FDA Move Aims to Diversify HCV Test Maker Market, Reduce Regulatory Burden

On November 19th, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a pair of orders affecting Hepatitis C (HCV) antibody screening and diagnostic tools. The move was announced as a proposed order in April 2020 with a total of 13 comments on the proposed orders, including the National Association of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), Hawaii and Washington state Departments of Health, the National Hepatitis Roundtable, and one of the current leading device manufacturers, Abbott.

The final orders reclassify already existing screening and confirmatory blood and plasma testing while also changing the name of acknowledged name of the technology in use from “assay devices” to “tests”. The move is anticipated to reduce the burden in applying for regulatory approval of new tests but also require “special controls” to ensure the quality of testing technologies on the market continue to meet the high safety and accuracy standards they currently meet.

Of note, the FDA considered the impact the new final orders would have on public health initiatives, specifically the National Viral Hepatitis Strategic Plan.  Additionally, Abbott’s support comment was relatively brief and contained only the concern for possible product code labeling limitations for potential technologies; suggesting the FDA take a similar approach as taken to combination antibody and antigen testing with regard to HCV as with HIV testing. Abbott’s recommendation in the comment was to merely name the technologies “serological” tests rather than limiting application based on the mechanism of action in the test as both the proposed and final orders did.

NASTAD’s comment highlighted the difficulty in current surveillance efforts as confirming an acute or active HCV infection is a two-step process, of which, the organization claims few providers or patients follow through. NASTAD drew direct and natural and logical conclusions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Viral Hepatitis Surveillance Report, highlighting the public health risk HCV poses and the barriers to more effective surveillance efforts, including the cost and regulatory hurdles for new screening technologies to enter the market. The public health interests commenting requested the FDA consider expanding the final rule to include potential future technologies like over the counter (OTC) antibody tests or screening technologies based on body fluids other than blood and plasma or combination testing technologies targeting multiple types of viral hepatitis or HCV-HIV combination tests. The FDA’s response to comments in the final orders stated the new final order could not go beyond the scope of existing technologies and, as such, would not be able to change the approval pathway for new or emerging technologies.

While the orders represent an encouragement for manufacturers to enter the existing technologies market with regard to HCV screenings, diversifying the field, the announcement does not affect developing or new technologies and the pathways to approval those potential products will need to navigate.