Advertising and promotion (ad promo) of prescription drugs is regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In 1992, the agency implemented Subpart H of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) to allow for the accelerated approval of new drugs for serious or life-threatening illnesses. Approval of a drug through the Subpart H pathway introduced a range of regulatory requirements, some of which had specific implications for the ad promo of Subpart H drug...

Co-promotion agreements between two pharmaceutical companies amplify marketing efforts for a product and boost market penetration. It entails collaboration between the companies during the review and approval of the promotional and nonpromotional product information materials. This article will focus on co-promotion in the regulatory advertising and promotion (ad promo) setting. It includes basic principles and best practices in implementing the promotional review process ...

This article provides a brief overview of what to expect when starting out as a regulatory advertising and promotion (ad promo) reviewer and includes recommendations for some basic introductory resources.   Keywords – advertising and promotion, regulations, reviewing, starting out   Introduction Regulatory ad promo review is more an art than a science, and learning how to apply the specific laws, regulations, and guidances is an ongoing process. There is a lot...

Feature articles during December focused on advertising, promotion, and labeling (APL), examining regulatory review of advertising on streaming media, the role of the regulatory A&P professional, the importance of metrics in APL, and the regulatory outlook for telehealth A&P. Also included is the second part of a two-part series on EU regulation of herbal products, examining quality, safety and efficacy, and postmarket surveillance.   Last year this time, the issue co-...

The global pandemic has increased the use of telehealth and accelerated its acceptance into mainstream healthcare. However, the regulatory landscape has yet to fully catch up with this expansion of telehealth. This article discusses some of the potential advertising and promotional regulatory implications as telehealth becomes a mainstay in the ever-evolving healthcare sector. The article explores the advertising and promotion of off-label drug prescriptions by telehealth ...

While the primary goal of the clinical development team is to obtain product approval, companies must have a broader vision that supports the complete product lifecycle. Experts in regulatory advertising and promotion (A&P) have a detailed knowledge of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements for product promotion. Beyond supporting the promotional review process, the unique skill set of regulatory A&P should be applied to other critical activities, including...

This article discusses advertising on streaming media and what regulatory reviewers need to take into consideration when reviewing online videos.   Introduction Television. One word, many meanings – it could be the wide-screen home TV, the latest Hulu-exclusive series we binge-watch on an iPad, or the 5-minute Snapchat original series that releases a new episode every week. There is no shortage of places for consumers to view video content outside of a traditional ...

In its first warning letter of the year, the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (OPDP) last week cited AcelRx Pharmaceuticals over promotional materials for its opioid analgesic Dsuvia (sufentanil sublingual tablet).   Specifically, the warning letter cites the company for false and misleading claims made in banner ads and a tabletop display that feature a tagline promoting the ease of administration of Dsuvia as “Tongue a...

Feature articles during January focused the effects of disruption on global regulatory practice. In context of the COVID-19 pandemic, authors examined expedited approval pathways for test kits in southeast Asian countries; the role of digital promotional strategies in minimizing the impact of the pandemic on advertising, promotion, and labeling; and the importance of continuing soft-skills training during remote working. Under the broader framework of disruption, a group o...

December 2020. It’s been just one year since we finished the last Regulatory Focus issue on advertising and labeling, yet it feels like a lifetime. In March, as the true impact of COVID-19 kicked in and we retreated from the office space to our home offices, it was hard to envision how we would prevail, both personally and professionally. But our industry, and particularly regulatory advertising and labeling, did not skip a beat and instead, stayed the course and perseve...

This article provides the sponsor’s perspective and best practices on facilitating electronic common technical document (eCTD) submissions for promotional materials as a shared learning for other companies.   Introduction The long-awaited June 2019 guidance 1 on regulatory submissions in electronic and nonelectronic format marked the beginning of a two-year countdown for sponsors to submit promotional materials in eCTD format to the Office of Prescription Drug Pro...

As television ads for cancer drugs pose the question, “Who wouldn’t want a chance to live longer?” or present statements like: “Living longer is possible,” the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (OPDP) is trying to figure out if consumers can understand these drugs’ specific and often complicated indications supported by different types of endpoints. And now drugmakers Novartis, Merck and Eli Lilly are seeking modifications to ...