By Kurt R. Karst – Last week, Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen announced the submission of extensive comments to FDA that press the Agency to “exercise its discretion to immediately waive the 180-day waiting period and approve the sale” of generic versions of AstraZeneca LP’s NEXIUM …
By Kurt R. Karst – Nearly two years after Depomed, Inc. (“Depomed”) filed a Complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging FDA’s denial of orphan drug exclusivity for GRALISE (gabapentin) Tablets, the court (Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson) has finally ruled in …
By Kurt R. Karst – It was just a few months ago that we posted on what might have been the first decision in a case involving a counterclaim seeking an order to correct or delete patent information from the Orange Book (and that does not …
By Kurt R. Karst – With the recent litigation surrounding FDA’s approval of ANDAs for generic versions of PRECEDEX (dexmedetomidine HCl) Injection – which litigation has now moved on to Motions for Summary Judgment (see our updates here for the latest briefs) – we’ve had renewed …
By Kurt R. Karst – The hope is that years from now (but hopefully not too many years), once the review and performance metrics FDA agreed to as part of the Generic Drug User Fee Amendments are in full effect and 10-month ANDA reviews (resulting in …
By Kurt R. Karst – This blogger’s oldest child started middle school this past week. Naturally, I was excited to get his impressions of the first day of school. “Good” was his initial comment – a now all too familiar one-word tween response with which I …
By David C. Gibbons – It is rare that we urge our readers to keep a copy of a court ruling or brief. A Brief that FDA filed on August 21, 2014 is an exception. Companies and others should read this brief and keep it close …
By Alan M. Kirschenbaum – Beginning with CY 2011, Section 9008 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) has imposed an annual fee on manufacturers and importers of “branded prescription drugs.” The global 2014 fee for all manufacturers and importers is $3 billion, to …
By Kurt R. Karst – The pace of litigation concerning FDA’s approval of generic versions of Hospira, Inc.’s (“Hospira’s”) PRECEDEX (dexmedetomidine HCl) Injection, 100 mcg (base)/mL packaged in 200 mcg(base)/2 mL single-dose vials, has been anything but sedate. On the morning of August 18, 2014, there …
By Kurt R. Karst – We were beginning to wonder whether FDA would ever issue a letter decision addressing the novel issues raised in the Agency’s January 15, 2014 “Dear NDA/ANDA Applicant” letter (Docket No. FDA-2014-N-0087) concerning approval of generic versions of Hospira, Inc.’s (“Hospira’s”) PRECEDEX …
By Kurt R. Karst – The folks in FDA’s Office of Generic Drugs (“OGD”) have been especially busy as of late preparing for the October 1, 2014 implementation of the review and performance metrics agreed to under the Generic Drug User Fee Amendments of 2012 (“GDUFA”). …
By Kurt R. Karst – For several years now we’ve closely tracked the changes in user fees rates FDA sets each fiscal year under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (“PDUFA”). Last year, we added rates set pursuant to the Generic Drug User Fee Amendments of …
By Kurt R. Karst – The Major Contribution to Patient Care (“MC-to-PC”) basis for demonstrating that an orphan drug is clinical superiority, and is therefore not the “same drug” as a previously approved orphan drug containing the same active moiety, is supposed to be a pretty …
By Kurt R. Karst – We thought Eisai Inc.’s (“Eisai”) beef with FDA over New Chemical Entity (“NCE”) exclusivity might resurface at some point . . . and now it has. Last Friday, Eisai filed a Complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of …
By Kurt R. Karst – “Driveway moments” – most of us have had them. It’s that moment when we feel compelled to stay in the car and finish listening to something on the radio. This blogger recently had such a moment commuting home from work on …
