[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 105 (Thursday, May 31, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25018-25020]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-11641]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2018-D-1609]


Q12 Technical and Regulatory Considerations for Pharmaceutical 
Product Lifecycle Management; International Council for Harmonisation; 
Draft Guidance for Industry; Availability

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing 
the availability of a guidance entitled ``Q12 Technical and Regulatory 
Considerations for Pharmaceutical Product Lifecycle Management; 
International Council for Harmonisation.'' The draft guidance was 
prepared under the auspices of the International Council for 
Harmonisation (ICH), formerly the International Conference on 
Harmonisation. The draft guidance, which consists of a Core Guideline 
and an Annex, provides a framework to facilitate the management of 
post-approval chemistry, manufacturing, and controls changes for new 
and marketed pharmaceutical drug substances and drug products, 
including marketed chemical and biotechnological/biological products.

DATES: Submit either electronic or written comments on the draft 
guidance by December 15, 2018, to ensure that the Agency considers your 
comment on this draft guidance before it begins work on the final 
version of the guidance.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on any guidance 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-

[[Page 25019]]

2018-D-1609 for ``Q12 Technical and Regulatory Considerations for 
Pharmaceutical Product Lifecycle Management; Draft Guidance for 
Industry; Availability.'' 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 office 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.
    You may submit comments on any guidance at any time (see 21 CFR 
10.115(g)(5)).
    Submit written requests for single copies of this guidance to the 
Division of Drug Information, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, 
Food and Drug Administration, 10001 New Hampshire Ave., Hillandale 
Building, 4th Floor, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, or the Office of 
Communication, Outreach and Development, Center for Biologics 
Evaluation and Research (CBER), Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New 
Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 71, Rm. 3128, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002. Send 
one self-addressed adhesive label to assist that office in processing 
your requests. The guidance may also be obtained by mail by calling 
CBER at 1-800-835-4709 or 240-402-8010. See the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section for electronic access to the guidance document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Regarding the guidance: Mahesh 
Ramanadham, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug 
Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, 
301-796-3272; or Ingrid Markovic, Center for Biologics Evaluation and 
Research (HFM-17), Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire 
Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, 240-402-8115.
    Regarding the ICH: Amanda Roache, Center for Drug Evaluation and 
Research, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 
51, Rm. 1176, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, 301-796-4548.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    In recent years, regulatory authorities and industry associations 
from around the world have participated in many important initiatives 
to promote international harmonization of regulatory requirements under 
the ICH. FDA has participated in several ICH meetings designed to 
enhance harmonization and FDA is committed to seeking scientifically 
based harmonized technical procedures for pharmaceutical development. 
One of the goals of harmonization is to identify and reduce differences 
in technical requirements for drug development among regulatory 
Agencies.
    ICH was established to provide an opportunity for harmonization 
initiatives to be developed with input from both regulatory and 
industry representatives. FDA also seeks input from consumer 
representatives and others. ICH is concerned with harmonization of 
technical requirements for the registration of pharmaceutical products 
for human use among regulators around the world. The six founding 
members of the ICH are the European Commission; the European Federation 
of Pharmaceutical Industries Associations; the FDA; the Japanese 
Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare; the Japanese Pharmaceutical 
Manufacturers Association; and the Pharmaceutical Research and 
Manufacturers of America. The Standing Members of the ICH Association 
include Health Canada and Swissmedic. Any party eligible as a Member in 
accordance with the ICH Articles of Association can apply for 
membership in writing to the ICH Secretariat. The ICH Secretariat, 
which coordinates the preparation of documentation, operates as an 
international nonprofit organization and is funded by the Members of 
the ICH Association.
    The ICH Assembly is the overarching body of the Association and 
includes representatives from each of the ICH members and observers. 
The Assembly is responsible for the endorsement of draft guidelines and 
adoption of final guidelines. FDA publishes ICH guidelines as FDA 
guidance.
    In November 2017, the ICH Assembly endorsed the draft guidance 
entitled ``Q12 Technical and Regulatory Considerations for 
Pharmaceutical Product Lifecycle Management'' and agreed that the 
guidance should be made available for public comment. The draft 
guidance is the product of the Q12 Expert Working Group of the ICH. 
Comments about this draft will be considered by FDA and the Q12 Expert 
Working Group.
    The guidance provides guidance on post-approval chemistry, 
manufacturing, and controls changes for new and marketed pharmaceutical 
drug substances and drug products. The guidance describes regulatory 
tools and enablers, along with associated guiding principles, that are 
intended to enhance the management of post-approval changes and 
transparency between industry and regulatory authorities, encouraging 
innovation and continual improvement. The guidance is intended to 
demonstrate how increased product and process knowledge can contribute 
to a reduction in the number of regulatory submissions needed for such 
post-approval changes. Specifically, effective implementation of the 
tools and enablers described in the guideline should enhance industry's 
ability to manage many postapproval changes effectively under the 
firm's Pharmaceutical Quality System with less need for extensive 
regulatory oversight prior to implementation. The extent of operational 
and regulatory flexibility is subject to product and process 
understanding (ICH Q8 and Q11), application of risk management 
principles (ICH Q9), and an effective pharmaceutical quality system 
(ICH Q10).

[[Page 25020]]

    This draft guidance is being issued consistent with FDA's good 
guidance practices regulation (21 CFR 10.115). The draft guidance, when 
finalized, will represent the current thinking of FDA on ``Q12 
Technical and Regulatory Considerations for Pharmaceutical Product 
Lifecycle Management.'' It does not establish any rights for any person 
and is not binding on FDA or the public. You can use an alternative 
approach if it satisfies the requirements of the applicable statutes 
and regulations. This guidance is not subject to Executive Order 12866.

II. Electronic Access

    Persons with access to the internet may obtain the document at 
https://www.regulations.gov, https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Guidances/default.htm, or 
https://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Guidances/default.htm.

    Dated: May 24, 2018.
Leslie Kux,
Associate Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2018-11641 Filed 5-30-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4164-01-P