[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 155 (Monday, August 14, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55051-55053]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17287]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2023-N-2483]


Microbiology Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory 
Committee; Notice of Meeting; Establishment of a Public Docket; Request 
for Comments

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice; establishment of a public docket; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announces a forthcoming 
public advisory committee meeting of the Microbiology Devices Panel of 
the Medical Devices Advisory Committee (the Committee). The general 
function of the Committee as a medical device panel is to provide 
advice and recommendations to FDA. In addition, the Committee will meet 
to discuss and provide advice to FDA on in vitro diagnostic devices 
used in pandemic preparedness and response to satisfy, in part, a 
requirement under the Food and Drug Omnibus Reform Act of 2022 (FDORA). 
The meeting will be open to the public. FDA is establishing a docket 
for public comment on this document.

DATES: The meeting will be held virtually on September 7, 2023, from 9 
a.m. to 5:15 p.m. Eastern Time and September 8, 2023, from 9:30 a.m. to 
3:45 p.m. Eastern Time.

ADDRESSES: All meeting participants will be heard, viewed, captioned, 
and recorded for this advisory committee meeting via an online 
teleconferencing and/or video conferencing platform. Answers to 
commonly asked questions about FDA advisory committee meetings may be 
accessed at: https://www.fda.gov/AdvisoryCommittees/AboutAdvisoryCommittees/ucm408555.htm.
    FDA is establishing a docket for public comment on this meeting. 
The docket number is FDA-2023-N-2483. Please note that late, untimely 
filed comments will not be considered. The docket will close on October 
10, 2023. The https://www.regulations.gov electronic filing system will 
accept comments until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time at the end of October 10, 
2023. Comments received by mail/hand delivery/courier (for written/
paper submissions) will be considered timely if they are received on or 
before that date.
    Comments received on or before August 30, 2023, will be provided to 
the Committee. Comments received after that date will be taken into 
consideration by FDA. In the event that the meeting is cancelled, FDA 
will continue to evaluate any relevant applications or information, and 
consider any comments submitted to the docket, as appropriate.
    You may submit comments 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

[[Page 55052]]

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-2023-N-2483 for ``Microbiology Devices Panel of the Medical Devices 
Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting; Establishment of a Public 
Docket; Request for Comments.'' Received comments, those filed in a 
timely manner (see ADDRESSES), 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.'' FDA 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 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 the 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, September18, 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Candace Nalls, Center for Devices and 
Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire 
Ave., Bldg. 66, Rm. 5216, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, 301-636-0510, 
[email protected], or FDA Advisory Committee Information Line, 
1-800-741-8138 (301-443-0572 in the Washington, DC area). A notice in 
the Federal Register about last-minute modifications that impact a 
previously announced advisory committee meeting cannot always be 
published quickly enough to provide timely notice. Therefore, you 
should always check FDA's website at https://www.fda.gov/AdvisoryCommittees/default.htm and scroll down to the appropriate 
advisory committee meeting link, or call the advisory committee 
information line to learn about possible modifications before the 
meeting.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Agenda: All meeting presentations will be heard, viewed, captioned, 
and recorded through an online teleconferencing and/or video 
conferencing platform. FDA is seeking the Committee's preliminary input 
on potential future reclassification of certain microbiology devices to 
inform FDA's thinking regarding whether reclassification from class III 
to class II may be appropriate for such devices. Specifically, on 
September 7, 2023, during session I, the Committee will discuss and 
make recommendations regarding a potential future reclassification from 
class III to class II with special controls of nucleic acid and 
serology-based in vitro diagnostic devices indicated for use to aid in 
diagnosis of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and/or for use to aid in 
the management of HBV infected patients. The Committee, during session 
II, will discuss and make recommendations regarding a potential future 
reclassification from class III to class II with special controls of 
serology-based in vitro diagnostic devices indicated for use to aid in 
the detection of past, recent, or current infection with human 
parvovirus B19. The Committee, during session III, will discuss and 
make recommendations regarding a potential future reclassification from 
class III to class II with special controls of cell-mediated immune 
reactivity in vitro diagnostic devices indicated for use to aid in 
identification of in vitro responses to peptide antigens that are 
associated with Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and/or for use as 
detection of effector T cells that respond to stimulation by M. 
tuberculosis agents.
    All devices to be discussed by the Committee on September 7, 2023, 
are postamendments devices that currently are classified into class III 
under section 513(f)(1) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) 
Act (21 U.S.C. 360c(f)(1)). For these devices, the Committee will 
discuss: (1) if there is sufficient information for FDA to consider 
reclassifying them from class III to class II and (2) what special 
controls, in addition to general controls, may be appropriate and 
necessary to provide reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness 
for these devices, if FDA were to take action to reclassify them into 
class II devices. FDA intends to follow the procedures outlined in 
section 513 of the FD&C Act related to the reclassification of 
postamendments devices after considering the Committee's input.
    On September 8, 2023, the Committee will discuss and provide 
recommendations to FDA regarding topics related to in vitro diagnostic 
devices used in pandemic preparedness and response, consistent with the 
requirements under section 3302 of FDORA.
    FDA intends to make background material available to the public no 
later than 2 business days before the meeting. If FDA is unable to post 
the background material on its website prior to the meeting, the 
background material will be made publicly available on FDA's website at 
the time of the advisory committee meeting. Background material and the 
link to the online teleconference and/or video conference meeting will 
be available at https://www.fda.gov/AdvisoryCommittees/Calendar/default.htm. Scroll down to the appropriate advisory committee meeting 
link.
    The meeting will include slide presentations with audio and video 
components to allow the presentation of materials in a manner that most 
closely

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resembles an in-person advisory committee meeting.
    Procedure: Interested persons may present data, information, or 
views, orally or in writing, on issues pending before the Committee. 
All electronic and written submissions to the Docket (see ADDRESSES) on 
or before August 18, 2023, will be provided to the Committee. Oral 
presentations from the public will be scheduled on September 7, 2023, 
between approximately 10:05 a.m. and 10:35 a.m., 1:15 p.m. and 1:45 
p.m., and 3:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. Eastern Time; and on September 8, 2023, 
between approximately 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Those 
individuals interested in making formal oral presentations should 
notify the contact person and submit a brief statement of the general 
nature of the evidence or arguments they wish to present, the names and 
addresses of proposed participants, and an indication of the 
approximate time requested to make their presentation on or before 
August 10, 2023. Time allotted for each presentation may be limited. If 
the number of registrants requesting to speak is greater than can be 
reasonably accommodated during the scheduled open public hearing 
session, FDA may conduct a lottery to determine the speakers for the 
scheduled open public hearing session. The contact person will notify 
interested persons regarding their request to speak by August 11, 2023.
    For press inquiries, please contact the Office of Media Affairs at 
[email protected] or 301-796-4540.
    FDA welcomes the attendance of the public at its advisory committee 
meetings and will make every effort to accommodate persons with 
disabilities. If you require accommodations due to a disability, please 
contact Artair Mallett, at [email protected] or 301-796-9638 
at least 7 days in advance of the meeting.
    FDA is committed to the orderly conduct of its advisory committee 
meetings. Please visit our website at https://www.fda.gov/AdvisoryCommittees/AboutAdvisoryCommittees/ucm111462.htm for procedures 
on public conduct during advisory committee meetings.
    Notice of this meeting is given under the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.). This meeting notice also serves 
as notice that, pursuant to 21 CFR 10.19, the requirements in 21 CFR 
14.22(b), (f), and (g) relating to the location of advisory committee 
meetings are hereby waived to allow for this meeting to take place 
using an online meeting platform. This waiver is in the interest of 
allowing greater transparency and opportunities for public 
participation, in addition to convenience for advisory committee 
members, speakers, and guest speakers. No participant will be 
prejudiced by this waiver, and that the ends of justice will be served 
by allowing for this modification to FDA's advisory committee meeting 
procedures.

    Dated: August 8, 2023.
Lauren K. Roth,
Associate Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2023-17287 Filed 8-11-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4164-01-P