Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Guidance: Emergency Use Authorization of Medical Products

AGENCY:

Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the Agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (the PRA), Federal Agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension of an existing collection of information, and to allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This notice solicits comments on the proposed extension of the collection of information related to emergency use authorizations by the Agency.

DATES:

Submit either electronic or written comments on the collection of information by November 30, 2012.

ADDRESSES:

Submit electronic comments on the collection of information to http://www.regulations.gov. Submit written comments on the collection of information to the Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852. All comments should be identified with the docket number found in brackets in the heading of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ila S. Mizrachi, Office of Information Management, Food and Drug Administration, 1350 Piccard Dr., PI50-400B, Rockville, MD 20850, 301-796-7726, Ila.mizrachi@fda.hhs.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal Agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. “Collection of information” is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) and includes Agency requests or requirements that members of the public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)) requires Federal Agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension of an existing collection of information, before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, FDA is publishing notice of the proposed collection of information set forth in this document.

With respect to the following collection of information, FDA invites comments on these topics: (1) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of FDA's functions, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of FDA's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques, when appropriate, and other forms of information technology.

Reporting and Recordkeeping for Emergency Use Authorization of Medical Products (OMB Control Number 0910-0595)—Extension

The guidance describes the Agency's general recommendations and procedures for issuance of emergency use authorizations (EUA) under section 564 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act) (21 U.S.C. 360bbb-3), which was amended by the Project BioShield Act of 2004 (Pub. L. 108-276). The FD&C Act permits the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to authorize the use of unapproved medical products or unapproved uses of approved medical products during an emergency declared under section 564 of the FD&C Act. The data to support issuance of an EUA must demonstrate that, based on the totality of the scientific evidence available to the Commissioner, including data from adequate and well-controlled clinical trials (if available), it is reasonable to believe that the product may be effective in diagnosing, treating, or preventing a serious or life-threatening disease or condition (21 U.S.C. 360bbb-3(c)). Although the exact type and amount of data needed to support an EUA may vary depending on the nature of the declared emergency and the nature of the candidate product, FDA recommends that a request for consideration for an EUA include scientific evidence evaluating the product's safety and effectiveness, including the adverse event profile for diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of the serious or life-threatening disease or condition, as well as data and other information on safety, effectiveness, risks and benefits, and (to the extent available) alternatives.

Under section 564 of the FD&C Act, the Commissioner may establish conditions on the authorization. Section 564(e) requires the Commissioner (to the extent practicable given the circumstances of the emergency) to establish certain conditions on an authorization that the Commissioner finds necessary or appropriate to protect the public health and permits the Commissioner to establish other conditions that she finds necessary or appropriate to protect the public health. Conditions authorized by section 564(e) of the FD&C Act include, for example: Requirements for information dissemination to health care providers or authorized dispensers and product recipients; adverse event monitoring and reporting; data collection and analysis; recordkeeping and records access; restrictions on product advertising, distribution, and administration; and limitations on good manufacturing practices requirements. Some conditions, the statute specifies, are mandatory to the extent practicable for authorizations of unapproved products and discretionary for authorizations of unapproved uses of approved products. Moreover, some conditions may apply to manufacturers of an EUA product, while other conditions may apply to any person who carries out any activity for which the authorization is issued. Section 564 of the FD&C Act also gives the Commissioner authority to establish other conditions on an authorization that she finds to be necessary or appropriate to protect the public health.

For purposes of estimating the annual burden of reporting (see table 1 of this document), FDA has established four categories of respondents as follows: (1) Those who file a request for FDA to issue an EUA or a substantive amendment to an EUA that has previously been issued, assuming that a requisite declaration under section 564 of the FD&C Act has been made and criteria for issuance have been met; (2) those who submit a request for FDA to review information/data (i.e., a pre-EUA package) for a candidate EUA product or a substantive amendment to an existing pre-EUA package for preparedness purposes; (3) manufacturers who carry out an activity related to an unapproved EUA product (e.g., administering product, disseminating information) who must report to FDA regarding such activity; and (4) public health authorities (e.g., State, local) who carry out an activity (e.g, administering product, disseminating information) related to an unapproved EUA product who must report to FDA regarding such activity.

In some cases, manufacturers directly submit EUA requests. Often a Federal Government entity (e.g., Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Defense) requests that FDA issue an EUA and submits pre-EUA packages for FDA to review. In many of these cases, manufacturer respondents inform these requests and submissions, which are the activities that form the basis of the estimated reporting burdens. However, in some cases such as with antimicrobial products for which there are multiple generic manufacturers, the Federal Government is the sole respondent; manufacturers do not inform these requests or submissions. FDA estimates minimal burden when the Federal Government performs the relevant activities. In addition to variability based on whether there is an active manufacturer respondent, other factors also inject significant variability in estimates for annual reporting burdens. A second factor is the type of product. For example, FDA estimates greater burden for novel therapeutics than for certain unapproved uses of approved products. A third significant factor that injects variability is the type of submission. For example, FDA estimates greater burden for “original” EUA and pre-EUA submissions than for amendments to them, and FDA estimates minimal burden to issue an EUA when there is a previously reviewed pre-EUA package or investigational application. For purposes of estimating the reporting burden, FDA has calculated the anticipated burden on manufacturers based on the anticipated types of responses (i.e., estimated manufacturer input), types of product, and types of submission that comprise the described reporting activities.

For purposes of estimating the annual burden of recordkeeping, FDA has also calculated the anticipated burden on manufacturers and public health officials associated with administration of unapproved products authorized for emergency use, recognizing that the Federal Government will perform much of the recordkeeping related to administration of such products (see table 2 of this document).

No burden was attributed to reporting or recordkeeping for unapproved uses of approved products, since those products are already subject to approved collections of information (i.e., Adverse Experience Reporting for biological products is approved under 0910-0308 through November 30, 2014; Adverse Drug Experience Reporting is approved under 0910-0230 through August 31, 2015; adverse device experience reporting is approved under OMB control number 0910-0471 through May 31, 2014; investigational new drug (IND) application regulations are approved under 0910-0014 through April 30, 2015, and investigational device exemption (IDE) reporting is approved under OMB control number 0910-0078 through February 28, 2013. Any additional burden imposed by this proposed collection would be minimal. FDA estimates the burden of this collection of information as follows: