Regulatory/Legislative News

The Arkansas Senate approved HB1251, which would amend optometrists’ scope of practice by allowing them to perform certain surgical procedures, in a 25 to 8 vote.

The National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research announced its support for a statement from the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research, of which it is a member, to Congress indicating disapproval of the White House Fiscal Year 2020 budget request for federal spending.

The Australian Department of Health Therapeutic Goods Administration has issued a Therapeutic Goods Certificate to the Implantable Miniature Telescope, VisionCare announced in a press release.

Although working from home is more and more common, merely having a space within the home used as an office does not mean an automatic tax deduction for the expenses of operating it.

Norman E. “Ned” Sharpless, MD, director of National Cancer Institute, will replace resigning FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, according to a tweet from Gottlieb.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, announced he will step down from his position early next month, leaving a 2-year tenure as head of the agency.

The Arkansas House of Representatives passed a bill March 5 that would modernize the practice of optometry in the state.

As a former adviser to several federal entities, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD was familiar with public service before he assumed his current position in early 2017.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, announced his resignation effective 1 month from Tuesday, March 5, according to an HHS press release.

Representatives from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Merck, Pfizer and Sanofi voiced support for drug rebate reform, value-based program creation, and increasing transparency, biologics and generics awareness to lower U.S. drug prices at a recent Senate Finance Committee hearing.