[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 223 (Tuesday, November 21, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55379-55381]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-25158]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2017-N-6162]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

Notification of the Intent To Use an Accredited Person Under the 
Accredited Persons Inspection Program

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing 
an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain 
information by the Agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA), Federal Agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal 
Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including 
each proposed extension of an existing collection of information, and 
to allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This 
notice solicits comments on eligibility criteria and the process to be 
followed by establishments when notifying FDA of a manufacturer's 
intent to have an accredited third party conduct a quality systems 
regulation inspection of their establishment instead of FDA, under the 
Accredited Persons (AP) Inspection Program.

DATES: Submit either electronic or written comments on the collection 
of information by January 22, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments as follows. Please note that late, 
untimely filed comments will not be considered. Electronic comments 
must be submitted on or before January 22, 2018. The https://www.regulations.gov electronic filing system will accept comments until 
midnight Eastern Time at the end of January 22, 2018. Comments received 
by mail/hand delivery/courier (for written/paper submissions) will be 
considered timely if they are postmarked or the delivery service 
acceptance receipt is on or before that date.

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-2017-N-6162 for ``Agency Information Collection Activities; 
Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Notification of the Intent To Use 
an Accredited Person Under the Accredited Persons Inspection Program.'' 
Received comments, those filed in a timely manner (see ADDRESSES), will 
be placed in the docket and, except for those submitted as 
``Confidential Submissions,'' publicly viewable at https://www.regulations.gov or at the

[[Page 55380]]

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: Amber Sanford, Office of Operations, 
Food and Drug Administration, Three White Flint North, 10A-12M, 11601 
Landsdown St., North Bethesda, MD 20852, 301-796-8867, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal 
Agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. 
``Collection of information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 
1320.3(c) and includes Agency requests or requirements that members of 
the public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a 
third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)) 
requires Federal Agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal 
Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including 
each proposed extension of an existing collection of information, 
before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with 
this requirement, FDA is publishing notice of the proposed collection 
of information set forth in this document.
    With respect to the following collection of information, FDA 
invites comments on these topics: (1) Whether the proposed collection 
of information is necessary for the proper performance of FDA's 
functions, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (2) the accuracy of FDA's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques, when 
appropriate, and other forms of information technology.

Notification of the Intent To Use an Accredited Person Under the 
Accredited Persons Inspection Program

OMB Control Number 0910-0569--Extension

    Section 201 of the Medical Device User Fee and Modernization Act of 
2002 (Pub. L. 107-250) amended section 704 of the Federal Food, Drug, 
and Cosmetic Act by adding subsection (g) (21 U.S.C. 374(g)). This 
amendment authorized FDA to establish a voluntary third-party 
inspection program applicable to manufacturers of class II or class III 
medical devices who meet certain eligibility criteria. In 2007, the 
program was modified by the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act 
of 2007 by revising eligibility criteria and by no longer requiring 
prior approval by FDA. To reflect the revisions, FDA modified the title 
of the collection of information and on March 2, 2009, issued a 
guidance entitled ``Manufacturer's Notification of the Intent to Use an 
Accredited Person Under the Accredited Persons Inspection Program 
Authorized by Section 228 of the Food and Drug Administration 
Amendments Act of 2007.'' This guidance superseded the Agency's 
previous guidance regarding requests for third-party inspection and may 
be found on the internet at https://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/DeviceRegulationandGuidance/GuidanceDocuments/ucm085187.htm. The 
guidance is intended to assist device establishments in determining 
whether they are eligible to participate in the AP Program and, if so, 
how to submit notification of their intent to use the program. The AP 
Program applies to manufacturers who currently market their medical 
devices in the United States and who also market or plan to market 
their devices in foreign countries. Such manufacturers may need current 
inspections of their establishments to operate in global commerce.
    There are approximately 8,000 foreign and 10,000 domestic 
manufacturers of medical devices. Approximately 5,000 of these firms 
only manufacture class I devices and are, therefore, not eligible for 
the AP Program. In addition, 40 percent of the domestic firms do not 
export devices and therefore are not eligible to participate in the AP 
Program. Further, 10 to 15 percent of the firms are not eligible due to 
the results of their previous inspection. FDA estimates there are 4,000 
domestic manufacturers and 4,000 foreign manufacturers that are 
eligible for inclusion under the AP Program. Based on communications 
with industry, FDA estimates that on an annual basis approximately 10 
of these manufacturers may use an AP in any given year.
    FDA estimates the burden of this collection of information as 
follows:

                                                       Table 1--Estimated Annual Reporting Burden
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                                                                                         Number of
                     Activity/21 U.S.C. Section                         Number of      responses per     Total annual    Average burden    Total hours
                                                                       respondents       respondent       responses       per response
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Notification regarding use of an accredited person--374(g).........              10                1               10               15              150
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[[Page 55381]]

    Since the last approval of this information collection, we have 
updated the estimated number of respondents from 20 to 10 respondents 
per year, based on the reduced number of notifications received in 
recent years. This adjustment has resulted in a 150-hour reduction to 
the total hour burden estimate.

    Dated: November 9, 2017.
Anna K. Abram,
Deputy Commissioner for Policy, Planning, Legislation, and Analysis.
[FR Doc. 2017-25158 Filed 11-20-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4164-01-P