[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 104 (Tuesday, May 31, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 31349]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-13388]



[[Page 31349]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket Nos. FDA-2010-E-0328, FDA-2010-E-0324, and FDA-2010-E-0325]


Determination of Regulatory Review Period for Purposes of Patent 
Extension; ACTEMRA

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined the 
regulatory review period for ACTEMRA and is publishing this notice of 
that determination as required by law. FDA has made the determination 
because of the submission of applications to the Director of Patents 
and Trademarks, Department of Commerce, for the extension of patents 
which claim that human biological product.

ADDRESSES: Submit electronic comments to http://www.regulations.gov. 
Submit written petitions along with three copies and written comments 
to the Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305), Food and Drug 
Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beverly Friedman, Office of Regulatory 
Policy, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 
51, rm. 6222, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, 301-796-3602.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Drug Price Competition and Patent Term 
Restoration Act of 1984 (Pub. L. 98-417) and the Generic Animal Drug 
and Patent Term Restoration Act (Pub. L. 100-670) generally provide 
that a patent may be extended for a period of up to 5 years so long as 
the patented item (human drug product, animal drug product, medical 
device, food additive, or color additive) was subject to regulatory 
review by FDA before the item was marketed. Under these acts, a 
product's regulatory review period forms the basis for determining the 
amount of extension an applicant may receive.
    A regulatory review period consists of two periods of time: A 
testing phase and an approval phase. For human biological products, the 
testing phase begins when the exemption to permit the clinical 
investigations of the biological becomes effective and runs until the 
approval phase begins. The approval phase starts with the initial 
submission of an application to market the human biological product and 
continues until FDA grants permission to market the biological product. 
Although only a portion of a regulatory review period may count toward 
the actual amount of extension that the Director of Patents and 
Trademarks may award (for example, half the testing phase must be 
subtracted as well as any time that may have occurred before the patent 
was issued), FDA's determination of the length of a regulatory review 
period for a human biological product will include all of the testing 
phase and approval phase as specified in 35 U.S.C. 156(g)(1)(B).
    FDA approved for marketing the human biologic product ACTEMRA 
(tocilizumab). ACTEMRA is indicated for treatment of rheumatoid 
arthritis. Subsequent to this approval, the Patent and Trademark Office 
received patent term restoration applications for ACTEMRA (U.S. Patent 
Nos. 5,670,373 and 5,795,965), filed by Chugai Seiyaku Kabushiki 
Kaisha, and for U.S. Patent No. 5,888,510, filed by Chugai Seiyaku 
Kabushiki Kaisha and Tadamitsu Kishimoto for ACTEMRA. The Patent and 
Trademark Office requested FDA's assistance in determining these 
patents' eligibilities for patent term restoration. In a letter dated 
September 30, 2010, FDA advised the Patent and Trademark Office that 
this human biological product had undergone a regulatory review period 
and that the approval of ACTEMRA represented the first permitted 
commercial marketing or use of the product. Thereafter, the Patent and 
Trademark Office requested that FDA determine the product's regulatory 
review period.
    FDA has determined that the applicable regulatory review period for 
ACTEMRA is 1,893 days. Of this time, 1,111 days occurred during the 
testing phase of the regulatory review period, while 782 days occurred 
during the approval phase. These periods of time were derived from the 
following dates:
    1. The date an exemption under section 505(i) of the Federal Food, 
Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 355(i)) became effective: November 4, 
2004. FDA has verified the applicant's claim that the date the 
investigational new drug application became effective was on November 
4, 2004.
    2. The date the application was initially submitted with respect to 
the human biological product under section 351 of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 262): November 19, 2007. FDA has verified the 
applicant's claim that the biologics license application (BLA) for 
ACTEMRA (BLA 125276/0) was initially submitted on November 19, 2007.
    3. The date the application was approved: January 8, 2010. FDA has 
verified the applicant's claim that BLA 125276/0 was approved on 
January 8, 2010.
    This determination of the regulatory review period establishes the 
maximum potential length of a patent extension. However, the U.S. 
Patent and Trademark Office applies several statutory limitations in 
its calculations of the actual period for patent extension. In its 
application for patent extension, this applicant seeks 1,338 days of 
patent term extension.
    Anyone with knowledge that any of the dates as published are 
incorrect may submit to the Division of Dockets Management (see 
ADDRESSES) either electronic or written comments and ask for a 
redetermination by August 1, 2011. Furthermore, any interested person 
may petition FDA for a determination regarding whether the applicant 
for extension acted with due diligence during the regulatory review 
period by November 28, 2011. To meet its burden, the petition must 
contain sufficient facts to merit an FDA investigation. (See H. Rept. 
857, part 1, 98th Cong., 2d sess., pp. 41-42, 1984.) Petitions should 
be in the format specified in 21 CFR 10.30.
    Interested persons may submit to the Division of Dockets Management 
(see ADDRESSES) electronic or written comments and written petitions. 
It is only necessary to send one set of comments. It is no longer 
necessary to send three copies of mailed comments. However, if you 
submit a written petition, you must submit three copies of the 
petition. Identify comments with the docket number found in brackets in 
the heading of this document.
    Comments and petitions that have not been made publicly available 
on http://www.regulations.gov may be viewed in the Division of Dockets 
Management between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

    Dated: April 15, 2011.
Jane A. Axelrad,
Associate Director for Policy, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
[FR Doc. 2011-13388 Filed 5-27-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-01-P