FDA has denied a petition for administrative reconsideration of its June 2005 decision on qualified health claims for green tea and certain cancers. In that decision, FDA stated its intent to consider the exercise of enforcement discretion for two weakly worded qualified health claims for …
Over the past several months, FDA has responded to or companies have submitted citizen petitions to FDA requesting that the Agency refrain from approving ANDAs for generic drugs with less than complete labeling – so-called “skinny labeling.” That got us thinking – what is the …
On September 12, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia heard oral argument and ruled in Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Leavitt, which concerns the availability of 180-day exclusivity for a generic version of Janssen Phaemaceutica’s schizophrenia drug RISPERDAL (risperidone) Tablets …
Human history is replete with examples of the use of lethal or debilitating agents in war and by terrorists. As early as the 6th Century B.C., the Assyrians are reported to have poisoned the wells of their enemies with ergot of rye (causing ergotism), and …
In United States v. Stein, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently upheld a lower court’s decision to dismiss charges against former employees of KPMG on the basis that the prosecutors interfered with the employees’ constitutional right to counsel. Ex-employees of …
On March 5, 2008, FDA published a notice in the Federal Register announcing an opportunity for public comment on a proposed collection of information concerning the new clinical trial certification requirement created by Title VIII of the FDA Amendments Act (“FDAAA”). We previously reported on …
Kurt R. Karst of Hyman, Phelps & McNamara, P.C. (and co-chief blogger of FDALawBlog.net) will be speaking at the Center for Business Intelligence’s Pharmaceutical Congress on Paragraph IV Disputes, October 15 – 16, 2008, at the Marriott Philadelphia Downtown in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A copy of …
According to the Associated Press, a federal court has sentenced Steven Warshak, founder of Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals, to 25 years in prison for crimes including mail fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, and money laundering. In addition, Warshak and other defendants must forfeit money and assets …
2009 is shaping up to be a big year for debate on Follow-On Biologics (“FOBs”). Earlier this year, Representative Anna Eshoo introduced FOB legislation and the House Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Health requested comment on various FOB issues. The legislation and comments submitted …
A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in Chein v. DEA demonstrates the Court’s deference to agency expertise and a registrant’s heavy burden in overturning final action by the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) absent a “flagrant departure from …
In Novelty Distributors, Inc. v. Leonhart, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia recently confronted the issue of whether district courts have jurisdiction over a challenge to an agency action that is admittedly not final. Novelty Distributors, Inc. (“Novelty”), a distributor of controlled …
In recent years, FDA has studiously avoided taking any broad regulatory action on the issue of whether, and under what circumstances, the presence of methylmercury in fish renders that fish adulterated. FDA recognized that the scientific evidence that addresses the potential risks posed by methylmercury …
Under the FDC Act and FDA’s implementing regulations, a sponsor may qualify for a 3-year period of market exclusivity for a “change” to an approved drug product if the application contains: (1) “reports of new clinical investigations (other than bioavailability studies);” (2) that were “essential …
FDA released a Memorandum of Agreement Between the Office of New Drugs (“OND”) and the Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology (“OSE”) in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (“CDER”) “on the management of significant safety issues associated with pending and approved drug products.” The …
On August 8, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued an opinion in an appeal from a conviction under, among other provisions, the criminal provisions of the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (“FDC Act”). A jury convicted Eric Goldberg of …
