North Carolina Product Liability Lawyer Blog
Communications between pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers and physicians are highly regulated by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but the agency, as much as it may want to be, does not have the final say in all regulation. These companies have First Amendment commercial free speech rights (though they’re not as broad as the free speech rights individuals have) and there’s a tension between what the FDA wants companies to say, what these companies want to say, and what the courts say the companies can say.
The agency in late August published a notice of public hearing and request for comments concerning manufacturer communications regarding unapproved uses of approved or cleared medical products. The hearing will be held on November 9-10, 2016 in Silver Spring, Maryland, and in case you want to present information you must register by October 19. You could also send in written comments by January 9.