Eye on FDA

FDA and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced last week that they plan to develop the first intergovernmental health artificial intelligence (AI) lab. This lab would test health-related AI applications for safety and effectiveness in a virtual lab environment. VA Undersecretary for Health Dr. Shereef Elnahal announced the news during the Veterans Health Administration Innovation Experience conference. The VA serves 9 million veterans—the largest health system in the country. The VA operates 170 medical centers nationwide, meaning that the VA could be well positioned to serve as a base for AI assurance labs across the country.

FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) recently announced a pilot program to provide consumers and health care professionals with key information about clinical trials that supported the FDA’s approval of new medical devices. This program is modeled after the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) drug trials snapshots program. The snapshots address questions about who participated in clinical studies of new medical technology and what clinical trial information is available about how it works in different groups of people. Snapshots are currently available for approvals of higher risk devices approved under original premarket approval (PMA) applications from April to July 2024. The snapshots only provide information that was available at the time of approval, and the FDA does not plan to update them over time, with real-world data, for example.

On October 7, 2024, FDA granted marketing authorization for the over‑the‑counter combination flu and COVID-19 combination test, Healgen Rapid Check COVID-19/Flu A&B Antigen Test. Although other at‑home combination tests detecting the flu and COVID-19 exist, they are authorized only for emergency use. The Healgen test is the first combination test authorized to be marketed outside of emergency use. This authorization is consistent with FDA’s continued commitment to supporting the development and availability of at-home tests.

On September 20, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first influenza (flu) vaccine for at‑home use.