The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday proposed a new rule to allow certain biologics, originally approved under a new drug application (NDA), to continue relying on drug master files (DMFs) for certain information even after the NDA is deemed to be a license for a biological product on 23 March 2020. This so-called “deemed to be a license” transition next year, the details of which were explained in full last December, will mean that moving forward, fo...

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requested feedback Tuesday on a new discussion paper that proposes applying a “focused review” approach to premarket assessments of software as a medical device (SaMD) technologies that are powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). The agency said it may conduct a “focused review” in cases where proposed SaMD pre-specifications (SPS) and algorithm change protocols (ACP) “can be refined based on the real-...

The US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) regulation of prescription drug-use-related software (PDURS) behooves alignment across relevant centers, industry comments on FDA’s proposed framework argued. From pharmaceutical companies and trade associations to digital health companies and coalitions, the agency’s November 2018 proposed framework for the future regulation of PDURS drew comments from a range of stakeholders. The proposed framework  on PDURS is largely seen...

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a proposed rule on Monday to remove the required testing method to detect the presence of Mycoplasma because FDA said the regulation is restrictive in that it identifies only one test method to be used even though other methods may be appropriate. The proposed rule seeks to remove the testing method for Mycoplasma detection in virus harvest pools and control fluid pools of live and inactivated virus vaccines produced ...

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday proposed to amend and repeal parts of the current radiological health regulations regarding certain recommendations, including radiation protection during medical procedures and performance standards for diagnostic x-ray systems. The action sought via the new proposed rule also covers recommendations under the radiological health regulations on diagnostic x-ray systems’ major components, laser products, ultrasonic ther...

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed a new rule on Thursday to update regulatory requirements for most sunscreen active ingredients currently on the US market. The 264-page proposed rule was decades in the making, with collaborators ranging from agency staff and outside scientific experts to patient advocacy groups. The new regulatory framework it describes is aimed at providing better assurance of the safety, efficacy and preventive qualities of over-the-...

Trade associations representing the medical device and clinical research industries, as well as the nonprofit public advocacy organization Public Citizen, are calling for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to clarify provisions of its proposed rule for institutional review boards (IRBs) to waive or alter requirements for obtaining informed consent for certain clinical trials involving minimal risk to participants.   Background   Under current FDA regulations...

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a proposed rule on Tuesday to establish requirements on the de novo review pathway for classifying new medical device types. If finalized, the rule will implement the de novo classification process and define the scope of regulatory procedures used by agency staff and classification panels convened by FDA when classifying and reclassifying medical devices. The work at FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (C...

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) late Monday unveiled a new proposed rule that would require companies to include wholesale acquisition costs (WAC) in direct-to-consumer television advertisements. CMS claimed in its proposal that the purpose of this rule is to reduce drug and biologic prices, though some experts have questioned whether the move has enough behind it to actually lower prices, and others questioned if the rulemaking would stand up to a ...

California's Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against Novartis in a decision that could have wider implications for whether brand-name or generic drugmakers should be held liable for warning consumers of risks in their drug labels. In a departure from other recent rulings, the highest California court found that a brand-name drug manufacturer's duty to warn consumers does extend to a generic, but only because federal regulations currently require generic drugs to carr...

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published its fall 2017 agenda of proposed and final rulemakings this week, with several expected on drug compounding, allowing foreign clinical data to bring medical devices to market and new ways to market nonprescription drugs. On the compounding front, FDA plans to issue a proposed rule in August 2018 that would set minimum current good manufacturing practice requirements for human drug products compounded by an outso...

Officials from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gathered on Thursday at DIA's advertising and promotion conference in Washington, DC, to discuss recent research, guidance for industry and enforcement action on pharmaceutical and medical device advertising and promotion. The new administration’s impact on FDA was not discussed, though some officials discussed how FDA is moving forward with initiatives begun under President Barack Obama’s administration. Elizabe...