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    • Nothing Appealing in Proposed Device Appeal Regulations: They are Identical to Existing GuidanceJanuary 26th, 2018

      The title of this blog post should tell you everything you need to know about the proposed appeal regulations announced last week by CDRH (found here). On January 17, CDRH proposed regulations specific to the device appeal process for both 517A decisions as well as …

    • CDRH Issues Revised Replacement Reagent PolicyJanuary 25th, 2018

      A week before Christmas, CDRH issued a revised draft of the Replacement Reagent policy. When finalized, the revised draft guidance will replace the 2003 final guidance. According to FDA, the revised guidance “is intended to update and provide clarity on” the existing policy. FDA has …

    • FDA Proposes To Delay Revision to Intended Use RegulationJanuary 23rd, 2018

      In 2015, FDA proposed to revise the intended use regulations, which describe how the agency determines the intended use of a drug or device, including the types of evidence that may be considered. FDA’s proposed rule would have deleted the infamous “knowledge” sentence, which could …

    • CDRH Issues Revised Draft Accessory GuidanceJanuary 16th, 2018

      On December 20, FDA issued a new, draft guidance, “Medical Device Accessories – Describing Accessories and Classification Pathways.”  This guidance is the latest chapter in the years-long, and still on-going, story of accessory classification. As you may recall, Congress and FDA have both been working …

    • While You Were Away: CDRH Announces Pilot Voluntary Quality Compliance ProgramJanuary 11th, 2018

      While many were on vacation and preparing to celebrate the New Year, CDRH was announcing yet another pilot program. You may recall FDA recently announced its Digital Health Software Pre-Cert Pilot Program and its Premarket Approval Application Critical to Quality Pilot Program.  The latest pilot …

    • CDRH Issues New Draft Least Burdensome GuidanceJanuary 10th, 2018

      Section 513 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act requires FDA to consider the least burdensome means of evaluating device safety and effectiveness for Class III devices and substantial equivalence for devices requiring 510(k) clearance. Despite this legal requirement, the device industry’s position has …

    • Litigation Briefing: HP&M Issues Report Summarizing Leading Cases and Settlements of 2017January 8th, 2018

      Hyman, Phelps & McNamara, P.C. is pleased to present this report summarizing leading cases and settlements from 2017 affecting the FDA-regulated industry. Our goal was to provide a concise summary of issues that most impact our clients, many of whom are drug and medical device …

    • FDA Issues Final Guidance on Additive Manufactured (“3D-Printed”) DevicesJanuary 3rd, 2018

      On December 5, 2017, FDA issued a final guidance: Technical Considerations for Additive Manufactured Medical Devices, Guidance for Industry and Food and Drug Administration Staff. Additive Manufacturing (AM) is “a process that builds an object by iteratively building 2-dimensional (2D) layers and joining each to …

    • FDA Continues to Defy Congress on MDR Reporting (A Decade and Counting)December 27th, 2017

      In 2007, Congress determined that the public health would be adequately protected if manufacturers and importers of lower risk class I and II medical devices provided summary quarterly reporting of malfunctions to FDA. This system would replace the more burdensome approach of requiring individual 30‑day …

    • Are There Only Two Types of Tests in Clinical Studies – Legally Marketed or Investigational? Maybe, according to FDA’s Draft Guidance for Investigational IVDsDecember 26th, 2017

      On December 18, FDA released its draft guidance, “Investigational IVDs Used in Clinical Investigations of Therapeutic Products.” This is the latest guidance from the Agency on the relationship between in vitro diagnostic (IVD) products and therapeutic products. You will recall that the Centers jointly issued the …

    • CDRH Issues Draft CLIA Waiver GuidancesDecember 15th, 2017

      On November 29, 2017, CDRH issued two draft guidances regarding CLIA Waiver requests: “Select Updates for Recommendations for Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1998 (CLIA) Waiver Applications for Manufacturers of In Vitro Diagnostic Devices” (CLIA Waiver Guidance) and “Recommendations for Dual 510(k) and CLIA Waiver …

    • Two New Draft Guidances Helping to Implement The Cures ActDecember 11th, 2017

      The field of digital health is relatively new and is growing fast. Because many uses of software for health‑related purposes are within the statutory definition of a medical device, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is a major player in determining how digital health will …

    • FDA Opens A Door For Consumer Genetic TestsDecember 4th, 2017

      On February 19, 2015, FDA granted de novo authorization to 23andMe for genetic tests for autosomal recessive traits that are offered directly to consumers (DEN140044).  Nearly three years later, FDA has proposed a pathway that opens this avenue further.  In a statement on November 6 …

    • CDRH Issues Final Guidance on De Novo Classification Process and Draft Guidance Regarding De Novo Submission Acceptance ReviewDecember 1st, 2017

      On October 30, CDRH issued the Final Guidance “De Novo Classification Process (Evaluation of Automatic Class III Designation)” (the “De Novo Guidance”). This is a final version of the 2014 draft by the same name (see our earlier blog post here). On the same day, …

    • FDLI Webinar: MDUFA IV and Related CDRH Guidance Documents – Impacts on IndustryNovember 28th, 2017

      The recently-enacted Food and Drug Administration Reauthorization Act (“FDARA”) includes the Medical Device User Fee Amendments of 2017 (“MDUFA IV”) (see our summary here).  This new law affects multiple aspects of the device review process.  MDUFA IV supplements FDA’s funding of device regulation, with the goal …