Joanne counsels global clients on regulatory and distribution-related considerations to bringing a new FDA-regulated product to market and how to ensure continued compliance after a product is commercialized, including with respect to advertising and promotion. She also advises on the business impact of new US federal and state actions that affect those regulated products, such as drugs, biologics, regenerative medicine products, foods, cosmetics, and medical devices, including in vitro diagnostics, lab tests, and mobile medical applications.
Her strategic counseling and compliance support work reaches into all aspects of FDA-regulated companies’ operations, including:
- Determining regulatory status of novel products;
- Pre-market and post-market requirements for various regulated products;
- Restrictions on advertising and product sampling;
- State licensing schemes for prescription drug manufacturers and distributors;
- Compliance with prescription drug compounding regulations;
- Review and approval of various types of policies and procedures for facilities that manufacture or distribute regulated products;
- Advising on or preparing clients’ written submissions to FDA requests for comments or rulemaking activities;
- Requirements for importing and exporting regulated products; and
- Food safety and labeling advice for food, including dietary supplements and functional foods.
Joanne frequently works with clients to develop and implement their responses to common FDA actions, such as warning letters and inspectional reports (the “Form 483”). She has also been involved in advising and helping clients respond to Federal Trade Commission investigations related to product advertising and requests for substantiation of certain promotional claims.
As an FDA regulatory specialist, Joanne assists the Mintz corporate team by performing regulatory due diligence as part of potential mergers and acquisitions that involve regulated companies, and she often works in conjunction with the Firm’s intellectual property attorneys to ensure that patent and regulatory activities are strategically aligned. She also collaborates regularly with Mintz attorneys who negotiate royalty monetization transactions and who defend false advertising or product liability litigation brought against FDA-regulated businesses. Although the day-to-day work for clients may be different, the common thread that she enjoys most is helping companies (both start-up and established) bring their products to market – without heightened risks of enforcement actions as a result of non-compliance with sometimes-opaque regulatory requirements.
Prior to joining Mintz, Joanne was an attorney in the food and drug practice in the DC office of another law firm.
Joanne is an editor of and frequent contributor to the firm's Health Care Viewpoints.
Experience
- Represented a diagnostic developer during an FDA investigation into its alleged distribution of an unauthorized test for COVID-19 and subsequent recall activities.
- Supported Mintz Corporate Team in negotiating and executing the sale of a client’s FDA Priority Review Voucher to another party for over $100 million.
- Negotiated the release of consumer goods by FDA on behalf of a retailer client following the agency’s erroneous conclusion that the shipments contained laser components that did not comply with U.S. law, thereby leading to their detention at the port of entry.
- Counseled a nationally recognized health system regarding the construction of advertising claims for various services involving regenerative medicine-based therapeutic procedures.
- Served as FDA specialist and regulatory team leader on a client’s complex bid for a bankrupt pharmaceutical company’s U.S. and European drug-related assets, including marketing authorizations and distribution permits.
- Handled regulatory due diligence and related contractual negotiations for two acquisitions of independent testing laboratories by a global client.
- Worked with several Mintz clients operating in non-FDA regulated industries to determine how to manufacture and distribute face shields, face masks, and alcohol-based hand sanitizers in compliance with FDA’s enforcement discretion policies during the COVID-19 pandemic, including by providing promotion and labeling advice.
- Guided clients developing COVID-19 diagnostic or serological tests on various promotional risks and regulatory obligations both before and after they secured Emergency Use Authorizations from FDA that allowed the test to be distributed and used in the United States.
- Prepared a Breakthrough Designation Request on behalf of a therapeutic developer client and helped another client secure Orphan Drug Designation for its innovative drug product.
- Participates in the Medical, Legal, and Regulatory (“MLR”) Committees that are engaged in promotional review activities on behalf of multiple clients with recently approved new drugs and biologics. Also assists various companies that market non-prescription consumer products in structuring and implementing their Advertising Compliance Programs and ensuring ongoing risk mitigation in new promotional activities or when launching new products.
- Assisted multiple pharmacy clients in determining whether to register with FDA as an Outsourcing Facility and advised them regarding the compliance obligations associated with this form of compounding business, including with respect to applicable COVID-19 enforcement discretion policies.
- Negotiated with FDA on behalf of a cosmetic client when a large shipment of imported products was detained by Customs and Border Protection due to non-compliant labeling and assisted company in developing plans for reconditioning the products.
- Counseled a cosmetic company on its response to an FDA Warning Letter related to the use of drug claims to promote cosmetic products and then assisted in the company’s implementation of internal processes and procedures to avoid similar issues in the future.
- Represented an innovative beverage company with a national profile on FDA compliance issues, labeling, promotional activities, and distribution agreements.
viewpoints
FDA Continues to Intentionally Incorporate AI into Medical Product Development with Its Establishment of a New Internal Advisory Body
September 4, 2024 | Blog | By Joanne Hawana , Benjamin Zegarelli
Agencies across the federal government continue to grapple with how to respond to the directives in President Biden’s October 2023 executive order on artificial intelligence, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and its parent agency the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). As summarized in this handy Mintz/ML Strategies timeline of the actions set forth in President Biden’s AI executive order, DHHS has a mandate to “develop a strategy for regulating the use of AI in the drug development process” and a deadline of October 29, 2024 to meet that obligation. Notably, earlier this year DHHS announced a functional reorganization within the department that included creating the position of Chief AI Officer in response to the presidential order.
CMS Issues Final Notice on Program for Breakthrough Device Reimbursement but Industry Looks to Congress for More Inclusive Solution
August 19, 2024 | Blog | By Benjamin Zegarelli, Joanne Hawana , Anthony DeMaio, Pamela Mejia
Obtaining Medicare coverage and reimbursement for medical devices is notoriously more difficult than for drugs or biologics, and any progress on expanding coverage pathways has been agonizingly slow for industry stakeholders. An announcement on August 7, 2024 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of a final notice for the Transitional Coverage for Emerging Technologies (TCET) pathway was therefore a welcome development. However, digging under the surface of the TCET pathway uncovers some less than thrilling details. CMS’s failure to address stakeholder proposals to modify the TCET program has increased interest and advocacy around Congress’s consideration of the Ensuring Patient Access to Critical Breakthrough Products Act. We explore both the shortcomings of the TCET pathway and the possible legislative solutions to its perceived gaps below.
FDA Rolls Out Innovative New Designation Programs in Response to Congressional Mandates
August 15, 2024 | Blog | By Joanne Hawana
Many life sciences stakeholders are familiar with “traditional” designation programs operated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in exercising its medical product authorities, such as the orphan drug designation and breakthrough therapy/breakthrough device designation programs. These designation programs follow a typical paradigm – (1) a product developer demonstrates to FDA that its candidate meets certain qualifying criteria; (2) FDA grants the relevant designation to the product candidate in question; and (3) the product developer then benefits from an increased frequency of interactions with the agency during continued development of the product and/or a valuable advantage that’s secured upon the product’s future marketing authorization (e.g., orphan exclusivity or a priority review voucher).
FDA and CTTI Hold Joint Workshop on AI in Drug Development – AI: The Washington Report
August 9, 2024 | Article | By Benjamin Zegarelli, Joanne Hawana , Matthew Tikhonovsky
Read about the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative (CTTI) joint workshop in the latest edition of AI: The Washington Report, a joint undertaking of Mintz and ML Strategies covering potential federal legislative, executive, and regulatory activities related to AI.
FDA’s Final LDT Rule Is Here, and the Changes Show the Agency Is Serious and Actually Listening to Stakeholders
May 6, 2024 | Blog | By Joanne Hawana , Benjamin Zegarelli
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published its final rule on laboratory developed tests (LDTs) in the Federal Register on May 6, marking a watershed moment in the agency’s arduous decade-plus-long journey toward winding down its historical enforcement discretion posture for LDTs. But FDA’s crusade is far from over. It will have much to do to implement the four-year phase-out period described in the final rule and those efforts may be delayed by litigation seeking to enjoin implementation of the rule altogether. While we wait for the litigation shoe to drop, let’s take a look at what the final rule says and the changes FDA made in these highly significant policy decisions since the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was published on October 3, 2023 (see our previous posts on the NPRM here and here).
FDA Warning Letter Is a Stark Reminder That If You Claim Your Product Is RUO, It Has to Be RUO
April 3, 2024 | Blog | By Joanne Hawana , Benjamin Zegarelli
In vitro diagnostics, or IVDs, have a somewhat unique position among the gamut of products that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversees and regulates on behalf of the U.S. public. IVDs are classified as medical devices and include “reagents, instruments, and systems intended for use in diagnosis, including determining the state of health, through the collection, preparation, and examination of specimens taken from the human body.” Unlike human drug and non-IVD device products, which generally must be authorized for a specific medical use prior to commercialization, IVD products may be sold for certain scientific research studies without FDA authorization, but such IVD products may not be sold for clinical diagnostic use.
Health Law Diagnosed – A Discussion on the Regulatory Requirements for LDTs
March 7, 2024 | Podcast | By Bridgette Keller, Joanne Hawana , Benjamin Zegarelli
In this episode of Health Law Diagnosed, host Bridgette Keller is joined by Mintz Health Law attorneys Joanne Hawana and Benjamin Zegarelli to discuss the FDA’s long-awaited proposed rules that actively regulate laboratory developed tests (LDTs).
FDA Faces Critical Deadlines in 2024, Even Without an Election Looming
March 6, 2024 | Blog | By Joanne Hawana
The American public knows that 2024 is a critical election year, with the next race for the presidency in November expected to be another face-off between President Biden and former President Trump. What the majority may not know quite as well, however, is how many important regulatory programs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has tasked itself with completing sometime this year. Given the centrality of much of FDA’s work to the average American consumer and all users of health care services, not to mention the various business stakeholders whose operations can be shaped in part by policy decisions executed by the agency, this blog post will preview upcoming milestones that FDA is expected to meet in 2024.
White House Launches Initiative on Women’s Health Research
January 3, 2024 | Blog | By Joanne Hawana , Maya Lytje, Rachel Wang
An important new initiative focused on women’s health research – defined as “the study of health across a woman’s lifespan in order to preserve wellness and to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease” – was recently kicked off in the United States. On November 13, 2023 the White House announced the Initiative on Women’s Health Research, to be led by First Lady Jill Biden and the Gender Policy Council. The Initiative aims to recognize and address the historic and persisting gaps in women’s health research and, by extension, in our collective knowledge about women’s health as well as how women experience certain conditions or respond to certain treatments differently than men.
Looking Back and Moving Forward: MoCRA Regulatory Developments Ring in the New Year
January 2, 2024 | Blog | By Madison Castle, Joanne Hawana , Jean D. Mancheno
A year has passed since Congress enacted the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA) and enhanced the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) authority to regulate the cosmetics industry. Although MoCRA implementation efforts steadily increased throughout the calendar year, as the December 29, 2023 compliance date for most MoCRA provisions approached, FDA’s release of information and deployment of new systems for the industry came to a climax. Several recent MoCRA-related developments will influence how cosmetic industry stakeholders, consumers, and even the FDA will approach and navigate the law’s requirements over the next year. In this blog post, we will discuss each of these developments and forecast the law’s future as we move into 2024.
News & Press
A Mintz team led by Richard Gervase, Member and Chair of the firm’s Royalty & Revenue Interest Financing Transactions Group, advised global investment firm Sixth Street in a non-dilutive, senior secured credit facility of up to $475 million for Apellis Pharmaceuticals. Apellis received $375 million in funding at close, with ability to access an additional $100 million under the facility at the Company’s option prior to September 2025, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions.
TikToker Drug Ads Spark Demands for FDA to Clarify Its Authority
February 16, 2024
Bloomberg Law spoke to Member Joanne Hawana in an article seeking clarity on the FDA’s authority over social media influencers promoting prescription drugs without clear warning risks.
Digging Into The Debate On FDA's Proposed Lab Test Rule
January 3, 2024
TikTokers Put Consumers at Risk as Drug Ads Go Unchecked by FDA
December 14, 2023
Member Joanne Hawana was quoted in a Bloomberg Law article discussing how TikTokers put consumers at risk of misinformation as drug ads go unchecked by the FDA. Joanne comments on the Office of Prescription Drug Promotion’s efforts to conduct research projects to better comprehend how viewers understand information presented in direct-to-consumer advertising.
Mintz is pleased to announce that Member Joanne Hawana has been awarded the Pro Bono Advocate of the Year Award by Kids In Need of Defense (KIND) for her exceptional contributions to her clients’ cases. The annual awards “recognize outstanding attorneys and volunteers who have gone above and beyond in their assistance to unaccompanied children.”
Mintz Forms Pioneering Women’s Health & Technology Practice
March 09, 2023
Mintz’s new Women’s Health and Technology Practice brings together attorneys from our transactional, intellectual property, health care, FDA regulatory, and litigation teams to serve FemTech and other life sciences clients. The practice advises companies, entrepreneurs, and investors focused on addressing unmet needs in women’s health.
Mintz Debuts 'Femtech' Practice For Life Science Clients
March 9, 2023
Law360 featured the launch of the firm's Women's Health and Technology practice and highlighted founding Members Ellen Janos, Joanne Hawana, Karen Lovitch, and Melanie Levy.
MoCRA- Industry Must Prepare For Mandatory Adverse Event Reporting And Safety Substantiation Now: Expert
January 11, 2023
Mintz Member Joanne Hawana and Associate Jean Krebs were interviewed by CosmeticDesign about legal reform in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Pared-Down FDA-Fee Bill Moving With CR
September 28, 2022
Mintz Member Joanne Hawana was quoted in the National Journal discussing Congress' plan to reauthorize key user-fee programs that fund the Food and Drug Administration.
Charting A Year Of The Biggest COVID Scams Cited By FDA
March 15, 2021
Mintz Advises NexImmune in its Upsized $126.5 Million IPO
February 17, 2021
Legal Risks of Employer-Sponsored Covid-19 Workplace Vaccination Clinics
February 12, 2021
User Fees Will Be A Focus For Senate HELP, No Matter Who’s In Charge
November 5, 2020
COVID-19: Regulators Confronted with Scourge of ‘Fake Cures’
September 29, 2020
Introduction to the Due Diligence Process
July 27, 2020
Mintz Practice Groups and Attorneys Garner Top Rankings in 2020 Edition of The Legal 500 United States
June 12, 2020
What FDA Has Done So Far In Response To COVID-19
April 1, 2020
Mintz Promotes Eleven Attorneys to Member
May 10, 2019
FDA Finally Hitting Sweet Spot With Off-Label Oversight
November 21, 2018
MODERN Labeling Act Needs Liability Protection for Generics
November 14, 2018
Cosmetic Companies Must Plan For New Regulation
December 14, 2017
But What About Food? FDA Director Scott Gottlieb’s 4-month Scorecard
September 14, 2017
Mintz Attorney Says New FDA Organizational Changes Could Have Big Food Industry Effects
July 5, 2017
5 Ways Trump Could Change Food Safety Compliance
April 26, 2017
New FDA Enforcement Stats Show Shifting Targets
February 13, 2017
Will FDA Adverse Event Data Release Mean More Lawsuits?
January 18, 2017
The FDA targeted DTC, video, unapproved drug promotion in 2016
January 18, 2017
FDA Sticks to Its Naming Plan for Biologics and Biosimilars
January 13, 2017
Health Care Enforcement Review And 2017 Outlook: Part 1
January 13, 2017
Mintz Attorney Joanne S. Hawana to Speak at 2016 TEDCO Entrepreneur Expo
November 02, 2016
Why FSMA collaboration is the new normal in food transportation
November 1, 2016
Providers, Pharmacists Call for Earlier FDA Guidance on Biosimilars
October 24, 2016
Food Safety Regulations Will Affect California Tort Law
July 13, 2016
GE Salmon Sets Stage For Future GMO Labeling Regime
June 27, 2016
Food Companies Are Hedging Their Bets With GMO Labeling
April 25, 2016
Events & Speaking
Drug Information Association (DIA): Advertising and Promotion Regulatory Affairs Conference
Sheraton Pentagon City Hotel Arlington, VA
Guide to Advertising for Life Sciences Companies: Insights from Legal and Business Perspectives
Association of Corporate Counsel San Francisco
Online Event
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA): Series Spanning Key Topics
Regulation of Foods & Cosmetics
US Regulation of Advertising, Promotion and Labeling for Medical Devices
Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS)
DIA Advertising and Promotion Regulatory Affairs Conference
Drug Information Association (DIA)
Arlington, VA
Pro Bono in a Virtual Age: A conversation with KIND, Legal Aid Society, and Bread for the City
Kids In Need Of Defense (KIND)
Online Event
US Regulation of Advertising, Promotion and Labeling for Medical Devices
Regulatory Affairs Professional Society (RAPS)
Online Event
Regenerative Medicine: Regulatory, Legal, and Compliance Challenges for Cell and Gene Therapies
Food and Drug Law Institute
Online Event
Mandatory or Voluntary Workplace Vaccination – Guidance for Employers
This is an online event.
Food and Drug Law Institute Annual Conference
FDA’s Amended Intended Use Regulation – Has It Finally Hit the Sweet Spot?
Online Event
DIA Advertising and Promotion Regulatory Affairs Conference
Engaging with Patients to Diversify Advertising and Promotional Activities
Online Event
Everything Life Sciences Companies Need to Know to Navigate the COVID-19 Pandemic
View the Webinar Recording
Introduction to Biologics and Biosimilars Law and Regulation Course Presented by FDLI
Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapies (RMATs)
ELabs NYC
Planning for Success: Integrating Product Development with Intellectual Property and Regulatory Strategies
New York, NY
Six-Month Assessment: The Impact of Gottlieb’s Departure on FDA Priorities
Mintz, 3580 Carmel Mountain Road | Suite 300, San Diego, CA
RAPS Virtual Program: US Regulation of Advertising, Promotion, and Labeling for Medical Devices (2-Part Series)
Navigating Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Requirements for Medical Products
Food and Drug Law Institute Annual Conference
Regenerative Medicine, Gene Therapies, and FDA Regulation
Washington, DC
FDLI's Introduction to Drug Law and Regulation Course
Regulation of Over-the-Counter OTC Drugs
Lake County, Illinois
ELabs NYC
Planning for Success: Integrating Product Development with Intellectual Property and Regulatory Strategies
New York, NY
Drug Compounding Post-DQSA: Emerging Regulatory Challenges & Business Opportunities
Mintz, One Financial Center, 38A, Boston, MA 02111
The 9th Annual Advertising and Promotion of Medical Devices Conference
FTC’s Authority Applied to the Regulation of Medical Devices
The Madison Hotel, Washington, D.C.
Compounding Under Sections 503A and 503B: Distinctions, Limitation, Liabilities, and Compliance
FDANEWS
Webinar
Publications
- Co-author, The Grocer Will Fill Your Order Now: Modernizing Online Food Shopping Becomes a Priority for Federal Agencies, Update Magazine (Fall 2023).
Recognition & Awards
William P. Cunningham Award for Achievement and Service to the School of Law, University of Maryland (2007)
Manuscripts Editor, The Journal of Health Care Law and Policy (Vol. 10)
Recognized by The Legal 500 United States for Healthcare: Service Providers (2020)
Recognized by The Legal 500 United States for Healthcare: Life Sciences (2021)
JD Supra: Top Author, Readers' Choice Awards – Life Sciences (2021)
Pro Bono Advocate of the Year Award, Kids In Need of Defense (KIND) (2023)
Involvement
- Member, Food and Drug Law Institute (FDLI)
- Member, FDLI Publications and Academic Programs Committee
- Member, Drug Information Association (DIA)
- Member, American Bar Association (ABA), and ABA Health Law Section
- Member, American Health Lawyers Association (AHLA), and AHLA Life Sciences Practice Group
- Member, FDLI Audit Committee
- Member, Mintz Pro Bono Committee
- Past Chair, FDLI Publications Committee
- Past Chair, FDLI Primer Committee
- Past Chair, FDLI Update Magazine Editorial Advisory Board