The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has opened a docket for comment on noncompete employment contracts, a move which suggests that the agency may revert to evaluating these practices on a case-by-case basis rather than by issuing sweeping rules.

The U.S. Office of Inspector General posted an analysis of Medicare spending on skin substitutes, remarking that the data suggest a disproportionate use of these products for patients enrolled in fee-for-service (FFS) care.

Sometimes little things can create big problems, which seems to be the case with the recall of the power unit used with the Abbott Heartmate 3 left ventricular assist device (LVAD). According to the FDA recall announcement, the power cords used with the power supply might not stay fixed in place, which would leave the power supply with 15 minutes of backup battery runtime before depletion.

The U.S. FDA cleared Respiree Pte. Ltd.’s 510(k) for its RS-001 cardio-respiratory wearable that measures respiration and offers passive cardio-respiratory monitoring.

After July’s first-ever release of more than 200 complete response letters (CRLs) by the U.S. FDA, the agency now says it will release letters shortly after sponsors receive them. In addition, the FDA released a new batch of 89 CRLs from 2024 to now that are tied to pending or withdrawn applications.

Biogen Inc.’s IND application for BIIB-142 has been accepted by the FDA. BIIB-142 is a degrader of IRAK-4 that Biogen intends to explore for therapeutic use in patients with autoimmune diseases.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reported Sept. 3 that it will engage in “active enforcement” of information blocking rules, each violation of which carries a fine that may reach seven figures.

Quantum Surgical SAS has secured CE marking for the expanded use of its Epione robotic platform to treat bone tumors and metastases. The regulatory green light allows surgeons to use Epione to treat inoperable tumors which are difficult to reach due to their size or location at an early stage, in a simple and effective way.

Sparks flew both ways Sept. 4 as Democratic senators pushed for Robert Kennedy to resign as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) during a Senate Finance Committee hearing ostensibly held to discuss the Trump administration’s 2026 health care agenda. But with Kennedy the only witness, the hearing focused on Kennedy’s perceived failings as HHS secretary. “The United States is in the midst of a health care calamity,” Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said in his opening comments, which were laden with personal attacks.

Onco3r Therapeutics BV has obtained clinical trial application (CTA) approval by the Belgian regulatory authorities for its SIK3 inhibitor O3R-5671. A first-in-human trial will be conducted in Belgium and is expected to open enrollment in the coming weeks. Final data are expected in the first half of next year and will inform subsequent patient trials across a range of autoimmune diseases, which are planned to commence next year.