FDA Closes EUA Program to Lab-Developed Tests

The question of whether the FDA has the authority to regulate lab-developed tests (LDTs) boiled into plain view in August when the Department of Health and Human Services directed the agency to stand down on its regulation of LDTs. The predicament took another turn Oct. 7 when the FDA announced it would no longer review LDTs under the emergency use authorization (EUA) program, a change that was not well received in some quarters.

The HHS order to the FDA arrived with a reference to two executive orders from the Trump administration, but the notice also stated that developers of LDTs could voluntarily file for an EUA or a conventional premarket review. One of the more significant drawbacks described in the rescission order was that any LDTs that did not go through the FDA would not enjoy immunity from litigation under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act. At the time of the HHS announcement, however, there was no signal from the FDA that it would refuse to review LDT filings under the EUA program.

The FAQ page for testing stated, “we are currently in a different phase of the pandemic with respect to tests than we were previously, where many COVID-19 tests are now authorized to be run in labs.” The update states that the agency is prioritizing review of EUA requests for considerations such as public health need and availability of the product.

Among the priorities cited by the FDA are testing that would increase accessibility, such as point-of-care tests and home collection test kits, and tests that consume relatively few supplies. The statement said the FDA was declining to review EUA requests for LDTs “at this time,” suggesting the policy can be reversed if circumstances dictate.

Three members of the House of Representatives took the news as a negative, casting the FDA’s decision as “a grave mistake” that was prompted by officials at HHS. The letter described the change as reckless and as increasing the risk of false negative test results. Another concern voiced by Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) was the abruptness of the announcement, which did not allow the FDA to make changes to previously posted policy announcements.

The American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA) provided a brief Oct. 7 statement, making the argument that many of the LDTs that have been granted EUAs are known for reducing the reliance on supplies and for increasing testing capacity. ACLA President Julie Khani said these “are exactly the kinds of tests the FDA has stated it wants to prioritize,” adding that the FDA should continue to review LDTs under the EUA program. Khani also said the announcement “creates unnecessary confusion.”

CMS Cracking Down on CLIA Certification

Two days after the FDA announced its change in policy for LDTs, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced it is targeting clinical laboratories that have lapsed certifications or are conducting tests not included in their certifications. The agency directed these labs to immediately cease any violative testing, although no enforcement action was spelled out in the statement.

The CMS said it has issued 171 cease and desist letters to labs since Aug. 12, 66% of which were for labs that were conducting tests that fell outside their certifications under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) Act. The other 34% were conducting tests with no CLIA certification at all, and recipients of the CMS letters were required to certify that they had desisted from the violative testing activity. The agency indicated that it had offered labs an expedited review process early in the COVID-19 pandemic, but said there is concern that these labs’ operations could lead to errant tests that would worsen the pandemic. However, the letters were sent with instructions on how to amend the oversights, assuming the recipient lab is interested in resuming the violative testing protocols.