• where experts go to learn about FDA
  • Jeffrey N. Gibbs

    • HP&M Files Comments Opposing FDA’s Proposed LDT RuleDecember 7th, 2023

      On Monday, Hyman, Phelps & McNamara, P.C. filed comments on behalf of the Coalition to Preserve LDT Access and Innovation in response to FDA’s proposed rule to regulate laboratory developed tests (LDTs) as devices.  Weighing in at nearly 60 pages, the comments detail extensive flaws …

    • FDA Stealthily Convenes Multi-Cancer Testing Panel MeetingNovember 28th, 2023

      Shortly before the Thanksgiving holiday, FDA announced with no fanfare that it would be holding a Molecular and Clinical Genetics Panel meeting this Wednesday November 29.  The notice (here) indicates that FDA plans for the panel to “discuss and make recommendations on the design of …

    • Do You Hear What I Hear? One Year of OTC Hearing AidsNovember 8th, 2023

      The first anniversary is always special.  Janus-like, it offers the opportunity to simultaneously reflect on hitting a milestone and projecting the future.  The first anniversary can also prompt a taking of stock: how well did the first year go? Recently, the over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid rule, …

    • A Question 30 Years in the Making: Would a Final LDT Rule Withstand Judicial Scrutiny?November 2nd, 2023

      For more than three decades, FDA has claimed that the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) gives the agency legal authority to regulate laboratory developed tests (LDTs) as medical devices (see our prior post here).  In this post, we summarize the purported basis …

    • Out At Home: FDA’s Vocal Support of Home Testing but Reluctance to Clear Novel OTC Home TestsJune 23rd, 2023

      FDA has been clearing over-the-counter (OTC) in vitro diagnostic (IVD) tests nearly since the beginning of its premarket regulation of devices.  The first OTC IVD cleared by FDA was a qualitative dipstick urine glucose test in 1977, followed shortly thereafter by the first OTC pregnancy …

    • FDA’s Summer Plans May Include LDT RulemakingJune 20th, 2023

      The long-running saga of FDA regulation of laboratory-developed tests (LDTs) has taken yet another new turn.  In the most recent Unified Agenda, which is a list of planned regulatory actions published semi-annually by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), FDA announced its intent to …

    • Doctoring the Law: Congress May Let FDA Regulate the Practice of MedicineDecember 22nd, 2022

      Back in June, when Congress was negotiating the User Fee Acts, FDA asked Congress to add in some provisions reversing several lawsuits that it had just lost.  Ultimately, FDA lost that fight, and a slimmed down version of the FDA Safety and Landmark Advancements (“FDASLA”) …

    • Remote Patient Testing Faces a Cloudy Future under VALIDDecember 14th, 2022

      It is widely expected that the fate of the VALID Act – and therefore the world of diagnostic regulation – will be determined in the next two weeks (see our previous post here).  While the potential mitigating impact of the “grandfathering” clause on laboratories currently …

    • FDA Safety Communications: A Potential Provider PitfallSeptember 28th, 2022

      The New Jersey Supreme Court, in its August 25, 2022 opinion in Mirian Rivera v. Valley Hospital, Inc., 2022 N.J. LEXIS 679 (NJ Aug. 25, 2022), https://www.njcourts.gov/attorneys/assets/opinions/supreme/a_25_26_27_21.pdf?c=lmL, considered whether a provider’s use of a medical device that is the subject of an FDA safety communication …

    • It’s My Party and I’ll Cry if I Want to: A Bittersweet Happy 30th Birthday to LDTsAugust 3rd, 2022

      Happy Birthday Laboratory Developed Tests (LDTs). Thirty years ago today, FDA announced that it had the authority to regulate you.  Not yet understanding how important you’d become, you entered the regulatory world without a name – the Agency simply referred to you as “home brew” products.  …

    • ‘Til I Hear It From Congress: FDASLA to Direct Publication of Final OTC Hearing Aid RulesJune 22nd, 2022

      There is a lot to unpack in the 430 pages of FDASLA, which means that some provisions are falling a little under the radar.  One of those provisions is an unusual one in which Congress directs FDA to issue final rules concerning Over-the-Counter hearing aids.  …

    • Pre-Submission Program Update from CDRH: A Bit of Welcome NewsJune 8th, 2022

      CDRH appears to be taking another step towards returning to pre-pandemic life.  On May 31, Drs. Shuren and Maisel announced that OHT7 (formerly OIR) will now be accepting all types of pre-submissions (see announcement here).  As you’ll recall from our earlier post (here), OHT7 had …

    • FDA Can’t Always Get What It Wants…So It Asks CongressJune 7th, 2022

      As the User Fee Acts move through Congress, it has been clear that FDA is using them as a vehicle to legislatively overturn some big court losses over the last few years.  As faithful readers of our blog know, FDA’s broad interpretations of its governing …

    • FDA Issues Safety Warning Regarding Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing Raising Questions About the Future of FDA Regulation of LDTsMay 25th, 2022

      On April 19, FDA issued a safety communication regarding genetic non-invasive prenatal screening, commonly referred to as non-invasive prenatal tests or NIPT (here).  NIPT are intended to screen for genetic abnormalities in a fetus.  The tests are not intended to diagnose any genetic conditions – …

    • All Too Few (Two Year Version) or Where Have All the COVID Tests Gone?* A Review of FDA’s PoliciesJanuary 4th, 2022

      As we approach our third year of COVID, one of the major questions from March 2020 eerily echoes today: where are all the COVID tests?  The situation now, of course, is very different and much more favorable than two years ago.  Unlike March 2020, numerous …