FDA Issues Untitled Letter to Althera Pharmaceuticals for Statements Relating to ROSZET®

By Dominick DiSabatino and Arushi Pandya* on June 23, 2022 Posted in FDA

On June 2, 2022, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (OPDP) issued an untitled letter [1] to Althera Pharmaceuticals, LLC (Althera) relating to promotional communication for ROSZET® (rosuvastatin and ezetimibe) tablets for oral use (Roszet). The promotional communication was a professional “Roszet Doctor Info Letter Size”. [2] This is the third untitled letter from OPDP this year. In January, OPDP sent an untitled letter to Eli Lilly & Company regarding promotional claims for TRULICITY® on social media. In March, OPDP sent an untitled letter—which we covered in our blog post here —to Bausch Health Companies for misleading statements for DUOBRII™ conveyed in a promotional video and healthcare professional website.

Digital Health in the Metaverse: Three Legal Considerations

By Allison Fulton, Phil Kim, Julia Kadish and Arushi Pandya* on June 3, 2022 Posted in Digital Health & Medical Devices

The metaverse has been described as the “next frontier” and the “new era” of healthcare. Although still a loosely defined and relatively broad term, the “metaverse” generally refers to a shared virtual environment accessed by individuals via the Internet. Individuals generally enter the metaverse through the following four technologies: virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality and extended reality.

FDA White Paper Signals Shift to Performance-Based Reviews of Mature Quality Systems

By Allison Fulton and Eve Costopoulos on May 19, 2022 Posted in FDA

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Pharmaceutical Quality (OPQ) of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) recently published a White Paper laying out a framework to evaluate the Quality Management Maturity (QMM) of pharmaceutical manufacturing sites. The White Paper supports CDER’s long-held vision for pharmaceutical quality in the 21st century, described as a “maximally efficient, agile, flexible manufacturing sector” that is able to reliably produce high-quality drug products without extensive regulatory oversight.[1] The Agency is hosting a two-day workshop on May 24 and 25 for stakeholders to provide feedback on the proposed QMM, which may be a welcome shift towards a more holistic, metric-based review of manufacturers with mature quality systems.

Warning! FDA Issues Warning Letters for Products Containing Delta-8 THC

By Joseph Denapole and Sarah Blitz on May 11, 2022 Posted in Cannabis, FDA

On May 4, 2022, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued warning letters to five companies it asserts are illegally marketing products labeled as containing delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta-8 THC) in ways that violate the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). Simultaneously, FDA issued a new consumer update “5 Things to Know about Delta-8 Tetrahydrocannabinol – Delta-8 THC.” The consumer update and warning letters are a continuation and expansion of FDA’s efforts to warn the public about products that are not approved under the FDCA and to rein in the rapidly expanding market of products containing hemp-derived cannabinoids. This set of warning letters marks the first time FDA has publicly taken enforcement action against products containing Delta-8 THC, and it will likely not be the last. Continue Reading

FDA Issues Untitled Letter to Bausch Health Companies for Misleading Statements Relating to DUOBRII™

By Eve Costopoulos and Dominick DiSabatino on April 19, 2022 Posted in FDA

On March 31, 2022, the Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (OPDP) of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an untitled letter to Bausch Health Companies Inc. regarding a promotional video and healthcare professional website for DUOBRII™ (halobetasol proprionate and tazarotene) lotion, indicated for topical treatment of plaque psoriasis in adults (DUOBRII). The video[1] content aired on a popular television network and the website[2] content was directed at healthcare professionals. This is only the second untitled letter from OPDP this year, both of which were focused on false and misleading promotional messaging. Continue Reading

OIG Advisory Opinion Alert: Yet Another Favorable Decision for Medical Device Manufacturers

By Dominick DiSabatino and Scott Liebman on March 17, 2022 Posted in Digital Health & Medical Devices

On Thursday, March 16, the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services (“OIG”) issued OIG Advisory Opinion (“AO”) No. 22-05, relating to subsidization of certain Medicare cost-sharing obligations in the context of a clinical trial involving medical devices (the “Proposed Arrangement”). This is the third AO in a recent series of AOs (see AO 21-17 on November 19, 2021 and AO 21-13 on October 4, 2021) focused on Medicare cost subsidies in a clinical trial setting for serious conditions that affect large portions of the population in the US. Like these other AOs, OIG found that while the Proposed Arrangement could generate fraud and abuse risks under both the Federal anti-kickback statute (i.e., Section 1128A(a)(7) and 1128B(b) of the Social Security Act (“Act”)) and the Beneficiary Inducements CMP (i.e., Section 1128A(a)(5) of the Act), the Proposed Arrangement nevertheless presented a minimal risk of fraud and abuse under the law on the facts presented. Medical device manufacturers should pay close attention to this trend when considering trial designs and patient populations.

Top 5 Legal Issues in Digital Health to Watch for in 2022

By Allison Fulton, John Carroll, Sara Shanti, Julia Kadish and Erica Kraus on February 1, 2022 Posted in Digital Health & Medical Devices

The digital health sector has seen tremendous growth and innovation over the past few years. This momentum introduces new complexities within the legal and regulatory landscape that is trying to keep pace. In the attached article, we highlight some of the key legal considerations that the digital health industry can expect in the coming year from the perspective of: (1) telehealth related laws and regulations, (2) FDA, (3) privacy and cybersecurity, (4) fraud and abuse, and (5) antitrust issues. Continue Reading

FDA Releases Guidances on Transition Plan for Devices Distributed Under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) or Enforcement Policies During COVID-19

By Allison Fulton, Keeley A. McCarty and Elizabeth Hummel* on January 13, 2022 Posted in Coronavirus

On December 22, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published draft guidance documents for manufacturers of devices that were issued Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) or were subject to relaxed enforcement policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Acknowledging that the COVID-19 emergency will not last forever, the FDA’s recent draft guidances propose a 180-day transition path back to “normal operations,” i.e., compliance with the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) and regulatory requirements. The transition periods, which would begin (in most cases) 180 days after the end of the public health emergency (PHE), would allow manufacturers, healthcare facilities, and other stakeholders to avoid supply disruptions and product shortages. Following the transition period, manufacturers who want to continue selling covered devices would be expected to comply with all the usual regulatory requirements. Manufacturers who do not wish to continue distribution post-PHE could keep business as usual through the end of the 180-day transition period. Comments on the draft guidance are due on March 23, 2022. The guidance for EUA devices can be found here, and for devices marketed under COVID-19 enforcement policies, here.

FDA Releases Guidance for Digital Health Tech Used in Clinical Investigations

By Allison Fulton, Julia Kadish and Cynthia Suarez on January 6, 2022 Posted in Clinical Trials, Digital Health & Medical Devices

On December 22, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a draft guidance for sponsors, investigators, and other interested parties on using digital health technologies (DHT) to acquire data remotely from participants in clinical investigations. DHTs (such as wearables and sensors) are playing a growing role in clinical research, accelerated by the need for decentralized clinical trials and remote patient monitoring during the COVID-19 pandemic. Though largely directed to study sponsors using DHTs, the guidance raises issues that developers and manufacturers of these technologies will want to be mindful of given the ways in which their products might be used in a broader clinical use case than originally anticipated. Comments on the draft guidance are due March 23, 2022. The full text of the guidance can be accessed here.

EU Bans Whitening Food Additive E171 as of January 1, 2022

By Reid Whitten, Julien Blanquart and Nour Bey* on December 21, 2021 Posted in Enforcement Actions, Food & Dietary Supplements

Takeaways

Food products containing E171 will no longer be allowed to be imported into Europe from January 2022.
From June 2022, the sale of products containing E171 will be prohibited in Europe.

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