The State of USPTO-FDA Communications: Health Patents and Exclusivity
In July 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order directed at promoting competition in the American economy. A portion of that order directed changes to address drug pricing, and some provisions directed the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) to communicate regarding […]
An Examination of the Freedom of Choice in Healthcare in the Context of Right-to-Die Cases
In the United States, the right-to-die through physician-assisted-suicide (“PAS”) and euthanasia has been hotly debated for years. Scholars define PAS as the “prescription of lethal medication to be voluntarily self-administered.” Conversely, euthanasia is defined as the “deliberate, direct causation of death by a physician.” Although “medical assistance in dying” […]
State Drug Pricing Boards Face Legal Test in Colorado
Federal efforts to rein in prescription drug costs have attracted media coverage and legal opposition. Now, innovative state efforts to limit drug price increases are attracting significant legal scrutiny. At the end of March, Amgen filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado seeking […]
Enforcing Safe and Habitable Housing as a Pandemic Preparedness Strategy
Four years since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, experts are already planning for the next one. In addition to strengthening disease detection systems, pandemic preparedness should prioritize improving the condition of rental housing in the U.S. to eradicate health disparities and better position the tenant population to weather the […]
The Current Shroom Boom: A Recap of Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy Across the United States
The use of psychedelic substances to heal the mind and body is anything but new. For millennia, Indigenous peoples across the globe have used plants with psychedelic properties for “medicinal, ceremonial, and divinatory purposes.” However, Western medicine has been slow to embrace psychedelics and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP). The United States’ Tense History […]