The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued seven new or updated guidances offering advice to medical device makers on its user fee programs and how FDA and industry actions impact the performance goals set by the fourth iteration of the Medical Device User Fee Amendments (MDUFA IV). In its MDUFA IV commitments, FDA agreed to tighter timelines to reach decisions for most medical device submissions in exchange for increased user fees and the introduction of a n...

A generic drug industry group and several companies have taken issue with recent US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) draft guidance on pre-submission facility correspondence (PFC) that spells out what companies need to do to obtain faster abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) reviews. In June, FDA released the draft guidance noting that it is "critical" for there to be a two-month lead time to determine whether facility inspections will be needed for the 8-mon...

With the new user fee deals signed into law, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday unveiled the revamped fee amounts that will apply from 1 October 2017 to 30 September 2018 for prescription drug and biosimilar application and programs. For prescription drugs requiring clinical data, the price for FY 2018 will be about $2.4 million, which is nearly $400,000 more than in 2017. For prescription drugs not requiring clinical data, the fee will be about...

The House Energy & Commerce committee on Wednesday held its first hearing on a bill to reform the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) over-the-counter (OTC) drug monograph process by creating a new user fee program and offering marketing exclusivity for innovations to monograph products. A bipartisan discuss draft of the bill, developed by Reps. Bob Latta (R-OH), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Gene Green (D-TX) and Subcommittee o...

Under the new Generic Drug User Fee Amendments of 2017 (GDUFA II) and Medical Device User Fee Amendments of 2017 (MDUFA IV), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will collect significantly higher user fees for some applications than in recent years though how the fees are calculated has been restructured under the two new agreements. For instance, device companies submitting 510(k) applications, which are for devices equivalent to ones already marketed, fees wi...

The US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) and Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) will soon launch an effort to streamline the two offices' inspection and facility evaluation efforts. In an email to FDA staff on Monday, CDER Director Janet Woodcock and Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs Melinda Plaisier said it is vital that the two offices quickly implement the plan in order to meet commitments under the recent...

Now that the FDA Reauthorization Act of 2017 (FDARA) is law, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Tuesday it will revise previously issued draft guidance on the pre-submission of certain information for abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs). FDARA, which was signed by President Donald Trump last Friday , includes statutory provisions that will expedite the review of qualifying ANDAs by allowing the “pre-submission” of certain information prior to s...

President Donald Trump late Friday signed a bill that reauthorizes the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) user fee programs for prescription drugs, generic drugs, biosimilars and medical devices through 2022. Taking effect 1 October, the 86-page law (the text of which can be found here ) passed the House via voice vote in July and by a vote of 94-1 in the Senate earlier this month without the addition of any controversial amendments. The law ensures the ag...

Ahead of its summer recess, the US Senate on Thursday followed its House counterparts and passed a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) user fee programs for prescription drugs, generic drugs, medical devices and biosimilars for the next five years. A spokesman for President Donald Trump told Focus , “The President will sign this bill, but we look forward to working with Congress to address further negotiations.” The Senate’s pas...

After a series of discussions with industry and a public meeting in June 2016, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week released its draft goals letter for the proposed over-the-counter (OTC) monograph user fee program. The agency also announced on Tuesday that it will host a webinar to provide an overview of the proposed program to stakeholders on 23 August 2017. OTC Monograph User Fees Dubbed OMUFA, short for the yet-to-be introduced Over-the-Counter M...

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said Tuesday that the Senate will follow its House counterparts and vote on the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) user fee reauthorization bill before heading to recess at the end of next week. McConnell called to renew the user fee programs as they are “critical to speeding up the drug approval process, and that’s important for everyone frustrated by the time and cost of bringing lifesaving drugs to market. Without it, ...

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday finalized the second part of its question and answers guidance on issues related to the Generic Drug User Fee Amendments (GDUFA), including self-identification requirements, generic drug reviews, and inspections and compliance issues. The guidance, which finalizes a revised draft version released in September 2013, provides answers on more than 30 commonly asked questions on GDUFA implementation. While the draft g...