Arch Therapeutics Inc (ARTH)

[codaras]

This is what I got from FDA website. It doesn't appear they even need human trials for 501k. Maybe European CE mark will be a qualifier.

[color=red]Device Classification

The 1976 Medical Device Amendments to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act created three categories of medical devices, based on the level of risk:


Class I: Generally, these are simple devices with minimal risk to the user. Almost all of these devices are exempt from FDA clearance or approval. Examples: enemas, crutches, elastic bandages, bedpans.

Class II: These devices pose a moderate level of risk to the user. Almost all of these devices require a regulatory submission before they can be legally marketed. As a rule, class II devices require 510(k) submissions. Examples: condoms, intravenous administration sets, sutures, inflatable blood pressure cuffs.

Class III: These devices pose a serious level of risk to the user, mostly because they are implants or sustain life. All of these devices require a regulatory submission before they can be legally marketed. As a rule, class III devices require a PMA (Premarket Approval) submission (described in further detail below). Examples: implantable pacemakers, blood vessel stents, breast implants.

Registration is required regardless of the classification. The method chosen depends on what the manufacturer wishes to claim and whether similar devices have been cleared or approved.

510(k) Clearance

The purpose of a 510(k) submission is to demonstrate that a device is “substantially equivalent” to a predicate device (one that has been cleared by the FDA or marketed before 1976). The 510(k) submitter compares and contrasts the subject and predicate devices, explaining why any differences between them should be acceptable. Human data are usually not required for a 510(k) submission; this decision is made at the discretion of the FDA. Laboratory testing is almost always a requirement. Depending on the type of 510(k), the law gives the FDA either 30 or 90 days to clear the device, ask questions, or reject the application
[color=red][/color][/color]