The opening plenary of RAPS Euro Convergence 2021 saw regulators, competent authorities, and industry representatives highlighting pressing regulatory issues for in vitro diagnostics and combination products, among other topics.   The plenary kicked off with regulators presenting “sparks,” or hot button topics intended to trigger discussion; an industry panel was then given the chance to respond to proposals from the panel of regulators and notified body representati...

To support the development of therapeutics for COVID-19, the European Commission on Thursday announced a new strategy intended to bring at least three to five new COVID-19 therapeutics to market this year.   The strategy, which includes more than €140 million in funding, aims to streamline the development of promising new medicines and ensure their speedy rollout across the EU, complementing the strategy the Commission deployed for COVID-19 vaccines last year. (RELATED...

Issuance of a product specific guidance should not “diminish innovation or creativity” in generic drug development, Robert Lionberger, director for the office of research and standards in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) Office of Generic Drugs, said at a 5 May webinar on the development of product specific guidance.   FDA officials said that the number of a product specific guidances (PSGs) issued by the Office of G...

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday revoked a policy issued in the final days of the Trump administration that was purportedly aimed at increasing transparency related to drug review timelines.   The policy, announced by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on 15 January 2021, would have required FDA to publish “redundant” information on new drug applications (NDAs) and abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) submitted to the agency for...

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday released a new questions and answers guidance for generic drugmakers addressing generic product development and abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) submissions and assessments during the COVID-19 public health emergency.   “FDA recognizes that the COVID-19 public health emergency may impact the development of generic drug products, interrupt or delay ANDA applicants’ bioequivalence studies, and impact the submissi...

Following a dispute with the Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) that resulted in its initial notice being withdrawn, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday reissued its notice announcing fee rates for its newly created over-the-counter (OTC) monograph drug user fee program (OMUFA) for FY2021.   FDA initially issued the notice on 29 December, but it was quickly withdrawn by HHS over public outcry against FDA’s plans to collect user fees fro...

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week issued 36 new and revised draft product-specific guidances meant to facilitate the development of generic drugs by clarifying the agency’s expectations for the studies required to demonstrate bioequivalence (BE) to a reference listed drug (RLD).   The latest batch of guidances includes 22 new and 14 revised draft guidances covering drugs to treat prostate cancer, hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis and numerous other cond...

On Monday, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a series of efforts and a day-long conference centered on addressing the unmet needs of patients with rare diseases. FDA leaders announced the initiatives in recognition of Rare Disease Day, observed on February 28.   A new request for applications (RFA) issued by FDA augments the agency’s Orphan Products Grants Program. The RFA is seeking natural history studies to address unmet needs in rare diseases, l...

The office tasked with overseeing pharmaceutical quality within the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) released its annual report for 2020 on Thursday, highlighting its effort in a year marked by the COVID-19 pandemic.   In its previous annual report, the Office of Pharmaceutical Quality (OPQ) touted its participation in nearly one third of the preapproval inspections FDA carried out in 2019. For 2020, OPQ instead foc...

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is looking to adaptive designs to salvage in vivo bioequivalence (BE) studies that have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.   FDA acknowledged the impact that the public health emergency could have on BE studies early in the pandemic and in April 2020 the agency created a webpage with information for abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) sponsors noting that protocol revisions may be required for studies that are inter...

Three years into the second Generic Drug User Fee Amendments (GDUFA II) program, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has seen the number of priority and competitive generic therapy (CGT) abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) approved or under review rise as generic drugmakers continue to pursue both designations. The FDA Reauthorization Act of 2017 (FDARA), which reauthorized GDUFA for five years, includes provisions to shorten the reviews of certain ANDAs...

New guidance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued on Friday provides recommendations for resuming or initiating bioequivalence (BE) studies for generic drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic.   The guidance, aimed at ensuring participant and study staff safety, calls on generic drug developers to carefully consider protocols for resuming or initiating BE studies and to take steps to ensure the scientific validity of data generated from studies impacted by ...