For Immediate Release:

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is providing an at-a-glance summary of news from around the agency:

  • Thursday, the FDA announced the availability of a draft guidance on FDA’s policy regarding products labeled as dietary supplements that contain N-acetyl-L-cysteine. The draft guidance, when finalized, will explain the agency’s intent to exercise enforcement discretion with respect to the sale and distribution of certain NAC-containing products that are labeled as dietary supplements. This enforcement discretion policy would apply to products that would be lawfully marketed dietary supplements if NAC were not excluded from the definition of “dietary supplement” and are not otherwise in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act).
  • Tuesday, as part of the FDA’s effort to protect consumers, the agency issued a warning letter to Kleenhanz, LLC for selling unapproved products with unproven COVID-19 claims. Consumers concerned about COVID-19 should consult with their health care provider.
  • Tuesday, the FDA warned patients and health care providers about the risk of false results with non-invasive prenatal screening (NIPS) tests. Results from NIPS tests can provide information about the possibility of a fetus having certain genetic abnormalities that could result in a child being born with a serious health condition. While health care providers widely use NIPS tests, none have yet been authorized, cleared, or approved by the FDA. The accuracy and performance of NIPS tests have not been evaluated by the FDA and these tests can give false results. Given the increased use of these tests and concerns raised in recent media reports, the FDA issued a Safety Communication to educate patients and health care providers and to help reduce the inappropriate use of NIPS tests. 
  • COVID-19 testing updates:
    • As of today, 432 tests and sample collection devices are authorized by the FDA under emergency use authorizations (EUAs). These include 297 molecular tests and sample collection devices, 84 antibody and other immune response tests, 50 antigen tests, and 1 diagnostic breath test. There are 77 molecular authorizations and 1 antibody authorization that can be used with home-collected samples. There is 1 EUA for a molecular prescription at-home test, 2 EUAs for antigen prescription at-home tests, 17 EUAs for antigen over-the-counter (OTC) at-home tests, and 3 for molecular OTC at-home tests.
    • The FDA has authorized 28 antigen tests and 9 molecular tests for serial screening programs. The FDA has also authorized 940 revisions to EUA authorizations.

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The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.