By Kurt R. Karst – FDA’s recent move to remove from the market hundreds of unapproved cough, cold, and allergy drug products has spawned two new lawsuits that might very well be one of the last hurrahs for court challenges to FDA Drug Efficacy Study Implementation-related …
By Peter M. Jaensch - In the latest installment in the criminal prosecution of Lauren Stevens, an attorney formerly employed by GlaxoSmithKline ("GSK"), the U.S. Department of Justice announced on April 14, 2011, that a grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of …
By Dara Katcher Levy – FDA’s Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising, and Communications (“DDMAC”) has announced that it will be holding a series of Enforcement Webinars that will provide an opportunity for attendees to ask DDMAC questions about the Warning and Untitled Letters it issues each …
By Roger C. Thies – On March 30, 2011, FDA publicly announced that it would not take enforcement action under certain conditions against pharmacies that compound hydroxyprogesterone caproate for injection for the reduction of the risk of certain preterm births in women who have had at …
By Roger C. Thies – FDA announced on March 30, 2011 that it “does not intend to take enforcement action against pharmacies that compound hydroxyprogesterone caproate based on a valid prescription for an individually identified patient unless the compounded products are unsafe, of substandard quality, or …
By Nisha P. Shah & Alan M. Kirschenbaum – In an unusual step, the State of California’s Department of Insurance intervened in a qui tam lawsuit brought against Bristol-Myers Squibb (“BMS”) by three former employees, including a former member of the L.A. Lakers. In The People …
By JP Ellison – The criminal prosecution of Lauren Stevens, the former in-house counsel for GSK, took another twist yesterday when Judge Titus dismissed her indictment without prejudice. We have previously reported on this prosecution here and here. Judge Titus found that the prosecutors' explanation to …
By Kurt R. Karst – Last week, Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted FDA’s Motion to Dismiss a lawsuit filed in April 2010 by a group of ear candle advocates after the Agency issued about 15 Warning Letters …
By Peter M. Jaensch & John R. Fleder – On January 18, 2011, the President issued a significant Order entitled a “Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies.” The Memorandum directs “agencies with broad regulatory compliance and administrative enforcement responsibilities” to, within 120 days, …
By John R. Fleder & Anne K. Walsh – Perhaps Yogi Berra's most famous quote was: "This is like déjà vu all over again." Recently proposed amendments to the Sentencing Guidelines applicable to U.S. courts suggest that companies and their executives regulated by FDA may be …
By Kurt R. Karst – FDA’s Unapproved Drugs Initiative, which began in June 2006 when the Agency issued its final version of “Marketed Unapproved Drugs – Compliance Policy Guide Sec. 440.100,” took a major step with the Agency’s March 2, 2011 announcement that FDA plans to …
By Ricardo Carvajal – In a letter directed to Attorney General Eric Holder, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) asked the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) for an update on its investigation of the Peanut Corporation of America (“PCA”) and its president, Stewart Parnell. According to the letter, FDA …
By Peter M. Jaensch – United States Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) recently introduced legislation that is intended to prevent sales of recalled biologics, drugs, medical devices, infant formula, and foods. However, if that legislation is enacted it may actually dissuade companies from undertaking voluntary recalls. On February …
By Riëtte van Laack – Over the past two years, we have noted several joint or coordinated actions by FDA and FTC. The agencies issued their own warning letters to the same manufacturers at the same time (here and here), and, on several occasions, FDA and …
By Anne K. Walsh – Eleven months after telling Senator Grassley (in a letter available here) that “[c]riteria now have been developed for consideration in selection of misdemeanor prosecution cases and will be incorporated into the revised policies and procedures that cover appropriate use of misdemeanor …
