2010, these working groups issued recommendations, which FDA analyzed and addressed as part of the announcement. FDA also sought public input and comments.… Continue Reading
FDA has issued a press release on its plan to reform the 510(k) medical device review process, outlining changes it intends to implement during 2011 including streamlining the "de novo" review process for certain innovative, lower-risk medical devices; clarifying when clinical data should be submitted in a premarket submission; and "establishing a new Center Science Council of senior FDA experts to assure timely and consistent science-based decision making." Undoubtedly there will be much more on this in the coming weeks and months.… Continue Reading
On November 29, 2010, the Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS") issued Notice 2010-71, 2010-50 IRB (the "Notice"), which provides guidance on the calculation of the annual fee imposed on certain manufacturers and importers of branded prescription drugs for calendar years beginning after December 31, 2010, pursuant to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (collectively, the Affordable Care Act or the "ACA"). Reed Smith Tax and LSHI attorneys have prepared an analysis of the guidance which provides background on the annual fee and a summary of the information contained in the Notice. While the Notice provides a solid starting point for IRS guidance, there are nevertheless areas of ambiguity that companies will need to evaluate.… Continue Reading
The Ninth Circuit recently confronted an issue of first impression: whether a plaintiff could maintain an action under the false advertising prong of the Lanham Act, where a determination of the alleged falsity would require the court to impinge on the exclusive purview of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in deciding whether there has been a violation of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). Although limited to the particular circumstances presented, the opinion reaffirmed the exclusive authority of the FDA to enforce the provisions of the FDCA, and indicates that a plaintiff may not maintain a lawsuit premised on the allegation of a violation of the FDCA, where the FDA itself has not acted.… Continue Reading
On November 12 and 13, 2009, the FDA hosted public hearings to vet the potential need for regulation of prescription pharmaceutical and medical device marketing on social media outlets such as YouTube, Wikipedia, Facebook, and Twitter. The FDA specifically sought input on these five questions: (1) For what online communications are manufacturers, packers or distributors accountable? (2) How can manufacturers, packers, or distributors fulfill regulatory requirements in their Internet and social media promotion, particularly when using tools that are associated with space limitations and tools that allow for real-time communications? (3) What parameters should apply to the posting of corrective information on Web sites controlled by third parties? (4) When is the use of links appropriate? and (5) Questions specific to Internet adverse event reporting...… Continue Reading
On May 20, 2009, China's State Administration of Industry and Commerce, the Ministry of Health, and the State Food & Drug Administration together issued new regulations for medical device manufacturers and distributors who advertise medical devices and diagnostic products, entitled, "Measures for the Examination of Medical Device Advertisements" and "Standards for the Examination and Release of Medical Device Advertisements." To read a summary of key points contained in the regulations, click the link below.… Continue Reading
On Tuesday, August 4, 2009, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions met for a hearing called "Protecting Patients from Defective Medical Devices" regarding Senate Bill 540, a companion bill to the House bill, H.R. 1346, the "Medical Device Safety Act of 2009." The House Subcommittee on Health, of the Committee on Energy and Commerce also met earlier this year on this issue, with some of the same speakers.… Continue Reading
On August 4, 2009 at 2:30 p.m., it will be the Senate’s HELP Committee’s turn to hold a hearing entitled “Protecting Patients from Defective Medical Devices”. No witness list is yet posted. For our coverage on past hearings on this issue, click here.… Continue Reading