FDA chief Gottlieb backs away from plan to publish CRLs

June 28, 2018 People inside and outside the FDA have long discussed the publication of the CRLs the Agency sends to companies to notify them it is rejecting their applications for approval.  Such transparency would enable everyone to know why the FDA rejected an application.  Today, researchers, investors and other interested parties rely on the … Read more

New York looks at making industry handle disposal of unused meds

June 26, 2018 State senators have filed the “Drug Take Back Act,” which instead of being aimed directly at drug-makers, would require chain and mail-order pharmacies to establish federally approved disposal systems for consumers, the New York Daily News reports.  Those might include on-site disposal or prepaid mail-back envelopes. Republican State Sen. Kemp Hannon, one … Read more

FDA and DoD launch program to expedite availability of medical products for the emergency care of American military personnel

June 21, 2018 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Office of Health Affairs announced in January the launch of a joint program to prioritize the efficient development of safe and effective medical products intended to save the lives of American military personnel.  “The FDA is fully committed to … Read more

China FDA to Require Registration, Training of Medical Reps

June 19, 2018 Medical representatives are defined as professionals, rather than sales persons, who perform academic promotion and technical consultancy work, so it is “not surprising that the CFDA requires medical representatives to have certain qualifications and/or related experience,” Katherine Wang, Partner at law firm Ropes & Gray in Shanghai, tells FDAnews. Under current CFDA … Read more

In a first, FDA allows remote tweaking of cochlear implants

June 12, 2018 Traditionally, patients who receive cochlear devices to help their hearing must repeatedly return to the clinic after implantation.  At these visits, audiologists adjust the settings of the implant to alter how the patient perceives sounds.  The aim is to improve the patient’s ability to understand speech and cope with loud environments by … Read more

The secret to better concussion diagnosis? Your spit

June 07, 2018 This method, however, is not necessarily the most accurate way of gauging the severity of a concussion, and better markers have been sought.  In November 2017, writing in JAMA Pediatrics journal, researchers from Penn State College of Medicine have found a new marker in an unusual place:  a patient’s spit.  Specifically, the … Read more

House Passes Bill to Reauthorize FDA User Fee Programs

June 05, 2018 Several representatives discussed the issue of expensive medicines on the House floor Wednesday, though none of the user fee programs address the issue directly.  However, speeding the review of generic drugs could lower some high-priced brand name drugs and generic drugs with no competition. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb praised the bill’s passage … Read more