Among the wave of guidance documents issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA” or the “Agency”) in the first week of 2025 were three notable draft guidance documents pertaining to medical devices (together, the “Draft Guidances”). The Draft Guidances hit on the topics of in vitro diagnostic (“IVD”) devices, artificial intelligence (“AI”) enabled device software functions, and pulse oximeters. This uncharacteristic deluge of guidance all within the span of a week illustrates the Agency’s desire to disseminate policy ahead of the incoming administration – especially as it relates to medical devices, which for a variety of reasons that any follower of this blog could intuit, have become a hot-button issue across the various corners of the healthcare and life sciences industries.Continue Reading FDA Dumps Trio of Device-Related Guidances Prior to Administration Change

Earlier this week, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (“FDA” or the “Agency”) released its long-anticipated final guidance (the “Guidance”) on predetermined change control plans (“PCCPs”) for devices that utilize artificial intelligence/machine learning (“AI/ML”) software. FDA’s stated goal for the Guidance is to “to provide a forward-thinking approach to promote the development of safe and effective AI-enabled devices,” and it represents notable progress in the Agency’s scramble to keep with – or at least prevent being too far outpaced by – the rapid pace of AI/ML innovation, as used in digital health technology.Continue Reading FDA Releases Long-Anticipated Guidance on Predetermined Change Control Plans for Devices That Utilize AI/ML Software

Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) quietly updated its March 2023 guidance on the evaluation of corporate compliance programs.[i] Of course, DOJ did not conduct a major rewrite, but interestingly, the updated guidance emphasizes the impact, and evaluation, of emerging technologies on compliance as well as the importance of data when assessing compliance programs.Continue Reading DOJ Updates Guidance on Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs