Tuesday, January 6, 2026, yielded two surprising updates from the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) Center for Devices and Radiological Health. While many experts have been forecasting continued tension between med tech innovators and the agency based on enforcement trends in 2025, FDA released two policy updates that, in fact, purport to ease the burdens on developers of certain wearables and clinical decision support (“CDS”) software tools.
Introduction
Let’s say FDA proposed a guidance document that would change the definition of “low cholesterol” for health claims. Now let’s say that when FDA finalized the guidance, instead of addressing that topic, FDA banned Beluga caviar. If you are interested in Beluga caviar, would you think you had adequate opportunity to comment? Would you care if FDA argued that Beluga caviar was high in cholesterol so the two documents were related?
Recent Updates
- Comment Period Closes on California OHCA’s Proposed Emergency Regulations Expanding Private Equity, Hedge Fund, and MSO Reporting in Health Care Transactions
- DOJ Revises Justice Manual on Non-Binding Guidance and Qui Tam Dismissals: Practical Considerations
- Additional SBA Crackdown on Pandemic-Era Fraud Leads to Program and Loan Suspensions, Possible FCA Enforcement
- Federal Regulatory Views on Cybersecurity and AI Amidst a Growing Threat Landscape
- Remote Monitoring Services Under the 2027 PFS Proposed Rule: Epstein Becker Green Submits Comments to CMS