The Office of Generic Drugs (OGD) updated its December 2019 (first quarter FY 2020) statistics with metrics, in addition to the approvals, receipts of original ANDAs, and complete response letters that were published a few weeks ago. The OGD reported refusing-to-receive (RTR) four ANDAs, three standard review and one priority review application. While four is […]
In a very recent safety communication, due to an increase in serious bowel issues from severe constipation to complete bowel obstruction that have been reported for Clozaril, the FDA is alerting the public and health care providers of this new information. The communication notes that this adverse event can, in some patients, be serious and […]
Many years ago, I wrote an article on the influx of Pharmacy Benefits Managers (PBMs) on the cost of prescription drugs (this was before much was really known about how they operated). In that article, I opined that I thought that they would be a great benefit to organizations that were not big enough to […]
Just look around, watch the television, read the newspaper, and what do you see? Seems like very few reasons to be thankful. School and workplace shootings, the political scene is as nasty as I ever remember in my 70 years on earth. Climate change is threatening the future of our children, and the environmental controls […]
I read four articles this morning (here, here, here, and here) about Medicare and how it can take years to get a generic drug placed on the appropriate tier for coverage after a first generic is approved, and it just makes my blood boil. With all the press about lowering drug prices and knowing that […]
In a prepublication of the Federal Register today, the FDA announced its intentions to withdraw four NDAs (see chart below) for failure to submit required annual reports. In the notice, the Agency noted the firms have been contacted by the Agency but have repeatedly failed to submit the required reports. The Notice provides the firms […]
There have been eighty-six first-time generic approvals for the calendar year 2019 thus far, at least through November 8, 2019, according to the updated list by the FDA (here). The FDA wants us to remember that first approvals do not always translate into products that are immediately available to the public due to either patent […]
Drug shortages have been in the headlines for years but getting them under control has proved to be a complex, multifaceted problem. Reports of critical shortages for chemotherapeutic agents, saline solutions, other injectables, and oral medications have lead healthcare providers oft times to seek other options for therapy. There has even been one firm created […]
A new draft guidance titled (quite originally) Drug Master Files (here) has replaced the Drug Master Files: Guidelines that was published in 1989. There have been many changes to the requirements and procedures for DMFs based on new laws, policies, and procedures, as well as procedures associated with GDUFA commitment letters for ANDAs, and (of […]
In thinking about the current vaping issues, which have been associated with a significant number of deaths and hundreds, if not thousands, of lung-related injuries, I think the path to the future of these products needs to be critically evaluated by the FDA. The introduction of e-cig came so fast that the FDA was not […]
