Polsinelli Podcasts - Confusion to Clarity on the Future of the 340B Program
On March 19, 2025, Shanghai Henlius Biotech announced that the FDA has granted Orphan Drug Designation for HLX22, an anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody, for the treatment of gastric cancer. HLX22 binds to HER2 extracellular...more
President-elect Trump’s nominee for commissioner of Food and Drugs, Martin A. Makary, MD, MPH, argued in 2016 that Congress should reform the Orphan Drug Act (ODA) because drug companies “are gaming the system to use the law...more
Last month, the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Orphan Products Development (“OOPD”) found that one prescription drug company was able to, essentially, breach another’s orphan drug exclusivity (and have its new drug...more
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) establishes the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program (“Negotiation Program”), which permits the government to negotiate drug prices for certain high expenditure, single source...more
While many provisions of the FY 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act (Omnibus) have received much attention, one has flown under the radar. In its explanatory statement on the Omnibus, the US Congress indicated that it is...more
Orphan drugs are the pharmaceutical industry’s way of helping those who suffer from rare conditions. Thanks to the Orphan Drug Act, such patients can get the medications they need, and pharmaceutical companies can be duly...more
With the issuance of its mandate on January 28, 2022, in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Becerra, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has upheld the orphan exclusivity for Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc....more
How is orphan drug exclusivity affected when the FDA-approved use for an orphan drug is arguably narrower than the treatment of the rare disease it was designated for? By way of background, a sponsor can obtain orphan drug...more
Wednesday, FDA released a letter stating how the agency intends to implement the scope of orphan drug exclusivity awarded to Eagle Pharmaceuticals’ Bendeka (bendamustine HCl) by the D.C. Circuit Court in Eagle...more
On November 6th, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the drug Zelboraf (vemurafenib), for the treatment of Erdheim-Chester Disease (ECD). The FDA approved Zelboraf under Priority Review, Breakthrough...more
It is only August, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is on track to set a record for orphan drugs approved this year. At last count, 42 orphan drugs have been approved between January 1, 2017 and August 9, 2017....more