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  • Medical Devices

    • Allegations of Regulatory Misconduct Against Medical Device Manufacturers: Greater Transparency NeededOctober 4th, 2022

      Allegations of regulatory misconduct are claims that a medical device manufacturer or marketers of medical devices operate in such a way that violates the law. Allegations may include failure to register and list a medical device, promotion of a device outside the scope of its …

    • Third time’s a charm? FDA Issues Final Guidance on Regulation of Clinical Decision Support SoftwareOctober 2nd, 2022

      On September 28, 2022, FDA published its long-awaited final guidance document entitled “Clinical Decision Support Software,” which interprets the medical software provisions of the 21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act). The final guidance was preceded by two iterations of draft guidance—one in 2017 and one in …

    • 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 …

    • How to get the Inside Track for Your Monkeypox EUASeptember 27th, 2022

      Similar to what was done with COVID-19, the National Institute for Health (NIH) Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) initiative has established a Monkeypox Independent Test Assessment Program (ITAP) and it currently accepting new proposals on a rolling basis to address the outbreak.  The program began …

    • (Slightly More) Options for cGMP for Combination Products: FDA Describes Alternative or Streamlined Mechanisms for ComplianceSeptember 26th, 2022

      FDA recently published Alternative or Streamlined Mechanisms for Complying with the Current Good Manufacturing Practice Requirements for Combination Products; List under the 21st Century Cures Act in the Federal Register (FR Notice).  By way of background, 21 C.F.R. § 4.3 requires generally that manufacturing of a …

    • FDA Redux? CDRH Policy and EUA Templates for Monkeypox Tests Following Public Health Emergency Declaration Mirror FDA’s COVID-19 ApproachSeptember 21st, 2022

      On August 9, 2022, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) declared the outbreak of monkeypox virus a public health emergency (see announcement here).  On September 7, 2022, the Secretary of HHS declared that “circumstances exist justifying the authorization of emergency …

    • A Review of CDRH’s Electronic Submission ProcessSeptember 14th, 2022

      As promised in our posts from earlier this summer (here and here), we are back to report on our assessment of CDRH’s electronic submission process through its Customer Collaboration Portal (CCP).  In short, the process is FANTASTIC!  Say goodbye to your thumb drives and CDs …

    • Choice of Secondary Predicate versus Reference Devices in a 510(k) SubmissionSeptember 13th, 2022

      It’s been almost 11 years since FDA first clarified use of multiple predicate devices and introduced the concept of Reference Devices in the draft guidance titled The 510(k) Program:  Evaluating Substantial Equivalence in Premarket Notifications [510(k)], which we blogged about here.  The final guidance with …

    • Papa Can You Hear Me? Now You Can Thanks to OTC Hearing AidsAugust 18th, 2022

      After 5 long years, FDA has finally adopted the long-awaited OTC hearing aid rules.  While the Proposed Rule was a year and a half overdue, FDA impressively turned out the Final Rule about 7 months after the close of comments on the Proposed Rule, which …

    • FDA Inspections Back Up To Speed (Except Those Now Deemed Unnecessary)August 16th, 2022

      Those of us who work frequently on FDA inspections of drug and medical device manufacturing facilities have noticed an uptick in regular inspections after a dramatic falloff during the first two years of COVID.  That impression was corroborated this week at the GMP by the …

    • ACI’s FDA Boot Camp – September 14-15, 2022 (Virtual)August 5th, 2022

      The American Conference Institute is hosting their 39th FDA Boot Camp from September 14-15, 2022.  The conference will be held virtually. Gain insight and training in core regulatory concepts for life sciences attorneys, business executives, and policy analysts. The approval process, pre-approval concerns, product labeling, clinical trials, …

    • 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.  …

    • CDRH is NOW Accepting Electronic SubmissionsJuly 31st, 2022

      On July 19, 2022, CDRH announced to users of its Customer Collaborations Portal (CCP) that it is now accepting premarket submissions electronically.  This came quickly after an announcement was made earlier in the summer that this functionality would soon be enabled for existing users of …

    • Electronic 510(k) Submissions Ahead (FINALLY!)July 12th, 2022

      Last month, FDA announced two important steps towards accepting electronic 510(k) submissions.  The first relates to the Customer Collaborations Portal (or CCP).  As discussed in our prior post on the CCP (here), the CCP is currently a submission tracker providing details of completed and upcoming …

    • ‘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.  …