Regulatory/Legislative News

In 2018, after President Donald Trump publicly condemned the pharmaceutical industry for skyrocketing prescription drug prices, several of the largest drug manufacturers — including Merck, Novartis, Pfizer and Roche — announced a series of temporary price freezes to their brand-name medications.

The FDA has accepted an investigational new drug application for AR-1105, a treatment candidate for macular edema due to retinal vein occlusion, Aerie Pharmaceuticals announced in a press release.

The Health Care Alliance for Patient Safety sponsored a briefing for U.S. Senate Policy Staff on the medical dangers and safety threats posed by counterfeit contact lenses in Washington.

The cover story in the Dec. 25, 2018, issue of Ocular Surgery News focused on the FDA approval process for ophthalmology in 2018.

The American Optometric Association supports the recommendations asserted in the 2018 Administration report, Reforming America’s Healthcare System Through Choice and Competition, which focused on actions to ensure the U.S. health care system delivers high quality and affordable care by promoting choice and competition, according to a press release from the AOA.

The New Jersey Senate Education Committee passed a bill that directs the State Board of Education to require that children 6 years and younger entering public schools or Head Start Programs have a comprehensive exam by an eye doctor.

Leaders from several states vowed appeals to stave off the consequences to health care after a district judge from Texas ruled that when Congress eliminated the penalty for not buying health insurance, the individual mandate was no longer constitutional under Congress' taxation powers, The Los Angeles Times reported.

The FTC announced that online retailers HollywoodColorContacts.com, WorldColorContacts.com and TopModelContacts.com and their seller, Lawrence L. Duskin, were charged with providing contact lenses to consumers without obtaining the required prescription, failing to verify the prescription information and failing to keep the records required by the Contact Lens Rule.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology agrees with a joint federal report’s recommendations on scope of practice, the organization announced in a press release.

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement keeps drug prices high but could potentially spur new research opportunities, a pharmaceutical expert told Healio Family Medicine.