Policy & Regulation
Engaging with EU member state legislators, stressing the impact of national EPR systems on the accessibility, availability, and affordability of medicines, reformulating products to reduce their financial contribution, and lobbying for expanding the scope of EPR schemes to include other polluting industries are all ways that the European consumer health industry can try and influence the way that the revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive is transposed into national legislation, law firm Mason Hayes & Curran explains.
The new telework policy returns to the pre-COVID-19 pandemic standard, but still requires reviewers to be at White Oak for sponsor meetings and divisions to have an in-office presence every day.
Speaking at a recent AESGP webinar, sustainability expert Onur Durmus called the the European Commission’s “Omnibus” proposals - designed to simplify ESG reporting rules and recently supported by EU Parliament - a “positive development” for the European consumer health industry.
HBW Insight catches up with PAGB CEO Michelle Riddalls to chat about the association's new five year plan. Riddalls also reflects on the successes of the last five years, including relaunching the UK Reclassification Alliance, which has published a list of Rx-to-OTC switches the government would like to see applications for. Part one of two.
Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee members, including several health care professionals, make clear their concerns about the US sunscreen market during hearing on reauthorizing FDA’s OMUFA program.
Discussion of introducing additional OTC sunscreen ingredients escaped a total eclipse criticism of Trump’s health agency layoffs caused. Comments and questions by Republican members joined by several Democrats and focused testimony and answers by witnesses representing the industry and public health groups spotlighted sunscreen.
Industry lobbing for pharmaceuticals to be exempt from President Trump’s sweeping US tariffs appears to have paid off.
Eisai aims to support people in Japan with severe heartburn and discomfort caused by gastric acid related conditions by switching from prescription to OTC status its Pariet-branded proton pump inhibitor.
A round-up of the latest industry moves in Europe: Pharma Deutschland elects board of new Brussels operation; MHRA's new CEO gets to work; Futura names non-executive director.
“If this doesn’t get reauthorized, look at the number of the ingredients out there, the number of products, what would happen all those products out there for the consumer, on that shelf, in the drugstore or someplace?” says Rep. Bob Latta during House hearing.
Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Democrats focus on criticizing HHS Secretary Kennedy’s RIF announcement, including 3,500 FDA jobs among cuts across HHS agencies. “If we reauthorize it, will it continue?” Texas representative Lizzie Fletcher asks of OMUFA.
Reclassifying ethanol as a carcinogenic, mutagenic, or reprotoxic substance - something the European Chemicals Agency seems likely to do in the near future - would be “tantamount to a de facto ban” with “fatal consequences” for medical care in Germany, says Pharma Deutschland in a joint paper with 13 other German healthcare industry associations.
Two AESGP papers reviewing the evidence for AMR risk associated with a range of OTC antifungals and antivirals conclude there is litte to no risk associated with the responsible self-care use of such medicines.
HBW Insight speaks to AESGP director general Jurate Švarcaite about what's on the agenda for the upcoming 61st AESGP Annual Meeting, which will take place in Warsaw, Poland, between 2-4 June. Highlights include the role of prevention in self-care, discussions about how regulators will ensure the competitiveness of European industry on the world stage and incoming changes to sustainability legislation.
Notice published on 21 March is a word-for-word copy, other than different dates, of a document published on 24 January, Kennedy says the ACNU final rule’s effective date is delayed until 27 May, two months later than the initial delayed effective date.
FDA’s OMUFA facility fees for FY2025, due on 2 June, increase nearly $2,400 to $37,556 for OTC monograph drug manufacturers and $2,200 to $25,037 for contract manufacturers. Overall target OMUFA fee total is just short of $36.47m, up from $32.25m for FY2024.
FDA testing of 95 benzoyl peroxide products due to concerns about elevated benzene detected by third-party testers found 90% with undetectable or extremely low benzene levels.
“Overall, no unexpected/new data or findings” were presented to Germany's Expert Committee for Prescription in the most recent Rx-to-OTC switch application for sildenafil (25mg and 50mg), according to medicines regulator BfArM, resulting in a third rejection in three years.
“The president has chosen a do-it-all-now strategy, recognizing that the midterm congressional elections are a little over a year away,” says CHPA CEO Scott Melville. “We're just 57 days into the second Trump administration, and we are experiencing lots of unexpected things.”
“Protecting the environment is a shared responsibility. It is unfair to expect only two sectors to fund wastewater treatment modernization and operation,” argues AESGP director general Jurate Švarcaite.