[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 136 (Wednesday, July 15, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42887-42888]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-15239]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2020-D-1401]


Adaptive and Other Innovative Designs for Effectiveness Studies 
of New Animal Drugs; Draft Guidance for Industry; Availability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the availability of a draft guidance for industry (GFI) #268 entitled 
``Adaptive and Other Innovative Designs for Effectiveness Studies of 
New Animal Drugs.'' The draft guidance, if finalized, will describe 
FDA's current thinking with respect to assisting sponsors in 
incorporating complex adaptive and other novel investigation designs 
into proposed clinical investigation protocols and applications for new 
animal drugs under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act).

DATES: Submit either electronic or written comments on the draft 
guidance by October 13, 2020 to ensure that the Agency considers your 
comment on this draft guidance before it begins work on the final 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-2020-D-1401 for ``Adaptive and Other Innovative Designs for 
Effectiveness Studies of New Animal Drugs.'' 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, 240-402-7500.
     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.

[[Page 42888]]

    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, 240-402-7500.
    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 
Policy and Regulations Staff (HFV-6), Center for Veterinary Medicine, 
Food and Drug Administration, 7500 Standish Pl., Rockville, MD 20855. 
Send one self-addressed adhesive label to assist that office in 
processing your requests. See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for 
electronic access to the draft guidance document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Storey, Center for Veterinary 
Medicine (HFV-131), Food and Drug Administration, 7500 Standish Pl., 
Rockville, MD 20855, 240-402-0578, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    FDA is announcing the availability of draft GFI #268 entitled 
``Adaptive and Other Innovative Designs for Effectiveness Studies of 
New Animal Drugs.'' Section 305 of the Animal Drug and Animal Generic 
Drug User Fee Amendments of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-234), among other things, 
directed FDA to hold a public meeting for interested parties to discuss 
innovative animal drug investigation designs and to issue guidance 
addressing the incorporation of the use of such elements of 
investigations as complex adaptive and other novel investigation 
designs, data from foreign countries, real-world evidence (including 
ongoing surveillance activities, observational studies, and registry 
data), biomarkers, and surrogate endpoints into proposed clinical 
investigation protocols and applications for new animal drugs.
    In the Federal Register of July 9, 2019 (84 FR 32749), FDA's Center 
for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) published a notice of a public meeting 
entitled ``Incorporating Alternative Approaches in Clinical 
Investigations for New Animal Drugs'' giving interested persons until 
August 17, 2019, to comment on the topics discussed at the public 
meeting and the questions published in the meeting notice (84 FR 32749 
at 32750-32751).\1\ On August 13, 2019, we published a notice 
announcing the extension of the comment period to September 16, 2019 
(84 FR 40071). CVM received numerous comments on the topics discussed 
at the public meeting and the questions published in the meeting notice 
and those comments were considered as the draft GFI #268 entitled 
``Adaptive and Other Innovative Designs for Effectiveness Studies of 
New Animal Drugs'' was developed.
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    \1\ https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/workshops-conferences-meetings/public-meeting-incorporating-alternative-approaches-clinical-investigations-new-animal-drugs.
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    This draft guidance describes principles for designing, conducting, 
and reporting the results for investigations or studies, including 
adaptive design features, when they are incorporated into clinical 
investigations submitted to CVM to demonstrate substantial evidence of 
effectiveness for new animal drug applications or a reasonable 
expectation of effectiveness for applications for conditional approval 
of a new animal drug. It also provides information about how sponsors 
may obtain feedback from CVM on technical issues related to the use of 
adaptive and innovative designs before the submission of an 
application.
    This level 1 draft guidance is being issued consistent with FDA's 
good guidance practices regulation (21 CFR 10.115). The draft guidance, 
if finalized, will represent the current thinking of FDA regarding the 
use of complex adaptive and other novel investigation designs to 
support the effectiveness of new animal drugs. 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

    FDA tentatively concludes that this draft guidance contains no 
collection of information. Therefore, clearance by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521) is not required.
    However, this draft guidance refers to previously approved FDA 
collections of information found in FDA regulations. These collections 
of information are subject to review by the OMB under the PRA. The 
collections of information in 21 CFR part 514 have been approved under 
OMB control number 0910-0032.

III. Electronic Access

    Persons with access to the internet may obtain the draft guidance 
at either https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/guidance-regulations/guidance-industry or https://www.regulations.gov.

    Dated: July 9, 2020.
Lowell J. Schiller,
Principal Associate Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2020-15239 Filed 7-14-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4164-01-P