On September 30, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced final guidance titled “Interpreting Sameness of Gene Therapy Products under the Orphan Drug Regulations.” The guidance finalizes the January 2020 draft guidance and provides FDA’s current perspective on certain criteria that …›
Skinny labels are back in focus at the White House. On September 9, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services submitted its much-anticipated report to the White House Competition Counsel regarding a “Comprehensive Plan for Addressing High Drug Prices.” The HHS Report—issued …›
Telehealth services may be at a crossroads. While the COVID-19 pandemic brought about widespread adoption of telehealth services, the Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) appear primed to audit telehealth services and ramp …›
Christine Lentz, a Morrison & Foerster summer associate in our San Diego office, contributed to the writing of this article. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 spurred rapid medical and technological innovation, leading to new medicines and devices designed in response to the …›
On December 11, 2020, a SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech became the first to receive Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Since then, two others (produced by Moderna and Johnson & Johnson) have also been …›
In recent years, there have been various antitrust investigations in the pharmaceutical sector resulting in decisions of the European Commission (EC) and the European Courts.[1] In two recent rulings – “Lundbeck”[2] and “Paroxetine”[3] – the European Court of Justice (ECJ) dealt with settlement agreements …›
During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments across the globe have become increasingly involved in the private sector.[1] State-owned enterprises have long been common in Asia, but the pandemic has increased their prominence in Europe. In Italy and Norway, for instance, governments are taking equity stakes …›
The European Union (“EU”) and its Member States are struggling with the pace of their vaccination programs. This is partly due to shortages of vaccine availability. Germany, like the rest of the EU, is scrambling to obtain vaccine doses as the pharmaceutical industry slows …›
Sunday, February 28, 2021, was Rare Disease Day. With so much focus on COVID-19 throughout 2020, it’s important to recognize the continued work done in rare disease drug development by sponsors and FDA throughout 2020. In addition, a number of policies implemented in response …›
Nearly one year after its introduction to the House of Commons, the Medicines and Medical Devices Bill 2019‑2021 (the Bill) was granted Royal Assent on 11 February 2021, becoming law as the Medicines and Medical Devices Act 2021 (the Act). The purpose of the …›