By Riëtte van Laack – Last week, Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) introduced the “Dietary Supplement Protection Act of 2011.” Referencing the exemplary safety record of dietary supplements, the bill proposes to amend section 413(d) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (“FDC Act”) to significantly …
By Anne K. Walsh – On November 2, 2011, DOJ’s Assistant Attorney General Tony West gave a keynote address at the Twelfth Annual Pharmaceutical Regulatory and Compliance Congress in Washington, DC. During that speech, he touted DOJ’s “successes” against health care fraud achieved during the last …
By David B. Clissold – As we previously reported, a group of five tobacco companies (R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Lorillard Tobacco Company, Commonwealth Brands, Inc., Liggett Group LLC, and Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc.) filed a complaint against FDA in the U.S. District Court for the District …
For the second year in a row, Hyman, Phelps & McNamara, P.C. has been ranked as a “Tier 1” law firm in the area of FDA Law (both nationally and in Washington DC) by the folks over at U.S. News & World Report, who teamed …
By Kurt R. Karst – For a few weeks now we’ve been hearing rumors that once the ball gets rolling in Congress with legislation to reauthorize the various user fee statutes (e.g., the Prescription Drug User Fee Act and the Medical Device User Fee and Modernization …
The Food and Drug Law Institute’s (“FLDI”) annual Enforcement, Litigation and Compliance Conference is being held in Washington, DC on December 6-7, 2011. Hyman, Phelps & McNamara, P.C. Director John R. Fleder is speaking at the conference. As a result, we were able to secure …
By Kurt R. Karst – In a decision handed down late last week by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, a three-judge panel affirmed a November 2010 decision from the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming granting FDA’s Motion to Dismiss …
By Susan J. Matthees – The American Council of Independent Laboratories (“ACIL”), the Association of Food Industries, and the Cheese Importers Association of America, Inc. recently petitioned FDA to revoke or partially revoke its Federal Register notice announcing Food Safety Modernization Act (“FSMA”) user fees amounts …
By Jennifer D. Newberger – On October 31, 2011, FDA issued a report titled “Understanding Barriers to Medical Device Quality.” The report results from an initiative launched by the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (“CDRH”) “to assess and understand gaps in medical device quality.” The …
By Cassandra A. Soltis – The Institute of Medicine (“IOM”) recently issued its Phase II report on consumer use and understanding of front-of-package (“FOP”) labeling systems for foods, recommending that both the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) and the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) “consider …
By Jennifer M. Thomas – President Obama issued an Executive Order earlier this week to address the growing issue of critical drug shortages – the first Executive Order to directly affect FDA operations since 1985. In a coordinated move, FDA also released its report: "A Review …
By Kurt R. Karst – Earlier this week, the U.S. Senate passed, by a 69-30 vote, H.R. 2112, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012, as part of an omnibus package of three spending measures. The House and Senate …
By Kurt R. Karst – In a 53-page decision handed down earlier this week by the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District (Division I), the Court ruled that patent settlement agreements between Bayer AG and several generic drug manufacturers did not violate the Cartwright Act …
By Kurt R. Karst – The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) recently indicated in a letter to FDA that U.S. Patent No. RE 41,571 (“the ‘571 patent”), a method-of-use patent listed in the Orange Book covering BUTRANS (buprenorphine) Transdermal System is not eligible for a …
By Ricardo Carvajal – NIH and USDA announced a joint workshop on Using Nanotechnology To Improve Nutrition Through Enhanced Bioavailability and Efficacy. Among the goals of the workshop are to “identify knowledge gaps in the use of nutrients (and bioactive food components) for disease prevention,” and to …
