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 October 2019

Arnall Golden Gregory LLP's Food and Drug Newsletter is a monthly update of legal and regulatory issues that affect the FDA-regulated community, including regular updates on legislative initiatives from AGG’s Washington, DC office, and articles from members of AGG outside the Food and Drug Practice.

In this Issue

 Industry Insights

OPDP Issues Two Enforcement Letters: Continuing Focus on Promotion of Drugs with Serious Risks & Drugs for Diseases With Significant Public Health Concerns 
By: Alan G. Minsk and
Seth S. Ray

On September 13, 2019, FDA’s Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (OPDP) issued a Warning Letter stating that a professional email made false or misleading claims and representations about the risks and effectiveness associated with the use of a drug for treating insomnia. Eleven days later, OPDP sent an Untitled Letter alleging that a direct-to-consumer patient testimonial video montage posted on YouTube.com presented false or misleading claims and representations about the risks associated with a drug for high cholesterol
More >

Medical Device Developments: FDA Finalizes Four 510(k) Guidance Documents
By: Alan G. Minsk and Christine Kirk

In September, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued multiple final guidance documents related to the medical device program. In this Bulletin, we briefly address final guidances on the Special 510(k) Program, the Abbreviated 510(k) Program, the Format for Traditional and Abbreviated 510(k)s, and the Refuse to Accept Policy for 510(k)s. These final guidance documents are part of FDA’s ongoing efforts to streamline and improve the 510(k) program and device regulation more generally. Notable items include some changes in the Special 510(k) guidance from the draft to final versions, and the replacement of a previous (1998) guidance by the final Special 510(k) and Abbreviated 510(k) guidance. More >

FDA Considers How to Evaluate the Safety of the Materials Used in Medical Devices
By: Alan G. Minsk and Genevieve M. Razick 

On September 30, 2019, Jeff Shuren, Director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) issued a statement to announce the most recent updates to the agency’s attempts to evaluate the safety of the materials used in medical devices. The statement follows Director Shuren’s March 2019 announcement, which stated that a growing body of evidence suggests that some patients may have a predisposition to a biological response, such as an immune or inflammatory reaction, to certain types of materials in implantable or insertable medical devices. The reaction, however, may not develop until years after implantation and, therefore, the predisposition may be difficult to detect in clinical trials. More
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Upcoming Events

AGG Partner Alan G. Minsk will speak at the AUTM Asia 2019 presenting on "TTO Contract and Patent Enforcement and Patent Monetization" at Ramada Wyndham in Jerusalem, Israel on November 4-7th.


Industry Activities and Recognition

Partner Alan Minsk Quoted in HBW Insight- Informa Pharma Intelligence
AGG Partner Alan G. Minsk was quoted in an article "Innovating Outside OTC Monograph Lines: Trending Acne Patches, Hand And Foot Antiperspirants" in HBW Insight - Informa Pharma Intelligence. More >

AGG Welcomes Of Counsel Bob Durkin
Robert “Bob” Durkin joins AGG as Of Counsel in the firm’s FDA and Healthcare practices, and is a member of the firm’s Dietary Supplements Industry Team. As a former Acting Director and Deputy Director of the Office of Dietary Supplement Programs (ODSP) in the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), he brings a wealth of knowledge and insight to his legal practice. In working with AGG clients, Bob will draw from the extensive experience he gained at the FDA where he was responsible for performing policy analysis and evaluations related to all aspects of the agency’s dietary supplement programs while also providing skillful advice on compliance and enforcement issues. During this time, he was active in a variety of agency working groups, including: Agency-wide Marijuana Working Group, Agency-wide CBD Policy Working Group, and the Agency-wide Investigational New Drug Policy Working Group. While helping to lead ODSP, Bob also successfully led the Office through multiple Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigations. More >


This newsletter is published by Arnall Golden Gregory’s Food and Drug and Government Affairs and Public Policy Practices. This information presented provides a general summary of recent legal and regulatory developments. It is not intended to be, and should not be relied upon, as legal advice. For more information about the Food and Drug Practice, please contact Alan Minsk.
©2019. Arnall Golden Gregory LLP. All Rights Reserved.  Atlanta | Washington, DC

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