[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 157 (Monday, August 17, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Page 41446]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-19583]



[[Page 41446]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Notice of Meeting: Secretary's Advisory Committee on Genetics, 
Health, and Society

    Pursuant to Public Law 92-463, notice is hereby given of the 
twentieth meeting of the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Genetics, 
Health, and Society (SACGHS), U.S. Public Health Service. The meeting 
will be held from 8:30 a.m. to approximately 6 p.m. on Thursday, 
October 8, 2009, and from 8 a.m. to approximately 3:30 p.m. on Friday, 
October 9, 2009, at the Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence 
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20201. The meeting will be open to the 
public with attendance limited to space available. The meeting also 
will be Web cast.
    The main agenda items involve the review of three SACGHS draft 
reports: a final draft report and its recommendations on gene patents 
and licensing practices along with comments received on the public 
consultation draft circulated earlier this year; a public consultation 
draft report on genetics education and training; and a revised draft 
paper on direct-to-consumer genetic testing. The first day of the 
meeting will include an extended period of time for interested members 
of the public to provide their perspectives on gene patents and 
licensing practices and their effect on patient access to genetic 
tests. Members of the public are encouraged to contact the SACGHS 
Executive Secretary (see below) by September 15, 2009, if they wish to 
participate in this extended public comment period. Other agenda items 
include an update on regulations implementing the Genetic Information 
Nondiscrimination Act, a report on activities of the Clinical Utility 
and Comparative Effectiveness Task Force, and a brief discussion to 
initiate the Committee's work on ethical issues related to genomic data 
sharing.
    As always, the Committee welcomes hearing from anyone wishing to 
provide public comment on any issue related to genetics, health and 
society. Individuals who would like to provide public comment should 
notify the SACGHS Executive Secretary, Ms. Sarah Carr, by telephone at 
301-496-9838 or e-mail at [email protected]. The SACGHS office is 
located at 6705 Rockledge Drive, Suite 750, Bethesda, MD 20892. Anyone 
planning to attend the meeting who needs special assistance, such as 
sign language interpretation or other reasonable accommodations, is 
also asked to contact the Executive Secretary.
    Under authority of 42 U.S.C. 217a, Section 222 of the Public Health 
Service Act, as amended, the Department of Health and Human Services 
established SACGHS to serve as a public forum for deliberations on the 
broad range of human health and societal issues raised by the 
development and use of genetic and genomic technologies and, as 
warranted, to provide advice on these issues. The draft meeting agenda 
and other information about SACGHS, including information about access 
to the Web cast, will be available at the following Web site: http://oba.od.nih.gov/SACGHS/sacghs_meetings.html.

    Dated: August 10, 2009.
Jennifer Spaeth,
Director, NIH Office of Federal Advisory Committee Policy.
[FR Doc. E9-19583 Filed 8-14-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P