• where experts go to learn about FDA
  • Sara W. Koblitz

    • Like Ma Bell, I’ve Got the Ill Communications: Final Guidances IssuedJune 20th, 2018

      Announced as another effort to improve patient access and address drug pricing, FDA recently finalized two guidance documents intended to facilitate better communication and negotiation with payors, formulary committees, and others: Medical Product Communications That Are Consistent With the FDA-Required Labeling – Questions and Answers: Guidance …

    • Stop, Collaborate, and Listen – Or Get a WaiverJune 15th, 2018

      In an attempt to ensure that implementation of the FDCA requirement for shared REMS does not cause undue burden, FDA released two new guidance documents targeting shared REMS systems. We have seen the negotiation of shared REMS systems succeed – and fail spectacularly resulting in waivers. …

    • FDA’s Version of the Scarlet Letter?May 23rd, 2018

      FDA announced last week its newest initiative to address alleged “gaming” tactics that FDA believes are used to circumvent the delicate balance of innovation and competition set forth by Congress in the Hatch-Waxman Act.  As part of FDA’s Drug Competition Action Plan, FDA has published …

    • Biosimilar Approval: Better, Stronger, FasterMay 21st, 2018

      We have the technology. It will definitely cost more than six million dollars, and there are questions about whether it will be better than it was before.  But Dr. Sarfaraz Niazi thinks he can rebuild the biosimilar approval process to make it more efficient. In an …

    • PEG 3350 Rx ANDA Holder Gets Things Moving in the D.C. CircuitMay 7th, 2018

      On April 27, 2018, Petitioners Breckenridge Pharmaceutical, Inc. and Nexgen Pharma, Inc. filed a Petition for Review in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The Petition seeks review of a final FDA order published in the Federal Register on …

    • How Safe is the Safe Harbor?April 18th, 2018

      As the breadth of the “patent safe harbor” continues to expand under the Federal Circuit’s growing body of relevant case law, some patent holders are looking to the Supreme Court to push back. In a Petition for Certiorari filed last week in Classen Immunotherapies v. Elan …

    • Well, This is “Apeeling!” FDA Updates Orange Book With Patent Submission DatesNovember 28th, 2017

      Last week FDA formally announced yet another transparency initiative – this time, it’s the inclusion of patent submission dates in the Orange Book!  (FDA informally announced the change a couple of weeks ago with a note in the Orange Book stating: “Effective November 21, 2017, …

    • FDA’s Getting a ComplexOctober 8th, 2017

      Pushing forward with his commitment to accessibility, Commissioner Gottlieb recently announced further efforts to encourage generic approval. In another FDA Voice Blog Post, Dr. Gottlieb reiterated the agency’s renewed focus on drug pricing and competition and announced new measures to aid in the development of …

    • FDA’s Approach to Analytical Similarity for Proposed BiosimilarsSeptember 27th, 2017

      Earlier this week, FDA published another in its series of guidance documents devoted to implementing the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (“BPCIA”). The objective of the new guidance, entitled Statistical Approaches to Evaluate Analytical Similarity Guidance for Industry, is to assist sponsors in demonstrating …

    • No State Law Allowed: U.S. Weighs in on BPCIA Federal PreemptionSeptember 14th, 2017

      After this year’s unanimous Supreme Court decision in Amgen v. Sandoz was remanded to the Federal Circuit (see our previous post here), that Court is now in the midst of addressing Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (“BPCIA”) state law preemption. In August, the parties …

    • Discovery in the BPCIA Era: Federal Circuit Rules in Amgen v. Hospira EPOGEN Biosimilar DisputeAugust 13th, 2017

      As we mentioned back in July, courts continue to address a wide variety of procedural questions arising from the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (“BPCIA”). The most recent is a decision from the Federal Circuit in an interlocutory appeal pending since July 2016 in …

    • United States v. Medistat RX LLC Consent Decree: FDA’s Latest Enforcement Effort Related to Compounders and Title I of the Compounding Quality ActJuly 24th, 2017

      In the almost four years since passage of Title I of the Drug Quality Security Act, (the Compounding Quality Act), FDA has inspected hundreds of pharmacies, issued numerous Form 483s and warning letters, and has requested both voluntary recalls and cessation of non-sterile and sterile …

    • FDA’s Hatch-Waxman Public Meeting and Progression of the Agency’s Drug Competition Action PlanJuly 19th, 2017

      On July 18, 2017, FDA held a highly anticipated public meeting discussing the balance between pharmaceutical competition and innovation. Titled “Administering the Hatch-Waxman Amendments: Ensuring a Balance Between Innovation and Access,” the meeting drew a tremendous response from industry with dozens of non-FDA or FTC …

    • Never Stop Never Stopping: More Questions About the BPCIA Continue to AriseJuly 5th, 2017

      In the aftermath of the Sandoz v. Amgen Supreme Court decision, both sides should be happy that some of the procedural uncertainty surrounding the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (“BPCIA”) patent dance has been resolved.  But that would be too easy. Even though U.S. Supreme …

    • A Few More Steps in FDA’s Drug Competition Action PlanJune 27th, 2017

      As a prelude to FDA’s Hatch-Waxman Act public meeting next month, FDA announced today an updated a Manual of Policy and Procedures (MAPP) for review of generic drug applications and a public list of off-patent and off-exclusivity NDA products without ANDA competition. Effective June 27, 2017, …