Mifepristone Filing Supports 2023 US FDA Actions, But Experts Caution Against Overanalyzing

 

Filing in the Whole Women’s Health mifepristone case defends the FDA’s 2023 decision on the abortion pill safety program, but experts warn it does not necessarily signal the Trump Administration position in other mifepristone cases attempting to restrict medication abortion access.

Supreme Court May Be Next After Federal Circuit Refuses To Rehear Teva Inhaler Patents Case

 

Teva was forced to delist its ProAir HFA inhaler patents from the FDA’s Orange Book by mid-March after the Federal Circuit denied its petition for en banc rehearing. Will the Supreme Court listen?

HHS Wants 340B Rebate Debate Out Of Courts, Returned To Government

 
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An HHS legal brief argues company lawsuits seeking immediate clearance to use rebates in 340B are premature and that the department has merely used a ‘measured approach’ in weighing the possibility. Past experience suggests otherwise, a pricing expert said.

Kennedy’s Pullback of Public Comment Policy Make May Rules Vulnerable to Lawsuits

 

The Health and Human Services Department's decision to eliminate the Richardson Waiver may be a blow for transparency, but will not completely eliminate scrutiny of regulations, experts said.


Makary US FDA Nomination Advances, Last Minute Hiccup May Offer Clues On Mifepristone

 

President Trump’s CDC director nominee was pulled after vaccine positions appeared too extreme for some Republicans, but the nominations to lead the FDA and NIH advanced to the Senate floor despite last-minute drama.

US FDA May Lose Some Autonomy Under Health Department’s General Counsel Reorg

 

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is moving FDA Chief Counsel Robert Foster to a new senior position as Chief Counsel for Food, Research, and Drugs at HHS. Hilary Perkins will become FDA chief counsel.

GLP-1 Compounding: Court Backs US FDA Approach To Managing Drug Shortage List

 
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A lengthy notice-and-comment rulemaking process is not congruent with the congressional mandate to keep an up-to-date list of drugs in short supply, US judge said, denying compounders' request to stay removal of the GLP-1 tirzepatide from the shortage list.

Makary Signals Some Interest In US FDA Staff Cuts, Fighting Patent Thickets

 

The FDA Commissioner nominee also commented on trial diversity, the role of public comment and expedited biosimilar reviews during his Senate confirmation hearing.


EU Explains New Health Data Space Rules As Framework Becomes ‘A Reality’

 

The European Commission has confirmed that pharmaceutical companies will be able to request access to data for research under the new European Health Data Space Regulation, which has been published in the EU Official Journal and will enter into force on 26 March.

US FDA Spikes Vanda’s Hetlioz For Insomnia, Lack Of Well-Controlled Trial ‘Fatal’

 
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Acting Commissioner Sara Brenner rejected the company’s request for a hearing, saying the lack of an adequate and well-controlled trial showing tasimelteon's effectiveness in treating sleep-onset insomnia is “fatal to the application.”

Vanda Falls Again As Teva, US FDA Win Judgment In Tasimelteon Approval Case

 
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In its latest legal case, Vanda lost its case against the FDA and Teva over the alleged unlawful approval of the Israeli firm’s generic Hetlioz.

EU Product Liability Directive Could Spell Trouble For Non-EU Pharma Firms

 

The EU’s new Product Liability Directive will make it easier for European consumers to seek compensation relating to defective products even if manufacturers are based outside the bloc. Legal experts caution that this could have substantial implications for pharmaceutical companies.


IGBA Picks Apart Innovator Patent ‘Gaming Systems’

 

The International Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Association has introduced its first global intellectual property and competition report, addressing the urgent need to reform current regulations. But, in a bid to increase access to medicines across the world, did it stop short at just IP and patents?

PhRMA Kicks Off Year Attacking China, Wrapping Agenda In American Flag

 

US pharma leadership is painting its mission, particularly its goal to end Medicare price controls, as patriotic and essential to America’s global dominance over China, a move that seems designed to align with President Trump’s priorities.

US FDA Employs Familiar Strategy In Ending Novo’s Wegovy, Ozempic Shortage

 
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A declaratory order removing semaglutide from the FDA shortages list duplicates much of the language in a December decision still in litigation that declared Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide products Mounjaro and Zepbound were no longer in shortage.

FDA’s New Chief Counsel Robert Foster Brings Pandemic Response, Biotech Experience

 
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Foster, an advisor to the HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response during the COVID-19 pandemic and counsel to the Senate HELP Committee, also served in various legal roles at small biotech companies. He replaces agency veteran Mark Raza.


US FDA Says Restored Webpages Do Not Reflect ‘Biological Reality’

 
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Clinical trial draft guidance webpages are back online following a court order, but with new language disclaiming any information promoting gender ideology as "extremely inaccurate."

US FDA Discourages Off-Label Guidance Suits as Challenges To Entire Approval Authority

 

The US FDA says in a legal memo that its new guidance on scientific information on unapproved uses (SIUU) is “speech-enabling” and argues that challenges should be interpreted as attempts to roll back the approval process.

After US FDA Diversity Action Plan, Sex Differences Webpages Restored Will Others Follow?

 
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A federal judge granted Doctors for America’s motion for a temporary restraining order directing the FDA and CDC to restore information removed from the agencies’ websites to comply with a presidential executive order targeting “gender ideology extremism.”

EU Offers Funding To Safeguard Innovation Under New Health Data Sharing Rules

 

Europe’s public-private Innovative Health Initiative is seeking contenders for two research projects relevant to pharmaceuticals, one relates to the incoming European Health Data Space Regulation and the other focuses on reducing exposure to medicines containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.