Regulatory Sciences

Generic Drug User Fee Act (GDUFA) Overview

FDA user fees have been a fact of life for regulated industries for nearly two decades. As you continue to comply by paying the fees, you should understand what the revenue does for you. In this...

Regulatory Sciences

FDA Comments on Proposed Prescription Drug Labeling

Standardized prescription drug labeling was implemented by FDA in 1979. In the following years as labeling became more complex, FDA re-evaluated its usefulness and published a final rule in 2006...

5 Steps for Developing and Managing Supplier Quality Programs

With the increased pressures of cost control for manufacturers of FDA-regulated products and the rapid expansion of globalization of the supply chain, the expectations of manufacturers and sponsors...

Medical Information

4 Key Parts to a Complete Product Complaint Handling Program

According to 2012 FDA statistics, drug company’s Product Complaint handling systems (21 CFR 211.198) were cited in 142 Turbo EIR observations for their deficiencies representing almost 4% of all...

Regulatory Sciences

Extended Review Timeline for Certain Applications under Proposed PDUFA V

The Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) is due to be reauthorized by the end of September this year. Along with the usual increases in fees, the latest version of the act (PDUFA V) includes some...

Regulatory Sciences

FDA Study Finds Lower Risk of Lung Cancer Among Menthol Smokers

In March 2011, the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee released a report on the impact of menthol on public health. Based on the committee’s review of all available evidence, they...

Regulatory Sciences

FDA Shelf Life Extension Program (SLEP)

The FDA’s homepage contains an item in the Public Health Focus section from the Office of Communications entitled “Don’t Use Expired Medicine.” Given this mandate, I recall from many years ago the...

Regulatory Sciences

Food and Cosmetic Ingredients that are also Excipients in Drug Products – OGD Policy

In a recent teleconference with senior officials in the Office of Generic Drugs (OGD) at the FDA, it was conveyed that it is the policy of OGD in determining the safety of excipients to rely...

Regulatory Sciences

Innovation vs. Safety: Another Definition for the “Chicken or the Egg"

We all know that the FDA’s mission is to promote and protect public health. However, in their effort to protect the public health, it seems that they may be inadvertently harming the industry that...

Citing the IIG as Evidence of Ingredient Safety Comes with Caveats

It has become common practice in developing drug formulations to consult the FDA's Inactive Ingredient Guide (IIG) to obtain information on "acceptable levels" of excipients used in previously...

Regulatory Sciences

Competition Between Orphan Drug Sponsors – Good for Patients, Strategic Complexities for Sponsors

The regulations developed by the FDA for implementing the Orphan Drug Act contain a number of features that are intended to maximize benefits to the orphan disease patient population, but which pose...