Articles and Blogs

On Monday, June 3, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida (the “Court”) ruled that the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) has the authority to regulate certain stem cell-based treatments offered by U.S. Stem Cell Clinic, LLC (the “Clinic”) and U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. After the Clinic failed to heed... READ MORE

Congress Tackles Health-Related Issues in Multiple Hearings This Week Congress looked at many health policy issues in a week jam-packed with hearings. Continuing Congress’s probe into drug pricing, the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee held a hearing on promoting competition to lower Medicare prescription drug costs. While lawmakers questioned whether the drug industry... READ MORE

On January 29, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) published Advisory Opinion 19-02, which approved an arrangement allowing a pharmaceutical manufacturer to loan smartphones to financially needy patients in order to assist with medication adherence. OIG stated that it would not impose sanctions against the parties for... READ MORE

The United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) issued a statement (the “Statement”) clarifying its position on cannabidiol (“CBD”) products in the wake of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (the “2018 Farm Bill”) signed December 20, 2018.¹ The 2018 Farm Bill is a broad piece of legislation that regulates agricultural programs ranging from income support... READ MORE

On September 7, 2018, the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) issued a revised draft Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) that would govern interstate dispensing and distribution of “inordinate amounts” of compounded prescription drugs by certain compounding physicians and pharmacies. The concept of this MOU first appeared in the Compliance Policy Guidance issued by... READ MORE

On October 15, 2018, the National Protection and Programs Directorate (“NPPD”) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (“MOA”) that formalizes a long-standing relationship between the agencies and implements a new framework for increased collaboration, information-sharing and coordination that... READ MORE

On September 6, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) published final guidance (“Guidance”) summarizing its recommendations for medical devices that are connected to each other and to other technology (“interoperable medical devices”). The Guidance finalizes preliminary guidance from January 2016 and is intended to encourage rapid innovation in the marketplace by allowing... READ MORE

On March 20, 2017, the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) published a notice in the Federal Register delaying the implementation of the final rule (“Final Rule”) regulating off-label drug promotion until March 19, 2018. The Final Rule was published in the Federal Register of January 9, 2017. The effective date was originally delayed until... READ MORE

Executive Summary On October 28, 2015, the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) revised its June 30, 2015 guidance delaying the enforcement of key track and trace requirements of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (“DSCSA”) for Dispensers1 (including pharmacies, health systems and physician offices) until March 1, 2016 (“Guidance”). Previously, on June 30, 2015,... READ MORE

Executive Summary On June 30, 2015, the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) issued draft guidance delaying the enforcement of key track and trace requirements of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (“DSCSA”) for Dispensers1 until November 1, 2015 (“Guidance”).  Specifically, the FDA indicated that it does not intend to take action against Dispensers that... READ MORE