FDA Watch

Wayne chats with Cathy Burgess, Partner and Head of the FDA Compliance and Enforcement Team and FDA Practice at Alston & Bird, and Michael Gaba, Food and Drug Vice Chair at Polsinelli. You'll hear their thoughts on what's happening these days at CDRH; key issues for medical device manufacturers, such as QSMR implementation and enhanced cybersecurity requirements; the evolution of digital health and its impact on clinical decision support technologies and wellness products; what could be next for user fee authorization; potential risks with AI in medical devices; and much more.

In our headlines segment, Wayne highlights these major developments:

Pharma: Advisory panel votes to recommend allowing compounding pharmacies to prepare six peptides

Devices: FDA selects Dexcom as first participant in TEMPO pilot

Food: FDA issues final order revoking the authorization for two food dyes

Cosmetics: Survey notes nearly 73% of daily cosmetic users believe FDA tests cosmetics for safety

In our Resource Links segment, we list key documents in our four core areas. To view these links, subscribe, or find out more information about our podcast, visit FDAWatch.net.

Want to be a sponsor, marketing partner, or guest, or provide feedback on the podcast? Email us at [email protected].

Music by Dvir Silver from Pixabay.

Wayne chats with Daniel Kracov, Partner and Chair of the Life Sciences Industry Group at Arnold & Porter, and Dr. Gayatri Rao, Director at Hyman, Phelps & McNamara. You'll hear their thoughts on Operation TrialBlazer; what's been happening lately with CBER and CDER; the latest in rare diseases and orphan drugs; developments in cell and gene therapy; the Plausible Mechanism Framework; the situation with China and global drug development; and much more.

In our headlines segment, Wayne highlights these major developments:

Acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas releases new strategic framework built around four public health priorities

Pharma: FDA makes 14 CRLs available, rejecting drug applications, despite previously pausing real-time CRL transparency initiative

Devices: FDA clears Software as a Medical Device with patient-facing LLM

Food: FDA delays publication of proposed rule to eliminate the GRAS pathway

Cosmetics: PCPC urges U.S. Trade Representative to ensure cosmetics and personal care products are prioritized in proposed U.S.-China Board of Trade

In our Resource Links segment, we list key documents in our four core areas. To view these links, subscribe, or find out more information about our podcast, visit FDAWatch.net.

Want to be a sponsor, marketing partner, or guest, or provide feedback on the podcast? Email us at [email protected].

Music by Dvir Silver from Pixabay.

In this second part of our series in collaboration with Arnall Golden Gregory LLP, Wayne chats with Luis Arandia Jr., Partner and Co-chair of International Trade at AGG, and Allison Raley, Partner in AGG's Corporate & Finance practice and Chair of the firm's International Compliance & Risk team. Together, they discuss how pharmaceutical and biologics companies should rethink global supply chains in light of the Section 232 tariffs affecting patented pharmaceutical products; common customs and trade compliance issues with imported FDA-regulated goods; legal risk-mapping to avoid detentions, refusals, and unexpected duty exposure; potential tariff actions impacting medical devices; how shifting U.S. trade policies are changing global supply chains for pharmaceuticals, biologics, and medical devices; the impact of heightened enforcement on forced labor in global supply chains; how industry should manage sanctions and export control exposure; and much more.

This episode and the rest of our series do not include the usual Headlines and Resources Links segments.

To subscribe or find out more information about our podcast, visit FDAWatch.net.

Want to be a sponsor, marketing partner, or guest, or provide feedback on the podcast? Email us at [email protected].

Music by Dvir Silver from Pixabay.

In this first part of our series in collaboration with Arnall Golden Gregory LLP, Wayne chats with Gabriel Scannapieco, Partner at AGG and Co-chair of the firm's Life Sciences industry team. Together, they discuss trends in FDA and DOJ enforcement in 2026; how FDA and DOJ have approached the oversight of GLP-1 drugs; DOJ's non-prosecution agreement resolutions with Alibaba and AUS Merchant Services and what they mean for FDA enforcement; other products drawing attention from FDA and DOJ; recent FDA enforcement actions; what companies should do now and what should they watch for in the second half of the year related to enforcement; and much more.

This episode and the rest of our series do not include the usual Headlines and Resources Links segments.

To subscribe or find out more information about our podcast, visit FDAWatch.net.

Want to be a sponsor, marketing partner, or guest, or provide feedback on the podcast? Email us at [email protected].

Music by Dvir Silver from Pixabay.

Wayne chats with Paul Kim, Principal of Kendall Square Policy Strategies LLC, and Dr. Susan Mayne, Adjunct Professor at the Yale School of Public Health and former Director of FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Together, they dive into the top FDA developments from the first half of 2026 in several areas, as well as the top developments to watch for in the second half of the year.

This episode and all bonus episodes do not include the usual Headlines and Resources Links segments.

Want to be a sponsor, marketing partner, or guest, or provide feedback on the podcast? Email us at [email protected].

Music by Dvir Silver from Pixabay.

In this third and final part of our series in collaboration with White & Case and BRG, Wayne chats with Lauren Papenhausen, Partner at White & Case's Boston office, and Edward Buthusiem, Managing Director at BRG. Together, they discuss pricing-related government enforcement risks and the legal framework; commercialization strategies under heightened enforcement scrutiny; internal investigations and distinguishing isolated issues from systemic compliance failures; board and audit committee oversight of pricing compliance and internal controls; emerging enforcement risks from state-level drug pricing regulation; and much more.

This episode and the rest of our series do not include the usual Headlines and Resources Links segments.

To subscribe or find out more information about our podcast, visit FDAWatch.net.

Want to be a sponsor, marketing partner, or guest, or provide feedback on the podcast? Email us at [email protected].

Music by Dvir Silver from Pixabay.

In this second part of our series in collaboration with White & Case and BRG, Wayne chats with Bethany Hills, Partner at White & Case, and Dan Troy, Managing Director at BRG. Together, they discuss where pricing pressures show up at FDA; how pricing issues affect how companies should think about evidence packages, differentiation claims, and life-cycle expansion; product features that often become flashpoints in pricing issues with FDA; lawful product differentiation versus differentiation that may later be portrayed as regulatory gaming; why CMC issues, manufacturing resilience, and shortage risk become more consequential amid pricing pressure; documentation surrounding regulatory and product-presentation decisions that could be second-guessed through a pricing lens; and much more.

This episode and the rest of our series do not include the usual Headlines and Resources Links segments.

To subscribe or find out more information about our podcast, visit FDAWatch.net.

Want to be a sponsor, marketing partner, or guest, or provide feedback on the podcast? Email us at [email protected].

Music by Dvir Silver from Pixabay.

In this first part of our series in collaboration with White & Case and BRG, Wayne chats with Bethany Hills, Partner at White & Case's New York office; Rahul Rao, Partner in White & Case's Washington, D.C., office; and John Barkett, Managing Director in BRG's Healthcare Transactions and Strategy practice. Together, they discuss FDA and product-strategy decisions that actually determine future pricing power developments; how certain factors shape market structure in ways that could attract anti-trust scrutiny; the line between lawful regulatory strategy and conduct that regulators or plaintiffs may characterize as competition-distorting; how management teams should think about government policy and product strategy differently amid intense price pressure; recurring fact patterns where companies unintentionally create anti-trust or stroke-of-the-pen risk; how recent political efforts around drug pricing may be tied to regulatory strategies from manufacturers; how competition authorities and deal-makers now assess FDA-derived barriers to entry in pharma and biotech; "pricing power risk" at the development stage; developments in DTC advertising; and much more.

This episode and the rest of our series do not include the usual Headlines and Resources Links segments.

To subscribe or find out more information about our podcast, visit FDAWatch.net.

Want to be a sponsor, marketing partner, or guest, or provide feedback on the podcast? Email us at [email protected].

Music by Dvir Silver from Pixabay.

In the final part of our series in collaboration with Skadden, Wayne chats with Rachel Turow, Head of Skadden's Regulatory Practice; Amy Van Gelder, Head of Skadden's Chicago Litigation Practice; Brett Fleisher, M&A Partner at Skadden; and Katherine Armstrong, Deputy Director for the National Advertising Division of BBB National Programs. Together, they discuss how the regulatory approach to consumer products is evolving; how companies should respond to a broader and increasingly varied policy environment with multiple regulators; what's happening at FDA with MoCRA implementation; litigation trends across the consumer products sector; how consumer products companies are navigating a more active plaintiffs' bar; issues that are becoming more important in deal-making diligence and transaction structuring; significant risk or opportunity areas over the next year or so; and much more.

This episode and the rest of our series do not include the usual Headlines and Resources Links segments.

To subscribe or find out more information about our podcast, visit FDAWatch.net.

Want to be a sponsor, marketing partner, or guest, or provide feedback on the podcast? Email us at [email protected].

Music by Dvir Silver from Pixabay.

Wayne chats with Dr. Cartier Esham, CEO of Esham Strategies and Executive Director of the Alliance for a Stronger FDA. Together, they discuss FDA's proposed fiscal year 2027 budget, examine how it compares with past agency budgets, break down allocations and funding for multiple areas, look at Congress' role in budget review and approval, and much more.

Learn more about the Alliance for a Stronger FDA at www.strengthenfda.org.

This episode and all bonus episodes do not include the usual Headlines and Resources Links segments.

To subscribe or find out more information about our podcast, visit FDAWatch.net.

Want to be a sponsor, marketing partner, or guest, or provide feedback on the podcast? Email us at [email protected].

Music by Dvir Silver from Pixabay.