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Husch Blackwell's Wakaba Tessier and Renee Zerbonia and ARJ Infusion Services Edie GigotThis year’s National Home Infusion Association (NHIA) conference kicked off with the 2nd Annual Sterile Compounding Forum. The well-attended track provided an overview of the state of sterile compounding, insight into the most common citations confronting sterile compounders, considerations for compliance and risks relating to compounding, background on how states and the FDA are implementing rules and regulations, including those involved in the delivery of home infusion products.

We are pleased to sponsor the NHIA conference and participate in the following activities:…
Continue Reading NHIA 2019 Annual Conference

On September 10, 2018, the federal Food & Drug Administration (”FDA”) released its revised draft standard Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) between states and the FDA addressing the interstate distribution of compounded drug products.  See 83 Fed. Reg. 175, 45631 et seq. (Sept. 10, 2018). The draft is the latest in the FDA’s decades-long effort to clarify state and federal roles in investigating and responding to complaints related to compounded drug products shipped between states.
Continue Reading FDA publishes revised draft MOU addressing state and federal oversight of 503A compounding pharmacies

patient493915589The Orphan Drug Act aims to incentivize treatment of rare disorders or conditions affecting fewer than 200,000 persons in the United States through: (1) federal funding of grants and contracts to perform clinical trials of orphan products; (2) a tax credit of 50 percent of clinical testing costs; and (3) an exclusive right to market the orphan drug for approved orphan indications for 7 years from the date of marketing approval. While these financial incentives certainly make the business decision to engage in orphan drug development more palatable, the FDA does not approve orphan drugs on a separate pathway, despite the limited understanding of the diseases in question that presents developers of these drugs with problems stemming from small sample size and lack of well-defined efficacy endpoints.
Continue Reading FDA guidance may improve pediatric orphan drug success

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) panel’s unanimous recommendation to approve Sandoz’ application for a filgrastim biosimilar of Amgen’s Neupogen® on Jan. 7, 2015, brings into sharp focus the provisions of the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 (“BPCIA”) for resolving patent issues. The imminent approval by the FDA of Sandoz’ application now leaves resolution of patent issues for Sandoz to contend with as it prepares to launch its biosimilar filgrastim product. The lawsuit to resolve these issues, however, has just begun.
Continue Reading Patent issues will remain after FDA approval of Sandoz’ application for filgrastim

The world of animal health is constantly changing, and animal health companies must stay on top of regulatory changes to have a successful license.  Michael Annis and I recently presented on what an animal health company needs to manage when considering an in-license or an out-license and the regulatory impact on a licensing strategy.  In…

On April 16, in a win for Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, the FDA issued a decision approving updated labeling for Purdue’s reformulated, abuse-resistant OxyContin tablets. The decision places drug makers on notice that the FDA will not accept or approve any abbreviated new drug applications (generics) that rely upon the agency’s December 1995 approval of Purdue’s original OxyContin formulation.

The FDA’s decision was issued just as Purdue was set to lose its patent on the original formulation of OxyContin. Loss of this patent would have opened the opioid-painkiller market to competition from generic drug makers. But now, going forward, new applications for generic “copycat” forms of the drug must meet Purdue’s approved, abuse-resistant standard, without infringing upon Purdue’s patent for reformulated OxyContin, which lasts until 2025.

Concern over abuse of the well-known painkiller was central to the FDA’s decision. The agency explained, in a press release accompanying its decision: Purdue’s “labeling indicates that the [reformulated] product has physical and chemical properties that are expected to make abuse via injection difficult and to reduce abuse via the intranasal route (snorting).” The press release further stated that: The original formulation of OxyContin “was abused, often following manipulation intended to defeat its extended-release properties. Such manipulation causes the drug to be released more rapidly, which increases the risk of serious adverse events, including overdose and death.”

According to the New York Times, the FDA’s decision was pushed by some state attorneys general, as well as pain treatment experts, who argued that the release of generic versions of OxyContin would feed street demand for the narcotic. Critics, however, have argued that the decision will result in higher prices for OxyContin, as the reformulated drug will not face generic competition.
Continue Reading FDA Bars Generic “Copycat” OxyContin: Will Efforts to Limit Abuse of the Painkiller Also Limit Competition?

Cyber security is on everyone’s mind.  President Obama signed an executive order in February aimed at increasing protection of our nation’s critical infrastructure, while HHS released its new HIPAA mega rule in January (effective in March) in an effort to strengthen the security of electronic health records.  As providers work to update their HIPAA policies…