Vernessa T. Pollard

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Vernessa T. Pollard advises companies on regulatory, compliance, enforcement and policy matters involving pharmaceuticals, medical devices, health information technology (HIT) and digital health solutions, services and software. She advises companies and investors on regulatory and compliance issues arising from mergers, acquisitions and other transactions involving Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-regulated products. She also counsels manufacturers, distributors and retailers on regulatory and compliance issues related to food and cosmetic marketing and safety. Read Vernessa Pollard's full bio.

Connect: Read more about Vernessa T. Pollard
Firm/Organization: McDermott Will & Emery
Blogs: Employee Benefits Blog, Of Digital Interest

Latest Articles

Join McDermott next Wednesday for a live webinar on the unique considerations in developing and procuring AI solutions for digital health applications from the perspective of various stakeholders. We will discuss the legal issues and strategies surrounding: Research and data mapping essential to the development and validation of AI technologies Protecting and maintaining intellectual property rights in AI solutions Technology development Risk management and mitigation for various contractual arrangements, including contracts with customers, vendors and…
Throughout 2017, the health care and life sciences industries experienced a widespread proliferation of digital health innovation that presents challenges to traditional notions of health care delivery and payment as well as product research, development and commercialization for both long-standing and new stakeholders. At the same time, lawmakers and regulators made meaningful progress toward modernizing the existing legal framework in a way that will both adequately protect patients and consumers and support and encourage continued…
Throughout 2017, the health care and life sciences industries experienced a widespread proliferation of digital health innovation that presents challenges to traditional notions of health care delivery and payment as well as product research, development and commercialization for both long-standing and new stakeholders. At the same time, lawmakers and regulators made meaningful progress toward modernizing the existing legal framework in a way that will both adequately protect patients and consumers and support and encourage continued…
Last Tuesday afternoon, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held a webinar to outline a recently-published Digital Health Innovation Action Plan (Plan). In the Plan, the agency recognized that the traditional regulatory approach toward moderate and high risk medical devices is not well suited for the fast-paced, iterative design, development and type of validation used for digital health software products today. Going forward, the agency plans to explore an innovative approach to regulating these…
On July 29, 2016, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finalized General Wellness: Policy for Low Risk Devices Guidance (Final Guidance) detailing its risk-based regulatory approach to relax certain regulatory requirements for low risk products that promote a healthy lifestyle—coined “general wellness products.” In the Final Guidance, the FDA makes minimal substantive changes to the policies articulated in its January 2015 draft guidance. Notably, however, the Final Guidance added and refined several examples to…
This week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) released an interactive tool (entitled the “Mobile Health Apps Interactive Tool”) that is intended to help developers identify the federal law(s) that apply to apps that collect, create and share consumer information, including health information. The interactive series of questions and answers augments and cross-references existing guidance from the US Department of Health and Human Service (HHS) that helps individuals and entities—including app developers—understand when the…