By Sarah Wicks & Dara Katcher Levy — On April 24, 2024, the FDA issued a revised draft guidance, Promotional Labeling and Advertising Considerations for Prescription Biological Reference Products, Biosimilar Products, and Interchangeable Biosimilar Products – Questions and Answers, (the “Revised Draft Guidance”) which replaces the Agency’s initial draft guidance issued in February 2020 (the “Initial Draft Guidance”). This Revised Draft Guidance provides considerations for manufacturers, packers or distributors (dubbed “firms”) of prescription biological reference products, biosimilar produ ..read more

By Sara W. Koblitz & Kurt R. Karst — While the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (“BPCIA”) is inherently distinct from the Hatch-Waxman Act, many of the fundamental concepts FDA adopted as it enacted the Hatch-Waxman Act made their way into FDA’s implementation of the BPCIA.  This of course, make sense—after decades of experience implementing the Hatch-Waxman, Congress and FDA had learned a few new tricks by 2009/2010.  Amongst other things, FDA co-opted many of the same definitions for key terms for implementation of the BPCIA.  Relevant here, FDA interpreted i ..read more

By Sara W. Koblitz — Back in late September 2023 (and corrected in October), FDA issued its first interchangeable exclusivity determination pursuant to the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (“BPCIA”).  As has been explained, the BPCIA provided an abbreviated pathway to market for follow-on biologics—biosimilars and interchangeable biosimilars—and with that pathway came two types of exclusivity periods: one for the “Reference Product” to encourage continued innovation and one for the “First Interchangeable” biosimilar to encourage the development of biosimilars that could be s ..read more

By Mark A. Tobolowsky — FDA, like much of the rest of the world, has been adjusting to the rapid changes in our world these last few years.  For nearly three years following the declaration of the COVID-19 health emergency, there were no in-person meetings held.  Then, in early 2023, CDER and CBER started a slow phase-in of in-person meetings in a hybrid format, with some attendees present only virtually.  The hybrid format was necessary due to limitations in the number of attendees who could be accommodated in-person in the handful of newly revamped meeting rooms.  At firs ..read more

Gain a comprehensive understanding of Hatch-Waxman and BPCIA essentials AND a critical competency for legal and business professionals in the biopharmaceutical arena AT THE American Conference Institute’s (ACI’s) 3rd Annual Passport to Proficiency on the Essentials of Hatch-Waxman and BPCIA! Attend ACI’s Hatch-Waxman and BPCIA Proficiency Series from October 10-26, a virtual three-week program designed to provide new lawyers and executives for the life sciences industry with a solid foundation for understanding the essentials as well as the intricacies of Hatch-Waxman and BPCIA litigation and ..read more

By Kurt R. Karst & Michael D. Shumsky — On May 2nd, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (“Senate HELP”) is scheduled to take up legislation that could significantly limit access to the courts and immunize critical FDA decisions from timely judicial review.  That bill is S. 1067, the “Ensuring Timely Access to Generics Act of 2023,” and it would fundamentally transform the playing field for NDA, ANDA, BLA, and aBLA applicants seeking to preserve their rights in the wake of an adverse FDA approval decision. It does so by amending FDC Act § 505(q), the curr ..read more

By Alan M. Kirschenbaum — On Friday, President Biden issued a wide ranging Executive Order seeking to address overconcentration, monopolization, and unfair competition in the U.S. economy.  Using an aptly named “whole-of-government” approach, the Order calls on the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, the Agriculture Department, the Treasury Department, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), and other agencies to implement wide-ranging policies to combat the “excessive concentration of industry, the abuses of market power, and the h ..read more

By Sara W. Koblitz — Biosimilars have been around for a bit over 10 years now, and there has been tremendous progress in licensing new biosimilar products.  But there is no question that there are still significant holes that FDA must address to further facilitate biosimilar development under section 351(k) of the PHS Act.  Many of these questions relate to interchangeable products, as FDA and industry have had very limited experience with interchangeable biosimilars.  As of December 2020, FDA has approved 28 biosimilars, but not one has been approved as “interchangeable” for it ..read more

On December 29, 2022, the President signed into law the Food and Drug Omnibus Reform Act of 2022 (“FDORA”) as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, Pub. L. No. 117-328 (2022).  FDORA primarily amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Public Health Service Act.  The law enacts significant changes that will have considerable short- and long- term effects on the regulated industry and the FDA. FDORA includes six subtitles, Subtitle A- Reauthorizations, Subtitle B- Drugs and Biologics, Subtitle C- Medical Devices, Subtitle D- Infant Formula, Subtitle E- Cosmet ..read more

On September 30, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Continuing Appropriations and Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2023, Division F of which is titled the “FDA User Fee Reauthorization Act of 2022” (“FUFRA”).   In addition to reauthorizing for an additional five fiscal years—Fiscal Years 2023-2027—several drug, biological product, and medical device user fee provisions that were scheduled to sunset on September 30, 2022, FUFRA reauthorizes—but only through December 16, 2022—several other statutory provisions that were scheduled to expire. Unlike prior user fee reauthor ..read more