The U.S. FDA is not the only regulatory agency attempting to deal with impending and existing device and drug shortages, although some of the drivers of these shortages are not within these agencies’ purview. The FDA’s Jacqueline Corrigan-Curay told an audience here in Washington that the poor payment rates offered by payers for generic drugs are a significant contributor, adding that there are instances in which the per-dose rate paid for one of these generics is less than the typical charge for a cup of coffee.

Artificial intelligence recently roiled the regulatory world, but the U.S. Congress has yet to dive into the task of legislating on the concept. Barrett Tenbarge, general counsel for Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) told an audience here in the nation’s capital that while the Senate is considering several legislative proposals, the desire to avoid legislation that will create as many problems as it solves suggest that legislative development “is a long-term process.”

The U.S. FDA’s final rule for regulation of lab-developed tests promises to remain controversial for the foreseeable future, but FDA commissioner Robert Califf said that many of these tests have been shown to be less than adequately reliable. Califf said that one of the effects of the final rule is that it will force clinical labs to “wake up and develop better tests,” if only because compliance and enforcement regimes will soon be applied to clinical labs.

The unique device identifier (UDI) might not be the most exciting U.S. FDA enforcement mandate for most of regulated industry, but the FDA’s Keisha Thomas indicated that compliance is less than adequate in the agency’s view. Thomas addressed an audience at the Food and Drug Law Institute’s annual enforcement conference here in the nation’s capital, acknowledging that the proposed alignment of the Quality System Regulation – also known as Part 820 – with ISO 13485 is no light lift.

The U.S. FDA’s recent warning letter to Danvers, Mass.-based Abiomed Inc., may have come across as an enforcement outlier in the context of the agency’s controversial final guidance for clinical decision support (CDS) products.

The unique device identifier (UDI) might not be the most exciting U.S. FDA enforcement mandate for most of regulated industry, but the FDA’s Keisha Thomas indicated that compliance is less than adequate in the agency’s view.

The COVID-19 pandemic took a huge bite out of the U.S. FDA’s ability to conduct inspections in a timely manner, but the FDA’s Douglas Stearn said the agency has nonetheless ramped up these activities.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has a unique role in enforcement of medical product communication even though the department shares oversight of medical product promotions with the FDA and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).