On this week's podcast, Medtech Insight's David Filmore and Ferdous Al-Faruque discuss the recently enacted FDA Reauthorization Act. It comes with higher industry fees, but also a host of US FDA commitments and reforms. The legislation was broadly supported by lawmakers and industry alike, but President Trump? Not so much.
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The US FDA has given up on its effort to regulate lab-developed tests as medical devices, at least for now. The agency will not appeal a decision from the Eastern District of Texas that tossed out the FDA’s final rule, leaving the agency with few cards.
During MD&M East in Manhattan last week, a panel of experts discussed how the Trump administration’s trade policy is affecting manufacturing and offered some ideas on what manufacturers can do to help mitigate the chaos.
A battle may be forming over the 2027 FDA user fee reauthorizations. At a conference Friday, Democratic Rep. Jake Auchincloss supports them for their effectiveness, while Deputy FDA Commissioner Grace Graham echoed criticisms from HHS Sec. Kennedy, among others, in calling for reform to ensure public trust.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. emphasized administrative cost reductions and defended budget decisions during a Senate hearing on HHS funding. Some senators, however, expressed concerns over the impacts spending cuts had on essential health programs.
With new regulations limiting the use of plastics popping up worldwide, the medtech industry sees arguments on both sides. Some argue hasty bans of PFAS ("forever chemicals") would harm patients, while others say phthalates should be phased out to protect the public.
Now that the US FDA has chosen not to appeal a March ruling effectively killing the agency’s efforts to regulate lab-developed tests as medical devices, will the agency adopt a different strategy to flex its regulatory muscle?
Commissioner Martin Makary told staff that plans are being developed to centralize HR, IT, travel and other functions, which were heavily impacted by the 1 April reduction-in-force.
