BREAKING NEWS: FDA Notifies Congress of its Intent to Publish Framework for Regulatory Oversight of Laboratory Developed Tests (LDTs)

Summers in D.C. are notoriously slow. FDA, however, has added excitement to this summer by informing Congress of its intent to publish a long-awaited framework for LDT regulation.

In its notice to Congress, FDA included what appears to be a draft of the document. After the mandatory 60-day Congressional review, the draft guidance document will be formally issued for public comment.

Within the draft framework, FDA proposes a risk-based, phased system of oversight. They recognize community concerns around access and do not intend to interrupt the marketing and sale of currently available tests. Furthermore, FDA expresses the intent to continue using enforcement discretion for forensic and organ transplantation uses, traditional LDTs, and LDTs for unmet needs.

The document outlines the history of LDT regulation, FDA’s policy of enforcement discretion, and how personalized medicine has caused FDA to reconsider that policy.

We will continue to provide updates on the development of framework for regulatory oversight of LDTs, with additional in-depth commentary next week on this issue and the related news of FDA’s final guidance on companion diagnostics.

For additional information on the current regulation of LDTs, please read PMC’s report “Pathways for Oversight of Diagnostics.”

Ensuring a Personalized Future through Diagnostics Policies

In a time of rapidly rising healthcare costs, personalized medicine offers a more efficient approach to prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

However, special considerations and thoughtful policies that acknowledge the emerging and varied technology (and challenging science) at play are needed in order to ensure access to personalized diagnostics and treatments, while also encouraging further investment and development of technologies. Just as personalized medicine is moving us away from a one-size-fits-all approach to healthcare, we must too move away from one-size-fits-all approaches to reimbursement.

The Personalized Medicine Coalition recently released “The Future of Coverage and Payment for Personalized Medicine Diagnostics.” The white paper takes a critical look at the policies of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which in turn inform the decision making process for payers. Three specific challenges to the further implementation of personalized medicine diagnostics are identified:

• Reimbursement levels that ensure access while also encouraging development
• Inconsistent standards for evaluating genomic tests
• A lack of incentives for genomic medicine

As we continue our journey in the post-ACA healthcare landscape, the need for objective, reliable and clearly defined standards for evaluation and reimbursement continue to grow. Uncertainty – especially in the form of payment – does not inspire investment or fuel growth through R&D.