FDA Will Rescind Approval of Knee Implant Device
The agency will seek to bar a device they say they shouldn't have approved.
Oct. 15, 2010— -- WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it should not have approved a collagen-based knee implant called Menaflex under the 510(k) process and will seek to revoke the product's clearance after meeting with its manufacturer.
The product, cleared by the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health in December 2008, came under fire a few months later when the FDA -- then under new leadership -- announced an internal investigation into the approval process for Menaflex. A parallel inquiry began in Congress at the same time.
The FDA has now concluded that the 510(k) process was inappropriate in this case because Menaflex "is intended to be used for different purposes and is technologically dissimilar from devices already on the market."
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It also cited findings from its internal investigation suggesting that "external pressures" had influenced the device's review.
Menaflex is a crescent-shaped piece of resorbable collagen-based material that is surgically implanted in the knee joint following removal of damaged meniscal cartilage. It was approved for patients with medial meniscus injuries.
According to its manufacturer, ReGen Biologics of Hackensack, N.J., the product is intended to provide a scaffold for new meniscal tissue to grow.
The FDA said this is different from other approved knee implants then on the market, which merely provided replacement or support for damaged tissue.
"Instead of simply repairing or reinforcing damaged tissue like predicate devices, Menaflex is intended to stimulate the growth of new tissue to replace tissue that was surgically removed. Because of these differences, the Menaflex device should not have been cleared by the agency," according to the FDA.
Before beginning the revocation process, the FDA indicated, it would seek a meeting with ReGen officials to discuss the appropriate marketing pathway for the device and what data it would need to provide a reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness.
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