FDA’s Clarifies its Expectations from IRB Review of Compassionate Use 

Emergency use or compassionate use protocols rely heavily on IRB review of such use of an investigational product. Individual patients in life-threatening conditions can be treated without prior approval by the FDA or an IRB with the expectation that the physician using an investigational treatment on his/her patient would inform the FDA and a relevant … Read more

FDA Funding for Orphan Drug Clinical Trials

The US FDA offers a grant of up to $3.6 million in non-dilutive funding to researchers developing new treatments for orphan drugs with an unmet medical need through a competitive selection process. Although the orphan drug development grant is not discussed much in funding circles, it offers several benefits, additional to the funds, to the … Read more

FDA’s Latest Advice for Strategic Considerations for 510K Applications 

510k constitutes both the most common kind of device market approval applications and the most controversial ones due to predicate creep, need or not of clinical trials, and the amount of supporting information needed for clearance by the FDA. These very critical strategic considerations could vastly affect the time needed for the creation of a … Read more

Pharma Connections in Patient Advocacy Leadership Raises Conflict of Interest Concerns

Patient advocacy organizations (PAOs) have a vital role in raising awareness about diseases and representing patient interests with the industry and FDA. In the last few years, PAOs played a critical role in raising patients’ opinions about controversial new drugs with the FDA, in turn leading to the approval of those drugs by the FDA. … Read more

Should the FDA Increase Dietary Supplement Review

Unlike pharmaceuticals, supplement ingredients don’t undergo FDA preapproval for effectiveness or safety prior to market introduction. This regulatory gap has paved the way for manufacturers to overlook basic manufacturing standards, resulting in compromised product quality. The identity, purity, and composition of dietary supplements are often neglected, which becomes a critical issue given the complex physiological … Read more

FDA Requirements for Using Off-The-Shelf Software in New Medical Devices

In the dynamic landscape of medical device innovation, the utilization of off-the-shelf (OTS) software has become a cornerstone for rapid development and enhanced functionality. However, it is hard for the developers of devices to include most details about the OTS software, the kind of which would be available to in-house software. To allow device developers … Read more

FDA’s New Post-Market Diversity Expectations 

Despite extensive advocacy from the FDA, most pre-approval clinical trials lack diversity owing primarily to the unwillingness of certain segments of the population to participate in clinical trials. However, once a drug is approved by the FDA, its use is more diverse and representative of the demographic distribution of the general population. To take advantage … Read more

FDA Registration of Cosmetic Manufacturing Facilities 

Under the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulations Acts of 2022 (MoCRA) all manufacturing facilities for cosmetics must register with FDA prior to distribution of their products in the US, however, so far, the specific procedures and requirements for this were not clarified by the FDA. For example, it is not clear who needs to register, the … Read more