Pre-Certs, Test Groups And More: US FDA Outlines Possible New Dx Paradigm

The agency has responded to a draft diagnostics reform bill in Congress with proposed reforms that diverge some ways from the proposed legislation, but stick with the underlying goal of completely remaking how lab tests, including test kits and lab-developed tests, are regulated. The agency has put forward a proposal to establish a pre-certification process for test developers, divide most tests into high- or low-risk categories (but exempt many from pre-market review) and remove the concept of substantial equivalence.