[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 202 (Friday, October 20, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48827-48828]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-22768]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2015-N-1349]


Extension of the Timetable Requirement To Submit Study Data in 
Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or the Agency) is 
announcing the extension of the deadline to provide Logical Observation 
Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC)

[[Page 48828]]

for clinical laboratory test results in investigational study data 
provided in regulatory submissions submitted to the Center for Drug 
Evaluation and Research and to the Center for Biologics Evaluation and 
Research. FDA has determined, in response to industry comments and 
internal review, that it is appropriate to extend the date required to 
submit LOINC codes in new drug applications (NDAs), abbreviated new 
drug applications (ANDAs), and biologics license applications (BLAs), 
and for certain investigational new drugs (INDs). LOINC codes will be 
required in NDAs, ANDAs, and BLAs for studies that start after March 
15, 2020 (March 15, 2021, for certain INDs).

ADDRESSES: You may submit either electronic or written comments at any 
time as follows:

Electronic Submissions

    Submit electronic comments in the following way:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. 
Comments submitted electronically, including attachments, to https://www.regulations.gov will be posted to the docket unchanged. Because 
your comment will be made public, you are solely responsible for 
ensuring that your comment does not include any confidential 
information that you or a third party may not wish to be posted, such 
as medical information, your or anyone else's Social Security number, 
or confidential business information, such as a manufacturing process. 
Please note that if you include your name, contact information, or 
other information that identifies you in the body of your comments, 
that information will be posted on https://www.regulations.gov.
     If you want to submit a comment with confidential 
information that you do not wish to be made available to the public, 
submit the comment as a written/paper submission and in the manner 
detailed (see ``Written/Paper Submissions'' and ``Instructions'').

Written/Paper Submissions

    Submit written/paper submissions as follows:
     Mail/Hand delivery/Courier (for written/paper 
submissions): Dockets Management Staff (HFA-305), Food and Drug 
Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
     For written/paper comments submitted to the Dockets 
Management Staff, FDA will post your comment, as well as any 
attachments, except for information submitted, marked and identified, 
as confidential, if submitted as detailed in ``Instructions.''
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket No. 
FDA-2015-N-1349 for ``Extension of the Timetable Requirement to Submit 
Study Data in Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes.'' 
Received comments will be placed in the docket and, except for those 
submitted as ``Confidential Submissions,'' publicly viewable at https://www.regulations.gov or at the Dockets Management Staff between 9 a.m. 
and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
     Confidential Submissions--To submit a comment with 
confidential information that you do not wish to be made publicly 
available, submit your comments only as a written/paper submission. You 
should submit two copies total. One copy will include the information 
you claim to be confidential with a heading or cover note that states 
``THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.'' The Agency will 
review this copy, including the claimed confidential information, in 
its consideration of comments. The second copy, which will have the 
claimed confidential information redacted/blacked out, will be 
available for public viewing and posted on https://www.regulations.gov. 
Submit both copies to the Dockets Management Staff. If you do not wish 
your name and contact information to be made publicly available, you 
can provide this information on the cover sheet and not in the body of 
your comments and you must identify this information as 
``confidential.'' Any information marked as ``confidential'' will not 
be disclosed except in accordance with 21 CFR 10.20 and other 
applicable disclosure law. For more information about FDA's posting of 
comments to public dockets, see 80 FR 56469, September 18, 2015, or 
access the information at: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-09-18/pdf/2015-23389.pdf.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
the electronic and written/paper comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov and insert the docket number, found in brackets in 
the heading of this document, into the ``Search'' box and follow the 
prompts and/or go to the Dockets Management Staff, 5630 Fishers Lane, 
Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ron Fitzmartin, Center for Drug 
Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New 
Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 51, Rm. 1115, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, 301-
796-5333, [email protected]; or Stephen Ripley, Center for 
Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 
New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 71, Rm. 7268, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, 
240-402-7911, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 14, 2015, FDA announced in the 
Federal Register (80 FR 27690) its adoption of LOINC for lab test 
results. FDA supports LOINC-coded laboratory test results because: (1) 
LOINC is widely used among clinical laboratories; (2) LOINC-coded lab 
data make the information easier to understand and analyze; and (3) the 
currently supported exchange standard for laboratory test results in 
clinical trials, the Study Data Tabulation Model (available at http://www.cdisc.org/sdtm), already supports the exchange of LOINC codes 
(available at https://loinc.org/). FDA's decision to adopt LOINC for 
lab test results is part of a larger FDA effort to align the use of 
data standards for clinical research with ongoing nationwide health 
information technology initiatives. The FDA Data Standards Catalog was 
updated to indicate FDA support for LOINC and a requirement date of 
March 15, 2018, for NDAs, ANDAs, and BLAs, and March 15, 2019, for 
certain INDs (see https://www.fda.gov/forindustry/datastandards/studydatastandards/default.htm). FDA has determined, in response to 
industry comments and internal review, that it is appropriate to extend 
the date required to submit LOINC codes. LOINC codes will be required 
in NDAs, ANDAs, and BLAs for studies that start after March 15, 2020 
(March 15, 2021, for certain INDs). Although use of LOINC codes are not 
required at this time, FDA continues to support and encourages the use 
of LOINC codes for clinical laboratory test results used in 
investigational study data.

    Dated: October 16, 2017.
Leslie Kux,
Associate Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2017-22768 Filed 10-19-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4164-01-P