Court Requires the FDA to Reassess Decisions Rendered Under its Old Interpretation of Five-Year NCE Exclusivity

U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras found that the FDA’s prior interpretation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act’s (“FDCA”) five-year exclusivity provision was arbitrary and capricious. Ferring Pharm., Inc. v. Burwell, No. 15-0802 (D.D.C. Sep. 9, 2016).  This provision—known as NCE exclusivity—provides a five-year period of marketing exclusivity for drugs in which “no active…