[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 159 (Thursday, August 15, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 42428]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-20857]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
[Docket Nos. 96P-0190/CP1, 96P-0197/CP1, 96P-0251/CP1]


Determination That Selegiline Hydrochloride 5-Milligram Tablet 
Was Not Withdrawn From Sale For Reasons of Safety or Effectiveness

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined that 
selegiline hydrochloride (Eldepryl) 5-milligram (mg) tablet 
was not withdrawn from sale for reasons of safety or effectiveness. 
This determination will allow FDA to approve abbreviated new drug 
applications (ANDA's) for selegiline hydrochloride 5-mg tablet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Andrea C. Masciale, Center for Drug 
Evaluation and Research (HFD-7), Food and Drug Administration, 7500 
Standish Pl., Rockville, MD 20855, 301-594-2041.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 1984, Congress enacted the Drug Price 
Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 (Pub. L. 98-417) 
(the 1984 amendments), which authorized the approval of duplicate 
versions of drug products approved under an ANDA procedure. ANDA 
sponsors must, with certain exceptions, show that the drug for which 
they are seeking approval contains the same active ingredient in the 
same strength and dosage form as the ``listed drug,'' which is a 
version of the drug that was previously approved under a new drug 
application (NDA). Sponsors of ANDA's do not have to repeat the 
extensive clinical testing otherwise necessary to gain approval of an 
NDA. The only clinical data required in an ANDA are data to show that 
the drug that is the subject of the ANDA is bioequivalent to the listed 
drug.
    -The 1984 amendments included what is now section 505(j)(6) of the 
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 355(j)(6)), which 
requires FDA to publish a list of all approved drugs. FDA publishes 
this list as part of the ``Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic 
Equivalence Evaluations,'' which is generally known as the ``Orange 
Book.'' Under FDA regulations, drugs are withdrawn from the list if the 
agency withdraws or suspends approval of the drug's NDA or ANDA for 
reasons of safety or effectiveness, or if FDA determines that the 
listed drug was withdrawn from sale for reasons of safety or 
effectiveness (21 CFR 314.162). Regulations also provide that the 
agency must make a determination as to whether a listed drug was 
withdrawn from sale for reasons of safety or effectiveness before an 
ANDA that refers to that listed drug may be approved 
(Sec. 314.161(a)(1) (21 CFR 314.161(a)(1))). FDA may not approve an 
ANDA that does not refer to a listed drug.
    -Selegiline hydrochloride (Eldepryl) 5-mg tablet is the 
subject of approved NDA 19-334, held by Somerset Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 
(Somerset). On May 17, 1996, Somerset withdrew the selegiline 
hydrochloride 5-mg tablet from sale, and began marketing in its place a 
capsule form of selegiline hydrochloride 5-mg (NDA 20-647).
    -On June 12, 1996, Novopharm Ltd. submitted under 21 CFR 10.30 a 
citizen petition (Docket No. 96P-0190/CP1) regarding the status of the 
selegiline hydrochloride 5-mg tablet. Two similar citizen petitions 
were subsequently received by the agency; a petition by Endo 
Laboratories, L.L.C. was filed on June 17, 1996 (Docket No. 96P-0197/
CP1), and a petition submitted by Williams & Connolly on behalf of 
Alphapharm, Ltd. was filed on July 10, 1996 (Docket No. 96P-0251/CP1). 
The three petitions request that the agency determine whether the 
selegiline hydrochloride 5-mg tablet was withdrawn from sale for 
reasons of safety or effectiveness and, if the agency determines that 
the drug was not withdrawn from sale for reasons of safety or 
effectiveness, keep the drug listed in the Orange Book.
    -The agency has reviewed its records and under Sec. 314.161, has 
determined that the selegiline hydrochloride 5-mg tablet was not 
withdrawn from sale for reasons of safety or effectiveness. In reaching 
its decision, FDA considered comments submitted by Somerset, in which 
Somerset asserted that the drug was withdrawn from sale for safety 
reasons. Somerset requested that FDA deny the citizen petitions.
    -Somerset claims that Eldepryl 5-mg tablet was withdrawn 
from the market ``out of concern for the safety of patients with 
Parkinson's Disease.'' First, it refers to the appearance of 
counterfeit Eldepryl tablets in the U.S. marketplace. This is 
not a problem unique to Eldepryl and is not evidence that the 
product is unsafe.
    -Second, Somerset makes a nonspecific reference to ``the 
information contained in NDA # 19-334'' as confirmation that the 
removal of the tablet form of the drug was out of concern for the 
safety of patients. FDA's examination of this NDA found no evidence to 
support this claim. Somerset may have been alluding to reports of 
difficulty swallowing tablets in patients with Parkinson's Disease. 
That some patients may prefer an alternative dosage form is common with 
oral products regardless of the disease being treated. FDA does not 
regard providing a second dosage form that some patients may find more 
convenient than the first as evidence that the first is unsafe. 
Somerset may also have been alluding to reports of confusion between 
Eldepryl tablets and enalapril. This is not a safety concern 
relevant to generic products because, among other reasons, they would 
not use the name Eldepryl .
    -The agency concludes that Eldepryl tablets were 
withdrawn from sale for reasons other than for safety or effectiveness. 
Accordingly, the agency will maintain selegiline hydrochloride 5-mg 
tablet in the ``Discontinued Drug Product List'' section of the Orange 
Book. The ``Discontinued Drug Product List'' delineates, among other 
items, drug products that have been discontinued from marketing for 
reasons other than safety or effectiveness. ANDA's that refer to 
selegiline hydrochloride 5-mg tablet may be approved by the agency.

    Dated: August 9, 1996.
William K. Hubbard,
Associate Commissioner for Policy Coordination.
[FR Doc. 96-20857 Filed 8-14-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-01-F