[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 203 (Friday, October 21, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64057-64058]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-22878]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2022-D-1061]


Select Updates for the Breakthrough Devices Program Guidance: 
Reducing Disparities in Health and Healthcare; Draft Guidance for 
Industry and Food and Drug Administration Staff; 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the availability of the draft guidance entitled ``Select Updates for 
the Breakthrough Devices Program Guidance: Reducing Disparities in 
Health and Healthcare.'' FDA has developed this draft guidance to 
propose select updates to the guidance that clarify how the program may 
be applicable to certain medical devices that provide for more 
effective treatment or diagnosis of life-threatening or irreversibly 
debilitating diseases or conditions in populations impacted by health 
and/or healthcare disparities. This draft guidance is not final nor is 
it for implementation at this time.

DATES: Submit either electronic or written comments on the draft 
guidance by December 20, 2022 to ensure that the Agency considers your 
comment on this draft guidance before it begins work on the final 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-2022-D-1061 for ``Select Updates for the Breakthrough Devices 
Program Guidance: Reducing Disparities in Health and Healthcare.'' 
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.
    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)).
    An electronic copy of the guidance document is available for 
download from the internet. See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 
for information on electronic access to the guidance. Submit written 
requests for a single hard copy of the draft guidance document entitled 
``Select Updates for the Breakthrough Devices Program Guidance: 
Reducing Disparities in Health and Healthcare'' to the Office of 
Policy, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Food and Drug 
Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 66, Rm. 5431, Silver 
Spring, MD 20993-0002; or the Office of Communication, Outreach, and 
Development, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and

[[Page 64058]]

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 request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ouided Rouabhi, Center for Devices and 
Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire 
Ave., Bldg. 66, Rm. G221, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, 240-402-2672; 
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, 240-402-7911.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Consistent with the goals of the Breakthrough Devices Program, FDA 
is proposing select updates to the Breakthrough Devices Program 
guidance that clarify how the program may be applicable to certain 
medical devices that provide for more effective treatment or diagnosis 
of life-threatening or irreversibly debilitating diseases or conditions 
in populations impacted by health and/or healthcare disparities. The 
Breakthrough Devices Program may expedite the availability of certain 
medical devices that provide for more effective treatment or diagnosis 
of life-threatening or irreversibly debilitating diseases or conditions 
in populations impacted by health and/or healthcare disparities, 
thereby promoting and advancing health equity. Additionally, FDA is 
proposing updates, consistent with our obligations under the SUPPORT 
Act (Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act section 515B (21 U.S.C. 360e-3)), to 
clarify that the Breakthrough Devices Program may be available to 
certain nonaddictive medical products to treat pain or addiction.
    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 ``Select 
Updates for the Breakthrough Devices Program Guidance: Reducing 
Disparities in Health and Healthcare.'' 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. Electronic Access

    Persons interested in obtaining a copy of the draft guidance may do 
so by downloading an electronic copy from the internet. A search 
capability for all Center for Devices and Radiological Health guidance 
documents is available at https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/device-advice-comprehensive-regulatory-assistance/guidance-documents-medical-devices-and-radiation-emitting-products. This guidance document is also 
available at https://www.regulations.gov, https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents, or https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/guidance-compliance-regulatory-information-biologics. Persons unable to download an electronic copy of 
``Select Updates for the Breakthrough Devices Program Guidance: 
Reducing Disparities in Health and Healthcare'' may send an email 
request to [email protected] to receive an electronic copy of 
the document. Please use the document number 1833-R1 and complete title 
to identify the guidance you are requesting.

III. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    While this guidance contains no new collection of information, it 
does refer to previously approved FDA collections 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 for this guidance. The previously approved collections of 
information are subject to review by OMB under the PRA. The collections 
of information in the following FDA regulations, guidance, and forms 
have been approved by OMB as listed in the following table:

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                                                            OMB control
21 CFR part; guidance; or FDA form          Topic               No.
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807, subpart E....................  Premarket                  0910-0120
                                     notification.
814, subparts A through E.........  Premarket approval..       0910-0231
814, subpart H....................  Humanitarian Device        0910-0332
                                     Exemption.
812...............................  Investigational            0910-0078
                                     Device Exemption.
860, subpart D....................  De Novo                    0910-0844
                                     classification
                                     process.
``Requests for Feedback on Medical  Q-submissions.......       0910-0756
 Device Submissions: The Pre-
 Submission Program and Meetings
 with Food and Drug Administration
 Staff''.
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    Dated: October 17, 2022.
Lauren K. Roth,
Associate Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2022-22878 Filed 10-20-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4164-01-P