Welcome to the Goodwin’s Life Sciences Perspectives Blog, a resource specifically aimed at addressing your most frequent and pressing issues and providing insights on current developments.

The challenges across the life sciences industry are as abundant as the opportunities. From tightening federal regulations and market forces to revolutionary innovations, the headwinds are stiff and shifting but they are navigable. We will be tracking emerging issues and developments on private and public company matters, licensing deals and collaborations, patent and IP matters, FDA and healthcare regulatory compliance, and European and Asian developments for life sciences companies. Sign up to receive postings from Goodwin’s Life Sciences Perspectives blog by clicking here.

 

FDA’s Proposed Rule for Oversight of Laboratory Developed Tests: Part II: FDA’s Proposed Phaseout Policy – Key Considerations & Open Questions

hands and test tube

After an over decade-long discourse amongst interested stakeholders, on October 3, 2023, FDA unveiled its proposed rule and policy to increase oversight over LDTs. If finalized as proposed, FDA would implement a new “phaseout policy” that would, across five stages and within four years, apply the same regulatory requirements applicable to in…

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Federal Court Strikes Down Copay Accumulator Programs

bottles and syringe

Summary: On September 29, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia vacated a Trump-era rule from 2021 that allowed insurers to exclude drug manufacturer co-pay support coupons and assistance from a patient’s annual cost-sharing caps.  This practice, commonly referred to as a copay accumulator program, is typically…

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FDA’s Proposed Rule for Oversight of Laboratory Developed Tests: Part I: Underpinnings of FDA’s Proposed Rule

On October 3, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published its widely anticipated proposed rule on the regulation of laboratory developed tests (LDTs). The proposed rule and policy are the latest in an over decade-long discourse amongst interested stakeholders – laboratories, IVD manufacturers, regulatory agencies, Congress, providers, and patients –…

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A Look Ahead in Life Sciences: What We Are Tracking in Q4 2023 and Beyond

As the life sciences, medtech, and diagnostic industries continue to expand and grow increasingly complex, so do the legal, regulatory, and compliance landscape. To help companies and investors navigate the many evolving and emerging laws and regulations across pharmaceuticals, biologics, medical devices, diagnostics, and laboratory testing, our Life Sciences Regulatory…

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FDA Proposes Phased Approach to Regulating Laboratory Developed Tests

On September 29, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) posted and scheduled for publication its long-awaited proposed rule concerning FDA regulation of laboratory developed tests (LDTs).  If enacted, the proposed rule would amend the Agency’s regulations to make explicit that in vitro diagnostic products (IVDs) are devices under…

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Is it Biosimilar or Interchangeable? It Won’t Be Easy to Tell Under FDA’s Latest Draft Labeling Guidance

Last week, FDA released a draft guidance, “Labeling for Biosimilar and Interchangeable Biosimilar Products” that—when finalized—will revise and replace its July 2018 final guidance, “Labeling for Biosimilar Products.”  FDA noted that this 2023 Draft Guidance reflects recommendations based on the “valuable experience about labeling considerations” that FDA has gained through…

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Modernizing the FDA’s 510(k) Program for Medical Devices: Selection of Predicate Devices and Use of Clinical Data in 510(k) Submissions

On September 6, 2023, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a trio of draft guidances in its efforts to “strengthen and modernize” the 510(k) Program and provide for more “predictability, consistency, and transparency” for the 510(k) premarket review process. In this post, we discuss the two new draft…

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UK’s Medicines Regulator Announces Guidance on the New International Recognition Procedure for the Approval of New Medicines from 1 January 2024

Background Earlier this year, the UK’s medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), announced that a new International Recognition Procedure (IRP) will be put in place for the approval of new medicines from 1 January 2024. On 4 September 2023, the MHRA announced the publication of detailed…

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PropSci Perspectives: Breakthrough Properties

The Goodwin Propsci team has partnered with several well-known companies for a short video series that explores what’s happening in the real estate life sciences industry. In our latest installment, Susie Harborth, Chief Business Officer at Breakthrough Properties, joins Nicole Riley for a thought-provoking discussion. Breakthrough Properties is a life sciences real estate development…

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