MoFo Life Sciences

October 25, 2021 - United States, FDA, Rare Disease, Pharma, Regulatory, Cell + Gene Therapy
FDA Finalizes Guidance on Interpretation of Orphan Drug “Sameness” for Gene Therapy Products
By: Brigid DeCoursey Bondoc
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 The guidance finalizes the January 2020 draft guidance and provides FDA’s current perspective on certain criteria
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October 08, 2021 - United States, FDA, Litigation, Pharma, Intellectual Property
Skinny Labels Back in Focus after HHS Report on Addressing Drug Prices
By: Fitz B. Collings
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
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September 22, 2021 - United States, FDA, Healthcare
CMS Proposes to Repeal MCIT Final Rule
Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule to repeal the Medicare Coverage of Innovative Technology (MCIT) and Definition of “Reasonable and Necessary” final rule (the “Proposed Rule”), which CMS published on January 14, 2021 in the waning
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July 26, 2021 - United States, FDA, Healthcare
Cures 2.0: Will It Be Better Than the Original?
By: Stacy Cline Amin
It’s summer blockbuster season and that means sequels abound. Now it seems that the U.S. Congress wants in on the action. Just five years after Congress passed the 21st Century Cures Act, a bipartisan group of representatives is looking to enact follow-up legislation—“Cures 2.0.”
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June 29, 2021 - United States, FDA, COVID-19, Healthcare, Pharma
EUAs and the FDA’s Fight Against COVID-19: An Evolving Landscape
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
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May 13, 2021 - United States, FDA, COVID-19, Healthcare
New Face Mask Performance Standard Has Consumers Covered
ASTM International recently approved a new performance standard that will tell consumers just how much protection their cloth face masks offer. Some face coverings like N-95 respirators and surgical masks must meet certain filtration requirements enforced by government agencies like the U.S. Occupational Safety
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May 11, 2021 - United States, FDA, COVID-19, Healthcare, Pharma
COVID-19 Vaccines: And Then There Were Three (Again)
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
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May 06, 2021 - AI + Robotics, FDA
CTA Publishes New Standard for Healthcare AI
In February, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) announced a voluntary standard for healthcare products that use Artificial Intelligence (AI). This standard follows the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recently published action plan for regulatory oversight of AI and machine learning-based medical software. FDA ultimately
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May 04, 2021 - FDA, Litigation
Ninth Circuit Weighs in on Fraud-on-the-FDA Theory, Marketing Devices for Off-Label Use, and Kickbacks
The Ninth Circuit recently weighed in on the appeal of a False Claims Act lawsuit from a relator against Medtronic. In this case, the relator alleges that Medtronic, Inc.: (1) Engaged in “fraud-on-the-FDA” when obtaining clearance for several devices used in spinal fusion surgeries;
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April 08, 2021 - United States, FDA, Medical Devices + Diagnostics, United Kingdom, European Union, Regulatory
Global HealthTech CEO Connect: Software as a Medical Device in the U.S. and EU Recap
By: Wolfgang Schönig
On Friday, March 26, 2021, over 180 attendees worldwide attended McKinsey & Company’s first Global HealthTech CEO Connect of 2021. The discussion focused on regulatory and legal considerations for software as a medical device (SaMD) in both the United States and Europe and specific
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