The U.S. FDA’s December 2023 draft guidance for the use of real-world evidence (RWE) for medical devices drew comment from across the spectrum of stakeholders, but industry is demonstrably wary of the draft on several points. The Medical Device Manufacturers Association (MDMA) offered several pointed criticisms, including that the draft seems to suggest that a fit-for-purpose study might be nearly indistinguishable from a conventional clinical trial, which MDMA said violates the least burdensome principle.
After nearly a decade and a half of service at the U.S. FDA, Bill Maisel will retire from the agency, taking with him a wealth of experience as both a physician and a regulator. The agency said Owen Faris, also a long-time member of the FDA staff, will take Maisel’s place as the director of the Office of Product Evaluation and Quality (OPEQ), but this is a temporary stint for Faris as the agency will conduct a search for Maisel’s replacement.
Third-party testing of medical devices is an established practice, but some testing labs are more reliable than others. The U.S. FDA has warned device manufacturers that some of these labs are turning out falsified data in connection with such testing, calling out labs located in China and India as unusually suspect sources of testing data.
After more than a decade of industry pleading for guidance on Orange Book patent listings, the U.S. FDA is finally planning on answering that request this year. If the guidance that’s produced reflects the FTC’s position that device patents can’t be listed for combination products, it could overturn years of accepted practice and possibly hinder the development of new, more advanced drug administration technologies.
The U.S. FDA’s device center has been prodding industry for some time to develop a culture of quality regarding the manufacture of medical devices, an emphasis that has resulted in the development of several programs. While the recent harmonization of the FDA’s device quality system regulation with an international standard might seem oblique to this culture of quality consideration, the FDA’s Keisha Thomas advised industry that the overhaul of the Quality System Regulation (QSR) is seen inside the agency as part and parcel of that quality push, a statement that seems to suggest that the FDA’s expectations regarding device manufacturing will be more stringent going forward.
Better Therapeutics Inc.’s prescription digital therapeutic (PDT) received U.S. FDA breakthrough device designation for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), an advanced form of fatty liver disease that increases the risk of cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer but has few good treatments available.
X-trodes Ltd. has received U.S. FDA 510(k) clearance for its Smart Skin solution, a wireless wearable technology that allows for medical-grade electrophysiological monitoring in clinics and at home. The company believes that the Smart Skin technology, which captures signals from the brain, heart, eyes and muscles, has the potential to significantly improve patient care.
The U.S. FDA reported Feb. 15 that Philips USA, a subsidiary of Amsterdam-based Royal Philips NV, recalled three models of the Brightview line of single photon emission CT (SPECT) systems due to an incident in which the system detector fell.
Wandercraft SAS broadened its U.S. FDA clearance for the Atalante X to include rehabilitation in individuals with spinal cord injuries at levels T5 to L5. The self-balancing exoskeleton was already given the greenlight by the FDA for use in stroke rehabilitation in December 2022. “We are thrilled to have two FDA clearances, first for stroke and now spinal cord injury, in less than a year,” CEO Matthieu Masselin, told BioWorld.
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the circulatory system devices panel of the medical devices advisory committee for the U.S. FDA showed some love for Abbott Laboratories’ Triclip transcatheter edge-to edge repair (TEER) system for leaky tricuspid heart valves.
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