FDA Law Update : FDA Regulation Lawyer & Attorney : Sheppard Mullin Law Firm : Food & Drug Administration Product Regulations

While it is common knowledge that the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) is being more active in its review of prescription drug advertising by drug product manufacturers, it may not be widely known that FDA is reviewing what clinical investigators are stating about drugs for which they served as an investigator and which are not yet FDA approved. Recently, FDA posted on its website a Notice of Violation Letter sent January 11, 2010, to Dr. Leslie Baumann of the Baumann Cosmetic and Research Institute. The letter – coded MACMIS #18181 – can be found here.
 

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Manufacturers of liquid supplements and energy drinks appear to be in the FDA crosshairs.

On December 3, 2009, FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) published a draft guidance, “Factors that Distinguish Liquid Dietary Supplements from Beverages, Considerations Regarding Novel Ingredients, and Labeling for Beverages and Other Conventional Foods.” The guidance took many industry insiders by surprise. Because the guidance is still in draft form, CFSAN has invited comments from stakeholders.

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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently launched its Reportable Food Registry (RFR) electronic portal. In conjunction with this launch, FDA has issued a final guidance further discussing the specific requirements.

The RFR requires responsible parties to file a report through the RFR electronic portal at http://rfr.fda.gov when there is a reasonable probability that the use of, or exposure to, an article of food will cause serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals. Such foods are deemed by FDA to be “reportable foods.”  A “responsible party” (defined below) must notify FDA of a reportable food within 24 hours of its discovery. These new reporting requirements apply to food and animal feed products.  Infant formula and dietary supplement products are excluded.
 

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Recently, FDA issued its final guidance on the requirements for OTC drugs and dietary supplement labeling to include contact information for consumer reporting of a serious adverse event. This guidance builds upon requirements that were passed into law in the Dietary Supplement and Nonprescription Drug Consumer Protection Act of 2006 (“the Act”).
 

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With “effective enforcement” and “transparency” as her resounding themes, the new FDA Commissioner, Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D., on August 6^th, 2009, introduced herself and the FDA’s priorities to the attendees at a conference sponsored by the Food Drug Law Institute. The Commissioner used this opportunity to emphasize her commitment to “swift, aggressive, and effective enforcement of FDA laws and regulations” as well as Agency transparency. 
 

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As the Senate works toward health-care reform legislation, the Senate HELP Committee has released the 615 page bill that Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) will soon introduce on behalf of Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), The Affordable Health Choices Act. The Senate’s HELP and Judiciary committees expect to begin the markup process this month.

Included with a plan to cover millions of uninsured, the bill aims to lower health-care spending by mandating various preventive measures.  One of these: A requirement to disclose nutrition facts for menu items served in America's chain restaurants.
 

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Last month, the European Parliament approved new rules that will increase cosmetic safety and simplify regulatory procedures in the European Union. The legislation, which resulted from a compromise negotiation between Parliament and Council representatives, will take the form of a single regulation that applies to all member states simultaneously, and will replace the patchwork of 27 sets of national rules and 55 amendments that comprise the EU Cosmetic Directive of 1976. 
 

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