The FDA released its most current version, its “Guidance Agenda: New & Revised Draft Guidances: CDER Plans to Publish During Calendar Year 2020,” yesterday and there are some interesting things for generic and new drugs. The complete document can be viewed here, but we will highlight some of what we believe might be the most […]
In a January 14, 2020 Drug Safety Communication (here), FDA discusses an alert to patients taking the weight loss drugs Belviq or Belviq XR (lorcaserin) of a potential increase in the risk of cancer. The NDA drug products were approved on July 27, 2012 (immediate-release) and July 15, 2016 (extended-release version), respectively. The Agency notes […]
The Agency issued two warnings today, one about a recall due to a drug-strength labeling error for Mirtazapine and the other regarding a potential serious adverse event, breathing difficulties, associated with the use of gabapentinoids. It appears that there was a label mix-up with a single lot of Mirtazapine and “Aurobindo Pharma USA, Inc. is […]
The Q&A document addresses a number of frequently asked questions about the Pre-Launch Activities Importation Request (PLAIR) process, and when you can or cannot use a PLAIR for importing unapproved drug product into the United States. Quite interestingly, there are quite a few answers of “no” to the FAQs, which likely demonstrates that firms have […]
Each year at holiday time, we try to provide a little levity in some of our blog posts, as well as spread some good cheer. So here you go – love it or not – we fully expect this to be sung outside Building 31 in Bethesda on the evening of December 24th. To the […]
Today’s prepublication of the Federal Register contains the proposed rule for drug importation from Canada. The proposed rule is 172 pages long and outlines the FDA expectations for the safe importation of drug products from Canada. Section 804 Importation Programs (SIPs) provides the basis for each request for importation and provides the importation requirements. The […]
N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), which was previously found in angiotensin II receptor blockers (the ‘sartans”), which are blood pressure medications, and more recently, in ranitidine (a heartburn medication) has caused nationwide recalls of the products. Now there is a hint that metformin, a widely used drug for diabetes, may be implicated as well, as Singapore’s Health Sciences […]
Excipients are components used and intentionally added to a drug product with no expectation that they will have a therapeutic effect. A novel excipient is one that has never been used and “reviewed in an FDA approved drug product or does not have an established use in foods”. Since the beginning of time, the Agency […]
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 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 […]
