On January 7, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA” or “Agency”) released a long-awaited guidance titled, “Communications From Firms to Health Care Providers Regarding Scientific Information on Unapproved Uses of...more
DTC Telehealth Platforms -
Arrangements involving telemedicine and direct-to-consumer (“DTC”) business services are expected to be a source of major regulatory scrutiny. In 2024, such arrangements were the focus of proposed...more
1/31/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Cannabis Products ,
Clinical Trials ,
DEA ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Fraud ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Laboratory Developed Tests ,
Life Sciences ,
Marijuana ,
Marketing ,
Medical Devices ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Mergers ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Privacy Laws ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Section 340B ,
Technology Sector ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
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issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA” or the “Agency”) in the first week of 2025 were three notable draft guidance documents pertaining to medical devices (together, the...more
1/28/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Bias ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cybersecurity ,
Draft Guidance ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Life Sciences ,
Machine Learning ,
Medical Devices ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Transparency
On January 6, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA” or the “Agency”) released a draft guidance titled “Accelerated Approval and Considerations for Determining Whether a Confirmatory Trial is Underway” (the “Draft...more
On December 5, 2024, just in time for the holidays, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA” or the “Agency”) released a draft guidance titled “Expedited Program for Serious Conditions: Accelerated Approval of Drugs and...more
This year, we have seen several monumental events that already are, or potentially could be, pivotal to the future of the Laboratory Developed Test (“LDT”) industry – first, the issuance of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration...more
12/17/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Clinical Laboratories ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Final Rules ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Laboratory Developed Tests ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Life Sciences ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Statutory Authority ,
Trump Administration
FDA’s primary challenge in regulating AI-enabled device software functions (“AI-DSF”) has been that the self-modifying nature of these functions simply does not fit within the Agency’s long-standing framework for medical...more
In this second installment of our nine-part deep-dive into the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (“FDA” or “the Agency”) final rule on Laboratory Developed Tests (“LDTs”) – which established a staged plan that will phase out...more
Yesterday, the Food & Drug Administration (“FDA” or “the Agency”) issued a highly anticipated – and highly controversial – final rule, which rolls out a four-year, five-stage plan that will phase out the Agency’s previous...more
On February 16, the U. S. District Court for the District of Oregon struck down the state’s drug price transparency law—The Prescription Drug Price Transparency Act (the “Act”)—ruling that the Act’s annual price increase...more
3/11/2024
/ Drug Pricing ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Oregon ,
Over The Counter Drugs (OTC) ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
PHRMA ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures ,
Transparency
Last month, in the last advisory opinion issued by the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) in 2023 – Advisory Opinion No. 23-11 (the “Opinion”) – OIG “blessed” an arrangement involving a medical device manufacturer (the...more
1/31/2024
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Beneficiaries ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Clinical Trials ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Digital Health ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Medical Devices ,
Medicare ,
OIG
As we reflect on 2023 and make predictions for 2024, it is remarkable the number of significant events occurring this past year that will be impactful for the activities of the life sciences industry going forward. Although...more
1/26/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Amgen v Sanofi ,
Antitrust Division ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
Biosimilars ,
Chevron Deference ,
Clawbacks ,
Clinical Trials ,
Compensation ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Integrity Agreement ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Data Preservation ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Enforcement ,
EU ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Generic Drugs ,
Investigations ,
Life Sciences ,
Mergers ,
Mobile Devices ,
OPDP ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pilot Programs ,
Privacy Laws ,
Proposed Rules ,
Risk Management ,
Section 340B ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Voluntary Disclosure
On November 6, 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released the contract year 2025 proposed rule for Medicare Advantage (“MA”) organizations and Part D sponsors (the “Proposed Rule”). The Proposed...more
Earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA” or “the Agency”) issued a highly anticipated proposed rule outlining the regulatory framework and implementation plan for Laboratory Developed Tests (“LDTs”). The...more
On September 19, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA” or “the Agency”) published a draft guidance, Regulatory Considerations for Prescription Drug Use-Related Software (the “Guidance”) which adds a piece to the...more
9/27/2023
/ Digital Health ,
Draft Guidance ,
Food & Drug Regulations ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Labeling ,
Life Sciences ,
Marketing ,
Over The Counter Drugs (OTC) ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements
On June 21, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) issued a warning letter to Zyto Technologies, Inc. (“Zyto”), citing Zyto’s promotion of its Hand Cradle Galvanic Skin Response (“GSR”) device and associated...more
This month, pharmaceutical manufacturer, Merck & Co., Inc. (“Merck”), as well as four chambers of commerce, have filed suits against the federal government, arguing that the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program introduced...more
6/22/2023
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Manufacturers ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part B ,
Medicare Part D ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Proposed Regulation
On May 17, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (“FDA”) issued two important draft guidance documents, which clarify the agency’s approach to requirements and incentives in the realm of pediatric drug development — “Regulatory...more
On April 5, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) announced its decision to withdraw the approval of Makena® hydroxyprogesterone caproate injection (“Makena”) – a drug that was approved in 2011 to reduce the...more
On March 29, 2023, and March 30, 2023, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (“FDA”) issued a series of FAQs and a guidance document clarifying the agency’s intended implementation of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023...more
In light of the increasing demand for mental health treatment and simultaneous provider shortages, the private insurance industry is rolling out targeted initiatives to increase mental health support for members by mitigating...more
On February 9, 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released two highly-anticipated guidance documents (the “Guidance”) detailing the agency’s proposed implementation of the Medicare Part B (“Part B”)...more
On December 15, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a draft guidance, titled “Circumstances that Constitute Delaying, Denying, Limiting, or Refusing a Drug or Device Inspection” (the “Inspection Draft...more
As we take a breather during the holiday whirlwind, we wanted to flag for readers a recent development in advertising and promotion regulation that FDA quietly released nearly a month ago. In a Memorandum issued on October 27...more
On October 5, 2022, the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) posted Advisory Opinion No. 22-19 (the “Opinion”), which limits the ability of pharmaceutical manufacturers to offer cost-sharing subsidies to Medicare Part D (“Part...more
10/13/2022
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Enforcement ,
Manufacturers ,
Medicare Part D ,
OIG ,
Pharmaceutical Industry