[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 59 (Tuesday, March 28, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18319-18321]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-06374]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2019-D-4843]


Soft (Hydrophilic) Daily Wear Contact Lenses--Performance 
Criteria for Safety and Performance Based Pathway; 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 a final guidance entitled ``Soft (Hydrophilic) 
Daily Wear Contact Lenses--Performance Criteria for Safety and 
Performance Based Pathway; Guidance for Industry and Food and Drug 
Administration Staff.'' The device-specific guidance identified in this 
notice was developed in accordance with the final guidance entitled 
``Safety and Performance Based Pathway.''

DATES: The announcement of the guidance is published in the Federal 
Register on March 28, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit either electronic or written comments on 
Agency guidances 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-2019-D-4843 for ``Soft (Hydrophilic) Daily Wear Contact Lenses--
Performance Criteria for Safety and Performance Based Pathway; Guidance 
for Industry and Food and Drug Administration Staff.'' 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

[[Page 18320]]

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 guidance document entitled 
``Soft (Hydrophilic) Daily Wear Contact Lenses--Performance Criteria 
for Safety and Performance Based Pathway; Guidance for Industry and 
Food and Drug Administration Staff'' 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. Send one self-addressed adhesive label to assist that office in 
processing your request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jason Ryans, Center for Devices and 
Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire 
Ave., Bldg. 66, Rm. 1613, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, 301-796-4908.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    This device-specific guidance document provides performance 
criteria for premarket notification (510(k)) submissions to support the 
optional Safety and Performance Based Pathway, as described in the 
guidance entitled ``Safety and Performance Based Pathway.'' \1\ As 
described in that guidance, substantial equivalence is rooted in 
comparisons between new devices and predicate devices. However, the 
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act does not preclude FDA from using 
performance criteria to facilitate this comparison. If a legally 
marketed device performs at certain levels relevant to its safety and 
effectiveness, and a new device meets those levels of performance for 
the same characteristics, FDA could find the new device as safe and 
effective as the legally marketed device. Instead of reviewing data 
from direct comparison testing between the two devices, FDA could 
support a finding of substantial equivalence with data demonstrating 
the new device meets the level of performance of an appropriate 
predicate device(s). Under this optional Safety and Performance Based 
Pathway, a submitter could satisfy the requirement to compare its 
device with a legally marketed device by, among other things, 
independently demonstrating that the device's performance meets 
performance criteria as established in the above-listed guidance, 
rather than using direct predicate comparison testing for some of the 
performance characteristics.
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    \1\ Available at: https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/safety-and-performance-based-pathway.
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    A notice of availability of the draft guidance appeared in the 
Federal Register of March 4, 2020 (85 FR 12788). FDA considered 
comments received and revised the guidance as appropriate in response 
to the comments, including clarifying the recommended contact lens 
thickness for spectral transmittance and ultraviolet transmittance 
performance testing. Additionally, clarification has been included to 
describe how this guidance relates to FDA's special controls guidance 
document entitled ``Premarket Notification [510(k)] Guidance Document 
for Class II Daily Wear Contact Lenses.'' \2\
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    \2\ Available at: https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/guidance-documents-medical-devices-and-radiation-emitting-products/class-ii-daily-wear-contact-lenses-premarket-notification-510k-guidance-document
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    This guidance is being issued consistent with FDA's good guidance 
practices regulation (21 CFR 10.115). The guidance represents the 
current thinking of FDA on ``Soft (Hydrophilic) Daily Wear Contact 
Lenses.'' 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 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 and https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents. Persons unable to 
download an electronic copy of ``Soft (Hydrophilic) Daily Wear Contact 
Lenses--Performance Criteria for Safety and Performance Based Pathway; 
Guidance for Industry and Food and Drug Administration Staff'' may send 
an email request to [email protected] to receive an electronic 
copy of the document. Please use the document number GUI00019022 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.
``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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[[Page 18321]]

    Dated: March 22, 2023.
Lauren K. Roth,
Associate Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2023-06374 Filed 3-27-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4164-01-P