[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 148 (Thursday, August 1, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37649-37651]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-16384]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2019-D-3049]


E8(R1) General Considerations for Clinical Studies; 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Council for Harmonisation; Draft Guidance for Industry; Availability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the availability of a draft guidance for industry entitled ``E8(R1) 
General Considerations for Clinical Studies.'' The draft guidance was 
prepared under the auspices of the International Council for 
Harmonisation (ICH), formerly the International Conference on 
Harmonisation. The draft guidance describes internationally accepted 
principles and practices for the design and conduct of clinical studies 
of drug and biologic products. In addition, the draft guidance provides 
an overview of the types of clinical studies that may be performed and 
data sources during the product's life cycle. The draft guidance is 
intended to promote the quality of the studies submitted to regulatory 
authorities, while allowing for flexibility.

DATES: Submit either electronic or written comments on the draft 
guidance by September 30, 2019 to ensure that the Agency considers your 
comment on this draft guidance before it begins work on the final 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:

[[Page 37650]]

     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-2019-D-3049 for ``E8(R1) General Considerations for Clinical 
Studies.'' 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.
    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 
Bldg., 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: Mark Levenson, 
Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, 
Bldg. 21, Rm. 4626, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, 301-796-2097; or 
Stephen Ripley, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and 
Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 71, Rm. 7301, 
Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, 240-402-7911.
    Regarding the ICH: Amanda Roache, Center for Drug Evaluation and 
Research, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 
51, Rm. 6364, 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; 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 May 2019, the ICH Assembly endorsed the draft guideline entitled 
``E8(R1) General Considerations for Clinical Studies'' and agreed that 
the guideline should be made available for public comment. The draft 
guideline is the product of the E8(R1) Expert Working Group of the ICH. 
Comments about this draft will be considered by FDA and the E8(R1) 
Expert Working Group.
    The draft revised guidance describes internationally accepted 
principles and practices in the design and conduct of clinical studies 
of drug and biologic products. The original ICH guidance ``E8 General 
Considerations for Clinical Trials'' (available at https://www.fda.gov/ucm/groups/fdagov-public/@fdagov-drugs-gen/documents/document/ucm073132.pdf) was adopted in 1997 and has not undergone revision. 
Since its adoption, clinical trial design and conduct have become more 
complex, impacting the time and feasibility of developing drugs. In 
response, the draft revised guidance directly addresses study quality 
to ensure the protection of study subjects and the generation of 
reliable and meaningful results, while promoting study efficiency. 
E8(R1) focuses on the identification of factors that are critical to 
the study quality and the

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management of risks to those factors. Additionally, a wider range of 
study designs and data sources play an increasingly important role in 
drug development and are not adequately addressed in the original ICH 
E8 guidance. Hence, the draft revised guidance addresses a broad range 
of study designs and data sources. The revised guidance also provides 
an updated cross-referencing to other relevant ICH guidelines that 
inform the design, planning and conduct of clinical research, without 
reproducing the detailed material found in those guidelines.
    This draft guidance has been left in the original ICH format. The 
final guidance will be reformatted and edited to conform with FDA's 
good guidance practices regulation (21 CFR 10.115) and style before 
publication. The draft guidance, when finalized, will represent the 
current thinking of FDA on ``E8(R1) General Considerations for Clinical 
Studies.'' 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 draft guidance 
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: July 26, 2019.
Lowell J. Schiller,
Principal Associate Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2019-16384 Filed 7-31-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4164-01-P