The U.S. FDA’s draft rule for lab-developed tests (LDTs) has proven to be every bit as controversial as expected, although the controversy is only marginally about the workload that would come with rulemaking.

After a nine-month review, the Biden administration is preparing to go where all other U.S. administrations have refused to trod. In releasing a draft framework to help federal agencies decide whether to exercise a federal march-in on patent rights protecting taxpayer-supported drugs and other inventions, including medical devices, the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology included price as a factor in considering whether a product is “reasonably” available, as required under the 1980 Bayh-Dole Act.

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.