Susan Haigney

The European Medicines Agency's Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products made recommendations for nine orphan drug designations during its June 2012 meeting. Included in COMP's recommendations were four designation applications for rare forms of lipodystrophy.

The National Institutes of Health have gained the participation of Abbott, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen Pharmaceutical Research & Development, and Sanofi in their effort to advance new therapeutic research.

PDA Revises Technical Report on Sterilized Products

PDA Releases Technical Report on TBA and TCA Odors and Taints

The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Ombudsman's office released its annual report detailing the common questions and complaints received by the office in 2011. A total of 461 inquiries was received, an increase of 11% from 2010. The majority of inquiries, 60%, originated from industry, with consumers accounting for 23%, healthcare providers 7%, FDA employees 5%, and other 5%.

FDA has issued Warning Letters to 10 companies that manufacture and distribute dietary supplements that contain dimethylamylamine, also known as DMAA. FDA cited the companies for marketing the supplements without submitting evidence that the products are safe.

FDA Reports Improvement in Drug Oversight.