[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 159 (Thursday, August 17, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47500-47501]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-13505]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. 2006N-0312]


Preparation for International Conference on Harmonization 
Meetings in Chicago, Illinois; Public Meeting

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing a public 
meeting entitled ``Preparation for ICH meetings in Chicago, Illinois'' 
to provide information and receive comments on the International 
Conference on Harmonization (ICH) as well as the upcoming meetings in 
Chicago, IL. The topics to be discussed are the topics for discussion 
at the forthcoming ICH Steering Committee Meeting. The purpose of the 
meeting is to solicit public input prior to the next Steering Committee 
and Expert Working Groups meetings in Chicago, IL, October 23 through 
26, 2006, at which discussion of the topics underway and the future of 
ICH will continue.
    Date and Time: The meeting will be held on Monday, October 2, 2006, 
from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
    Location: The meeting will be held at 5600 Fishers Lane, 3d Fl., 
Conference Room G, Rockville, MD 20857. For security reasons, all 
attendees are asked to arrive no later than 1:25 p.m., as you will be 
escorted from the front entrance of 5600 Fishers Lane to Conference 
Room G.
    Contact Person: Tammie Bell, Office of the Commissioner (HFG-1), 
Food and Drug Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857, 
301-827-0919, e-mail: [email protected], FAX: 301-480-0716.
    Registration and Requests for Oral Presentations: Send registration 
information (including name, title, firm name, address, telephone, and 
fax number), written material and requests to make oral presentations, 
to the contact person by September 25, 2006. If you need special 
accommodations due to a disability, please contact Tammie Bell at least 
7 days in advance.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The ICH was established in 1990 as a joint 
regulatory/industry project to improve, through harmonization, the 
efficiency of the process for developing and registering new medicinal 
products in Europe, Japan, and the United States without compromising 
the regulatory obligations of safety and effectiveness.
    In recent years, many important initiatives have been undertaken by 
regulatory authorities and industry associations to promote 
international harmonization of regulatory requirements. FDA has 
participated in many meetings designed to enhance harmonization and is 
committed to seeking scientifically based harmonized technical 
procedures for pharmaceutical development. One of the goals of 
harmonization is to identify and then reduce differences in technical

[[Page 47501]]

requirements for medical product development among regulatory agencies. 
ICH was organized to provide an opportunity for harmonization 
initiatives to be developed with input from both regulatory and 
industry representatives. ICH is concerned with harmonization among 
three regions: The European Union, Japan, and the United States. The 
six ICH sponsors are the European Commission; the European Federation 
of Pharmaceutical Industries Associations; the Japanese Ministry of 
Health, Labor and Welfare; the Japanese Pharmaceutical Manufacturers 
Association; the Centers for Drug Evaluation and Research and Biologics 
Evaluation and Research, FDA; and the Pharmaceutical Research and 
Manufacturers of America. The ICH Secretariat, which coordinates the 
preparation of documentation, is provided by the International 
Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations. The ICH 
Steering Committee includes representatives from each of the ICH 
sponsors and Health Canada, the European Free Trade Area and the World 
Health Organization. The ICH process has achieved significant 
harmonization of the technical requirements for the approval of 
pharmaceuticals for human use in the three ICH regions.
    The current ICH process and structure can be found at the following 
Web site: http://www.ich.org.
    Interested persons may present data, information, or views orally 
or in writing, on issues pending at the public meeting. Oral 
presentations from the public will be scheduled between approximately 3 
p.m. and 4 p.m. Time allotted for oral presentations may be limited to 
10 minutes. Those desiring to make oral presentations should notify the 
contact person by September 25, 2006, and submit a brief statement of 
the general nature of the evidence or arguments they which to present, 
the names and addresses, phone number, fax, and e-mail of proposed 
participants, and an indication of the approximate time requested to 
make their presentation.
    The agenda for the public meeting will be made available on 
September 18, 2006, via the Internet at http://www.fda.gov/cder/meeting/ICH_20061002.htm.
    Transcripts: Transcripts of the meeting may be requested in writing 
from the Freedom of Information Office (HFI-35), Food and Drug 
Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, rm. 6-30, Rockville, MD 20857, 
approximately 15 working days after the meeting at a cost of 10 cents 
per page.

    Dated: August 10, 2006.
Jeffrey Shuren,
Assistant Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. E6-13505 Filed 8-16-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-01-S