Company: CSTL
Filing Date: 2025-02-27
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001447362-25-000031
Chunk: 71

Company: CASTLE BIOSCIENCES INC
Filing Date: 2025-02-27
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 71
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 the manufacturer is unable to identify a predicate device and the new device or new use of the device presents a moderate or low risk.

Under the de novo classification pathway, FDA may reclassify the device from Class III to class II or Class I, as appropriate. If the manufacturer seeks reclassification to Class II, the reclassification request must include proposed special controls that provide reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness of the device.

The PMA Approval Process

Following receipt of a PMA application, the FDA conducts an administrative review to determine whether the application is sufficiently complete to permit a substantive review. If it is not, the agency will refuse to file the PMA. If 

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it is, the FDA will accept the application for filing and begin the review. The FDA has 180 days to review a filed PMA application, however, in practice the application review process often exceeds this deadline. During this review period, the FDA may request additional information or clarification of information already provided, and the FDA may issue a major deficiency letter to the applicant, requesting the applicant’s response to deficiencies communicated by the FDA.

Before approving or denying a PMA, an FDA advisory committee may review the PMA at a public meeting and provide the FDA with the committee’s recommendation on whether the FDA should approve the submission, approve it with specific conditions, or not approve it. The FDA is not bound by the recommendations of an advisory committee, but it considers such recommendations carefully when making decisions.

Prior to approval of a PMA, the FDA typically conducts inspections of the clinical trial data and clinical trial sites, as well as inspections of the manufacturing facility and processes. Overall, the FDA review of a PMA application generally takes between one and three years but may take significantly longer. The FDA can delay, limit or deny approval of a PMA application for many reasons, including:

•the device may not be shown safe or effective to the FDA’s satisfaction;

•the data from pre-clinical studies and/or clinical trials may be found unreliable or insufficient to support approval;

•the manufacturing process or facilities may not meet applicable requirements; and

•changes in FDA approval policies or adoption of new regulations may require additional data.

If the FDA evaluation of a PMA is favorable, the FDA will issue either an approval letter, or an approvable letter, the latter of which usually contains a number of conditions that must be met in order to secure final approval of the PMA. When and if those conditions have been fulfilled to the satisfaction of the FDA, the agency will issue a