On July 28, 2020, FDA announced the publication of a final guidance on Multiple Function Device Products: Policy and Considerations that outlines FDA’s evolving approach to the regulation of multiple function device products, including software. The concept of “multiple function” products was introduced by the 21st Century Cures Act (“Cures Act”) of 2016, which added … Continue Reading
The COVID-19 crisis is demonstrating the potential of digital health technology to manage some of our greatest public health challenges. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy has issued a call to action for technology companies to help the science community answer high-priority scientific questions related to COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control … Continue Reading
Digital health companies are playing an important role in the global response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. For example, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy issued a Call to Action to the tech community requesting help in answering urgent scientific questions about COVID-19. As readers of this blog are aware, some … Continue Reading
On September 26, 2019, the FDA issued two revised guidance documents addressing its evolving approach to the regulation of digital health technologies. These guidances primarily describe when digital health solutions will or will not be actively regulated by FDA as a medical device. In parallel, FDA also updated four previously final guidance documents to ensure … Continue Reading
Our clients increasingly apply agile product and business development methodologies when they are developing digital health solutions. “Ideation” is the part of that process and involves the rapid identification and creation of ideas for digital health solutions, which are then prototyped and tested. Covington has created a Top 10 Questions for Ideation of Digital Health … Continue Reading
As previewed by Commissioner Gottlieb several months ago (see our earlier post here), FDA published a notice in the Federal Register on November 20, 2018, to propose a new framework for “prescription drug-use-related software.” The Agency defines this digital health category widely as software disseminated by a prescription drug sponsor for use with the sponsor’s … Continue Reading
On April 26, Commissioner Gottlieb addressed the agency’s progress on FDA’s Digital Health Innovation Action Plan and announced several additional steps the agency is taking to advance the potential benefits of digital health. Here is a recap of the key updates: (1) Launch of New FDA Program to Apply Digital Health to Drugs As our … Continue Reading
On February 1, 2018, Covington’s Digital Health team hosted a webinar examining U.S. and EU regulatory issues for digital health associated with pharmaceuticals. Here are some key takeaways from that webinar: Neela Paykel from Proteus Digital Health, noted that “you need to think outside the box for how to engage, whether you’re a pharma company … Continue Reading
On December 8, FDA addressed the agency’s evolving approach to digital health by issuing two new draft guidance documents: “Clinical and Patient Decision Support Software” (the “CDS Draft Guidance”) and “Changes to Existing Medical Software Policies Resulting From Section 3060 of the 21st Century Cures Act” (the “Software Policies Draft Guidance”). These draft guidances announce the … Continue Reading
On November 14, lawyers from Teva Pharmaceuticals and Covington & Burling discussed digital health innovation from a medical device regulation perspective in the U.S. and the EU. The presentation by Rachel Turow, Executive Counsel – Regulatory Law, Teva Pharmaceuticals, and Grant Castle, Scott Danzis, Sarah Cowlishaw, and Christina Kuhn of Covington, covered topics such as … Continue Reading
On Friday, July 28, FDA announced a new Software Pre-certification (Pre-Cert) Pilot Program in a Federal Register notice. The Pre-Cert program is one of three main action items discussed in the agency’s recently-released Digital Health Innovation Action Plan. CDRH also held a webinar on August 1 to provide an overview of the program and answer … Continue Reading
On July 27, FDA published its Digital Health Innovation Action Plan. The plan provides details and timelines for the agency’s Digital Health Innovation Plan, announced by FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb last month. The action plan describes the agency’s “next steps” over the coming year to “encourage digital health innovation by redesigning [FDA’s] policies and processes … Continue Reading
On April 5, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in conjunction with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), released a new web-based interactive tool to assist mobile health app developers in navigating applicable federal laws and regulations in the areas of advertising and marketing, medical devices, and … Continue Reading
On November 2, 2015, the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) published its FY 2016 Work Plan, which summarizes new and ongoing activities that OIG plans to pursue with respect to HHS programs and operations during the fiscal year. The FY 2016 Work Plan includes a new review initiative to examine “whether FDA’s oversight of … Continue Reading
Bloomberg BNA reports (subscription required) that FDA will recognize a regulatory category called “complementary diagnostics” for tests that provide additional information about how a drug might be used, but that are distinct from “companion diagnostics,” which are essential for the safe and effective use of a drug.… Continue Reading
