[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 20 (Thursday, January 30, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5448-5450]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-01700]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Food and Drug Administration
[Docket No. FDA-1999-D-0081]
Testing of Retroviral Vector-Based Human Gene Therapy Products
for Replication Competent Retrovirus During Product Manufacture and
Patient Follow-up; 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 final guidance entitled ``Testing of Retroviral
Vector-Based Human Gene Therapy Products for Replication Competent
Retrovirus During Product Manufacture and Patient Follow-up; Guidance
for Industry.'' The guidance provides
[[Page 5449]]
sponsors of retroviral vector-based human gene therapy products
recommendations regarding the testing for replication competent
retrovirus (RCR) during the manufacture of retroviral vector-based gene
therapy products, and during follow-up monitoring of patients who have
received retroviral vector-based gene therapy products. Recommendations
include the identification and amount of material to be tested, and
general testing methods. In addition, recommendations are provided on
monitoring patients for evidence of retroviral infection after
administration of retroviral vector-based gene therapy products. The
guidance supersedes the document entitled ``Guidance for Industry:
Supplemental Guidance on Testing for Replication Competent Retrovirus
in Retroviral Vector Based Gene Therapy Products and During Follow-up
of Patients in Clinical Trials Using Retroviral Vectors,'' dated
November 2006. The guidance announced in this notice finalizes the
draft guidance of the same title dated July 2018.
DATES: The announcement of the guidance is published in the Federal
Register on January 30, 2020.
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-1999-D-0081 for ``Testing of Retroviral Vector-Based Human Gene
Therapy Products for Replication Competent Retrovirus During Product
Manufacture and Patient Follow-up; Guidance for Industry.'' 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.govinfo.gov/content/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 the guidance to 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 the 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: Melissa Segal, 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.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
FDA is announcing the availability of a document entitled ``Testing
of Retroviral Vector-Based Human Gene Therapy Products for Replication
Competent Retrovirus During Product Manufacture and Patient Follow-up;
Guidance for Industry.'' The guidance provides sponsors of retroviral
vector-based human gene therapy products recommendations regarding the
testing for RCR during the manufacture of retroviral vector-based gene
therapy products, and during follow-up monitoring of patients who have
received retroviral vector-based gene therapy products. Recommendations
are also provided for RCR testing during manufacture, including
identification and amount of material to be tested, and general testing
methods. In addition, recommendations are provided on monitoring
patients for evidence of retroviral infection after administration of
retroviral vector-based gene therapy products. The guidance supersedes
the document entitled ``Guidance for Industry: Supplemental Guidance on
Testing for Replication Competent Retrovirus in Retroviral Vector Based
Gene Therapy Products and During Follow-up of Patients in Clinical
Trials Using Retroviral Vectors'' dated November 2006. The guidance
also supplements two other final guidance
[[Page 5450]]
documents, entitled ``Long Term Follow-Up After Administration of Human
Gene Therapy Products; Guidance for Industry'' and ``Chemistry,
Manufacturing, and Control Information for Human Gene Therapy
Investigational New Drug Applications; Guidance for Industry,''
announced elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.
In the Federal Register of July 12, 2018 (83 FR 32309), FDA
announced the availability of the draft guidance of the same title
dated July 2018. FDA received several comments on the draft guidance
and those comments were considered as the guidance was finalized. In
addition, editorial changes were made to improve clarity. The guidance
announced in this notice finalizes the draft guidance dated July 2018.
This guidance is being issued consistent with FDA's good guidance
practices regulation (21 CFR 10.115). The guidance represents FDA's
current thinking on testing of retroviral vector-based human gene
therapy products for replication competent retrovirus during product
manufacture and patient follow-up. 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.
II. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
The guidance refers to previously approved collections of
information found in FDA regulations. These collections of information
are subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521). The
collections of information in 21 CFR part 312 have been approved under
OMB control number 0910-0014; and the collections of information in 21
CFR part 601 have been approved under OMB control number 0910-0338.
III. Electronic Access
Persons with access to the internet may obtain the guidance at
either https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/guidance-compliance-regulatory-information-biologics/biologics-guidances or
https://www.regulations.gov.
Dated: January 27, 2020.
Lowell J. Schiller,
Principal Associate Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2020-01700 Filed 1-29-20; 8:45 am]
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