[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 136 (Wednesday, July 15, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42879-42880]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-15240]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2020-D-1402]


Biomarkers and Surrogate Endpoints in Clinical Studies To Support 
Effectiveness of New Animal Drugs; Draft Guidance for Industry; 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the availability of a draft guidance for industry (GFI) #267 entitled 
``Biomarkers and Surrogate Endpoints in Clinical Studies Support 
Effectiveness of New Animal Drugs.'' The draft guidance, if finalized, 
will describe FDA's current thinking with respect to assisting sponsors 
in incorporating biomarkers and surrogate endpoints 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DATES: Submit either electronic or written comments on the draft 
guidance by October 13, 2020 to ensure that the Agency considers your 
comment on this draft guidance before it begins work on the final 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-1402 for ``Biomarkers and Surrogate Endpoints in Clinical 
Studies to Support Effectiveness 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 42880]]

    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 #267 entitled 
``Biomarkers and Surrogate Endpoints in Clinical Studies to Support 
Effectiveness 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 to 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 #267 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 how CVM intends to evaluate 
biomarkers, including surrogate endpoints, 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 biomarkers 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 biomarkers, including surrogate endpoints, 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 for new animal drug 
applications submitted under sections 512(b) (21 U.S.C. 360b(b)) and 
571 of the FD&C Act. These collections of information are subject to 
review by the OMB under the PRA. The collections of information in 21 
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. 2020-15240 Filed 7-14-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4164-01-P