The FDA issued its Fiscal Year (FY) GDUFA Science and Research Report last week (read the full report here and the awarded research contracts and grants here). A review of the innovative scientific focus areas helps those of us in the industry to get a sense of where the FDA is headed in support of […]
Today, the FDA published in a final rule (here) a significant revision to the regulatory definition of biological product that will have a major impact on what product will be regulated under the Public Health Service Act (PHSA), and which will be regulated solely under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). Specifically, the […]
January was a gangbuster month for the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) with regard to publication of gene therapy (GT) guidance documents! A total of six final guidelines and one draft guideline on GT products were issued. These included: Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Control Information for Human Gene Therapy Investigational New Drug […]
In earlier blogs, we have written about specific technical items related to identity testing. However, a review of Warning Letters published on the US FDA website for the months of December 2019 and January 2020, revealed three Warning Letters citing instances of failures to perform identity testing of active pharmaceutical ingredients prior to the manufacturing […]
The FDA’s Office of Pharmaceutical Quality (OPQ) is the group within the FDA that defines the quality requirements for all human drugs under its umbrella (filed as NDAs, ANDAs, BLAs, 351(k)/Biosimilars, and OTC products). The group issued its 2019 Annual Report just this month (read the full report here) that includes a look back […]
I am saddened to report that on Saturday January 4, 2020 my (our) good friend Don Hare passed away peacefully after a brief illness. When I heard the news, my heart broke. For those of us in the FDA or in the drug industry, he stood as a man among men and will be sorely […]
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 […]
In a series of four Federal Register Notices issued today, the FDA announced the fee structures for the last four UFAs for Fiscal Year 2020. It is no surprise that the PDUFA fees are the highest overall in total, with well over $1 billion in potential collections. The fees for each of the programs are […]
Contract Pharma published an article back in May discussing the issue of Nitrosamines uninvitedly found in drug products. The article’s author, Aloka Srinivasan, VP of Lachman Consultants, helps us better understand the presence of Nitrosamines and how to address them. Nitrosamines has recently re-surfaced in the pharmaceutical world due to FDA and other international agencies […]
The FDA announced the availability of two draft labeling guidance documents today. One, titled Instructions for Use—Patient Labeling for Human Prescription Drug and Biological Products and Drug-Device and Biologic-Device Combination Products—Content and Format (for standardizing the instructions for use section of labeling), and the other, titled Drug Abuse and Dependence Section of Labeling for Human […]
