Viruses, Serums, Toxins, and Analogous Products; Records and Reports, 48325-48329 [05-16266]
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48325
Proposed Rules
Federal Register
Vol. 70, No. 158
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER
contains notices to the public of the proposed
issuance of rules and regulations. The
purpose of these notices is to give interested
persons an opportunity to participate in the
rule making prior to the adoption of the final
rules.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service
9 CFR Parts 101 and 116
[Docket No. 00–071–2]
RIN 0579–AB90
Viruses, Serums, Toxins, and
Analogous Products; Records and
Reports
Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Proposed rule; withdrawal and
reproposal.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: We are proposing to amend
the Virus-Serum-Toxin Act regulations
concerning records and reports to
require veterinary biologics licensees
and permittees to record specific
information concerning adverse events
associated with the use of biological
products that they produce or distribute
and to compile and submit those
records in a summary report to the
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) every 12 months for
products licensed for 1 year or more; for
newly licensed products, a summary
report would have to be submitted at 6month intervals during the first year of
the product license and at 12-month
intervals thereafter. The summary report
would also have to identify the number
of doses, or the average number of
doses, of the product in distribution
channels, if available. These records and
reports would help ensure that APHIS
will be able to provide complete and
accurate information to consumers
regarding adverse reactions or other
problems associated with the use of
licensed biological products. This
proposed rule replaces a previously
published proposed rule, which we are
withdrawing as part of this document,
that contained fewer specifics
concerning the information that would
have to be recorded in adverse event
reports associated with the use of
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veterinary biologics that are submitted
to the Agency.
DATES: We will consider all comments
that we receive on or before October 17,
2005.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
by any of the following methods:
• EDOCKET: Go to https://
www.epa.gov/feddocket to submit or
view public comments, access the index
listing of the contents of the official
public docket, and to access those
documents in the public docket that are
available electronically. Once you have
entered EDOCKET, click on the ‘‘View
Open APHIS Dockets’’ link to locate this
document.
• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery:
Please send four copies of your
comment (an original and three copies)
to Docket No. 00–071–2, Regulatory
Analysis and Development, PPD,
APHIS, Station 3C71, 4700 River Road
Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737–1238.
Please state that your comment refers to
Docket No. 00–071–2.
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and follow
the instructions for locating this docket
and submitting comments.
Reading Room: You may read any
comments that we receive on this
docket in our reading room. The reading
room is located in room 1141 of the
USDA South Building, 14th Street and
Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC. Normal reading room
hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except holidays. To be
sure someone is there to help you,
please call (202) 690–2817 before
coming.
Other Information: You may view
APHIS documents published in the
Federal Register and related
information on the Internet at https://
www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/
webrepor.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.
Albert P. Morgan, Section Leader,
Operational Support Section, Policy,
Evaluation, and Licensing, Center for
Veterinary Biologics, VS, APHIS, 4700
River Road Unit 148, Riverdale, MD
20737–1231; (301) 734–8245.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Virus-Serum-Toxin Act
regulations in 9 CFR part 116 (referred
to below as the regulations) contain
requirements for maintaining detailed
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records of information necessary to give
a complete accounting of all the
activities within a veterinary biologics
establishment. In § 116.1, paragraph (a)
states that such reports must include,
but are not limited to, the items
enumerated in the regulations,
including inventory and disposition
records (§ 116.2), information
concerning product development and
preparation and market suspension and
recalls (§ 116.5), animal records
(§ 116.6), and test records (§ 116.7).
In § 116.5, paragraph (b) states that if
at any time there are indications that
raise questions regarding the purity,
safety, potency, or efficacy of a product,
or if it appears that there may be a
problem regarding the preparation,
testing, or distribution of a product, the
licensee, permittee, or foreign
manufacturer must immediately notify
the Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) concerning the
circumstances and the action taken, if
any.
However, the regulations in § 116.1 do
not explicitly require licensees and
permittees to maintain records of
adverse events associated with the use
of veterinary biologics, nor do the
regulations in § 116.5 provide specific
guidance in determining whether an
adverse event should be considered an
indication that raises questions
regarding the purity, safety, potency,
efficacy, preparation, testing, or
distribution (PSPEPTD) of such product.
Consequently, each veterinary biologics
manufacturer makes an independent
determination concerning (1) whether
an adverse event report raises PSPEPTD
questions and (2) when and in what
manner such report of the adverse event
will be provided to APHIS.
To limit the harm to animals posed by
unsatisfactory veterinary biologics,
APHIS must rely on adverse event
reports provided by veterinary biologics
licensees and permittees. However,
without any explicit guidance in the
regulations as to the form those reports
should take, licensees and permittees
are using nonstandardized methods to
record and submit reports regarding
adverse events to APHIS. Similarly,
without explicit reporting requirements
concerning adverse events, reports that
may signal problems concerning the use
of veterinary biological products are not
all being submitted to APHIS in a timely
manner.
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To address this situation, on January
15, 2002, we published in the Federal
Register (67 FR 1910–1913, Docket No.
00–071–1) a proposed rule to amend the
regulations concerning records and
reports to require veterinary biologics
licensees and permittees to record and
submit reports to APHIS concerning
adverse events associated with the use
of veterinary biological products that
they produce or distribute. The
proposed rule would have required
veterinary biologics licensees and
permittees to report to APHIS the
number of doses of each licensed
product that they distribute. The
proposed rule also would have amended
the regulations in 9 CFR part 101 to
provide definitions for the terms
adverse event and adverse event report.
We solicited comments on our
proposal for 60 days ending on March
18, 2002. We received 13 comments by
that date. The comments were from 10
veterinary biologics manufacturers, 2
trade associations representing
veterinary biologics manufacturers, and
a veterinary association. Six
commenters expressed conceptual
support for the proposed rule, but were
concerned that parts of the proposed
regulations were overly broad or
ambiguous and would increase the
regulatory burden on the industry and
possibly compromise confidential
business information. Four commenters
were opposed to the rule, stating that it
was unnecessary and that APHIS had
underestimated the regulatory burden
that would be imposed on the industry.
The remaining three commenters
neither supported nor opposed the rule,
but instead either asked for clarification
of certain aspects of the proposed rule
or suggested alternative wording that
they believed would provide greater
clarity.
In response to these comments, we
believe it is necessary to clarify those
provisions that could be subject to
multiple interpretations and to provide
more specifics concerning the
information that should be included in
adverse event reports associated with
the use of veterinary biologics that are
submitted to the Agency. Therefore, we
are withdrawing the January 15, 2002,
proposed rule referenced above and are
replacing it with the proposed changes
described in this document. The
proposed recordkeeping and reporting
requirements regarding adverse events
that would apply to each licensee,
permittee, and foreign establishment
that prepares and distributes biological
products are described below.
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Definitions
The regulations in 9 CFR part 101
contain definitions of terms used in the
regulations concerning veterinary
biologics. The proposed changes to part
116 of the regulations would make it
necessary for us to add definitions in
§ 101.2 for two terms used in the
proposed regulations: Adverse event and
adverse event report. We would define
adverse event as any observation in
animals, whether or not the cause of the
event is known, that is unfavorable and
unintended and that occurs after any
use (on or off label) of a biological
product. For products administered to
animals, this would include events
related to a suspected lack of expected
efficacy. For products intended to
diagnose disease, adverse events would
refer to anything that hinders discovery
of the correct diagnosis. We would
define adverse event report as a
communication concerning the
occurrence of an adverse event from an
identifiable first-hand reporter that
includes at least the following
information: An identifiable reporter; an
identifiable animal; an identifiable
biological product; and one or more
adverse events.
Adverse Event Records
In this document we are proposing to
add to the regulations a new § 116.9 for
adverse event records, reports, and
summary reports. New § 116.9 would
require licensees and permittees to
record reports of all adverse events that
they receive concerning the use of
biological products they produce or
distribute and to submit a summary of
such reports to APHIS on an annual (for
products licensed for more than 1 year)
or semiannual (for products licensed
less than 1 year) basis. For each event,
licensees and permittees would be
required to record the following
information: (1) The date of the report;
(2) the identification of the person
initiating the report; (3) the product
code number as it appears on the
product license or permit and the
product trade name; (4) the product
serial number(s), if available; (5) a
description of the adverse event; (6) a
description of the animal(s) involved in
the event, including the number dead,
number affected, number exposed to the
product, species, breed, age, sex, and
physiological status; (7) the opinion of
the person reporting the event as to
whether the event is product-related
(i.e., probable, possible, unknown,
unlikely, no assessment); (8) route and
site of vaccination for products
administered parenterally; (9) identity
of the person administering the product
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(veterinarian, animal owner, other,
unknown); (10) the date the event
occurred; and (11) the outcome of the
event (recovered, death, euthanized,
alive with side effects, ongoing event).
Summary Reports
We are proposing to require that
licensees and permittees submit to
APHIS a summary report of all adverse
event reports received during the
reporting period. For products licensed
for 1 year or more, the summary report
would have to be submitted at 12-month
intervals; for newly licensed products, a
summary report would have to be
submitted at 6-month intervals during
the first year of the product license and
at 12-month intervals thereafter. For
new products, we had considered an
alternative proposal that would also
have allowed summary reports for new
products to also be submitted every 12
months. However, we believe that more
frequent reporting for new products will
enable us to identify trends more
quickly and thereby resolve any
problems sooner. We specifically
request that you comment on the merit
of 6-month as compared to 12-month
reporting of adverse events concerning
new products.
The summary report would have to
include the following information: (1)
The name, address, and U.S. Veterinary
License or Permit number of the
producer or permittee; (2) copies of any
individual adverse event report
record(s); and (3) the number of doses,
or the average number of doses, of the
product in distribution channels, if
available. For products licensed for 1
year or more, firms would be allowed 1
year after the effective date of the final
rule to come into compliance with the
proposed amendment and submit their
first summary report, with subsequent
summary reports being submitted at 12month intervals thereafter. For the
reasons explained above, the first
summary report for newly licensed
products would have to be submitted 6
months after the effective date of the
final rule and a second report submitted
6 months later, after which summary
reports would have to be submitted at
12-month intervals. We would require
all summary reports to be received by
APHIS within 60 days after the
reporting date (semiannual or annual, as
the case may be) that would be
established by the licensee or permittee
and approved by APHIS.
We would require the submission of
summary reports at 12-month intervals
(6-month intervals for new products)
because we believe that frequent
reporting of adverse events concerning
veterinary biologicals would ensure that
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we have adequate data to support a
decision, if necessary, to take regulatory
action against products that are
associated with an unusual number of
adverse event reports.
In order to provide an objective
measure of when it may be necessary to
take action against a veterinary biologic
to limit harm in animals, and as a
component of the adverse event
reporting system, we would use the
number of doses of product distributed
or the average number of doses of the
product in distribution channels, if
available, instead of the number of
doses of product administered to
animals to calculate the incidence of
adverse events associated with a
particular product. Typically, the
number of doses of product
administered to animals would be used
to calculate incidence. However,
because we must take timely action and
may not know precisely how many
animals have been treated with a
product, we would use the number of
distributed doses of a product as
representative of the number of doses
that were administered to animals.
Completion of Records
The regulations in §§ 116.1(a)(3) and
116.8 provide that all records (other
than disposition records) required under
part 116 shall be completed by the
licensee, permittee, or foreign
manufacturer before any portion of a
serial of any product may be marketed
in the United States or exported. We are
proposing to amend those provisions to
also allow adverse event records to be
excluded from the list of records that
must be completed before a product
may be marketed or exported. Like
disposition records, adverse event
records could not be expected to have
been completed prior to the marketing
or exportation of a product.
Miscellaneous
We would also make several minor,
nonsubstantive editorial changes to the
regulations to improve their clarity.
Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory
Flexibility Act
This rule has been reviewed under
Executive Order 12866. The rule has
been determined to be significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866, and,
therefore, has been reviewed by the
Office of Management and Budget.
We are proposing to amend the VirusSerum-Toxin Act regulations for records
and reports to require veterinary
biologics licensees and permittees to
record and submit reports to APHIS
concerning adverse events associated
with the use of veterinary biologics that
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they produce or distribute. The
proposed regulations would specify the
information to be included in adverse
event records and would require the
submission, at 12-month intervals (6month intervals for new products), of
summary reports that would include,
among other things, compilations of
individual adverse event records and
information concerning the number of
doses, or the average number of doses,
of the product in distribution channels,
if available. These proposed
requirements would assist us in
providing complete and accurate
information concerning adverse
reactions or other problems associated
with the use of licensed veterinary
biologics.
For this rule, we have prepared an
economic analysis. The economic
analysis provides a cost-benefit analysis
as required by Executive Order 12866,
as well as an analysis of the potential
economic effects of this proposed rule
on small entities, as required under the
Regulatory Flexibility Act. The
economic analysis is set forth below.
We do not expect that the proposed
recordkeeping requirements would have
a significant economic impact on most
veterinary biologics manufacturers. This
is because most manufacturers already
maintain recordkeeping systems for
adverse event reports that capture most,
if not all, of the information that would
be required to be recorded under the
proposal. The information that would be
required is basic in nature; it is the type
of information that most manufacturers
record anyway, in order to improve
their product or reduce their potential
legal liability. Furthermore, the
proposed regulations would not restrict
manufacturers from using their
discretion to choose the most
appropriate recordkeeping system for
maintaining records of these reports; the
proposal, therefore, should not result in
veterinary biologics manufacturers
having to alter their current
recordkeeping systems or create new
recordkeeping systems. It should also be
noted that the vast majority of licensed
products are not likely to be associated
with adverse events. It is estimated, for
example, that reports of adverse events
are received for no more than 10 percent
of the approximately 2,000 currently
licensed products.
The proposed requirement for the
submission of summary reports to
APHIS should not have a significant
economic impact on most veterinary
biologics manufacturers. As indicated
above, most manufacturers already
maintain recordkeeping systems for
adverse event reports that capture most,
if not all, of the information that would
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be required to be recorded under the
proposal. For most manufacturers that
receive adverse reports, therefore, the
proposed requirement for the
submission of annual summary reports
to APHIS should involve no more than
packaging and assembling information
that has already been captured, a task
that should have only minimal
economic consequences. The current
regulations do not require veterinary
biologics licensees or permittees to
report to APHIS on the number of doses
of each licensed or permitted product
that has been distributed, but that
information, too, is currently being
captured by most manufacturers.
Effect on Small Entities
The proposed rule would affect all of
the approximately 125 U.S. veterinary
biologics manufacturers, including
permittees. This is because, at the
present time, none of the licensees and
permittees is in full compliance with
the proposed requirements on a
voluntary basis; they would all have to
take at least some additional action,
even if that additional action simply
involved establishing a formal system
for recording adverse event reports that
they receive.
We do not have definitive information
on the size of all potentially affected
entities. However, it is reasonable to
assume that most are small in size,
under the U.S. Small Business
Administration’s (SBA) standards. This
assumption is based on composite data
for providers of the same and similar
services in the United States. In 2002,
there were 296 U.S. establishments in
North American Industry Classification
System (NAICS) subsector 325414, a
classification comprised of
establishments primarily engaged in
manufacturing vaccines, toxoids, blood
fractions, and culture media of plant or
animal origin (except diagnostic). Of the
296 establishments, 285 (or 96 percent)
had fewer than 500 employees, the
SBA’s small entity threshold for
establishments in that NAICS category.
Similarly, in 2002, there were 236 U.S.
establishments in NAICS 325413, a
classification comprised of
establishments primarily engaged in
manufacturing in-vitro diagnostic
substances, including biological
substances. Of the 236 establishments,
223 (or 95 percent) had fewer than 500
employees, the SBA’s small entity
threshold for establishments in NAICS
325413.
Alternatives
Alternatives to the proposed rule
would be to either leave the regulations
unchanged, or to require a different set
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of criteria than is proposed. Leaving the
regulations unchanged would be
unsatisfactory, because it would
perpetuate the current situation, i.e.,
one that may not allow APHIS to take
expeditious action to limit the harm to
animals caused by harmful or dangerous
veterinary biologics. The current
regulations have resulted in licensees
and permittees using non-standardized
methods to record and submit reports
regarding adverse events to APHIS. In
addition, adverse event reports that may
signal problems concerning the use of
veterinary biological products are not all
being submitted to APHIS in a timely
manner. Without complete information
and timely reports, APHIS may not be
able to take prompt action to limit the
harm to animals posed by unsatisfactory
veterinary biologics.
APHIS considers the proposed set of
criteria to be the minimum necessary to
accomplish the rule’s objectives. The
submission of reports to APHIS at
longer than 12-month intervals was
considered but rejected; we believe that
longer reporting intervals would not
ensure that we have adequate data to
support a decision to take regulatory
action against products that are
associated with an unusual number of
adverse event reports.
Costs and Benefits
The proposed rule has the potential to
benefit animals and their owners, to the
extent that it allows APHIS to act
quickly to limit the harm to animals
posed by unsatisfactory veterinary
biologics. For animal owners, the
monetary benefits are difficult to
estimate, because they would depend on
several factors that are currently
unknown—the significance, or gravity,
of the harm that would be avoided with
the rule in effect, and the number, and
value, of animals that would avoid harm
with the rule in effect. For some animal
owners, especially those with large
numbers of high-value animals, the
potential monetary benefits of avoided
harm could be large. For the reasons
discussed above, manufacturer costs to
comply with the rule should be minimal
in most cases. Thus, we expect that the
benefits of this proposed action would
outweigh its costs.
Under these circumstances, the
Administrator of the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service has
determined that this action would not
have a significant economic impact on
a substantial number of small entities.
Executive Order 12372
This program/activity is listed in the
category of Federal Domestic Assistance
under No. 10.025 and is subject to
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Executive Order 12372, which requires
intergovernmental consultation with
State and local officials. (See 7 CFR part
3015, subpart V.)
Executive Order 12988
This proposed rule has been reviewed
under Executive Order 12988, Civil
Justice Reform. It is not intended to
have retroactive effect. This rule would
not preempt any State or local laws,
regulations, or policies unless they
present an irreconcilable conflict with
this rule. The Virus-Serum-Toxin Act
does not provide administrative
procedures which must be exhausted
prior to a judicial challenge to the
provisions of this rule.
Paperwork Reduction Act
In accordance with section 3507(d) of
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the information
collection or recordkeeping
requirements included in this proposed
rule have been submitted for approval to
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB). The information collection and
recordkeeping requirements described
in the January 2002 proposed rule
withdrawn by this document were
approved by OMB under control
number 0579–0209, and we will request
that OMB approve the information
collection or recordkeeping
requirements included in this proposed
rule under that same number. Please
send written comments to the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs,
OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for
APHIS, Washington, DC 20503. Please
state that your comments refer to Docket
No. 00–071–2. Please send a copy of
your comments to: (1) Docket No. 00–
071–2, Regulatory Analysis and
Development, PPD, APHIS, Suite 3C03,
4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale,
MD 20737–1238, and (2) Clearance
Officer, OCIO, USDA, room 404–W,
14th Street and Independence Avenue
SW., Washington, DC 20250. A
comment to OMB is best assured of
having its full effect if OMB receives it
within 30 days of publication of this
proposed rule.
This proposed rule would require
manufacturers of veterinary biological
products to maintain records of adverse
event reports that they receive
concerning the use of veterinary
biological products that they produce or
distribute for 2 years. In addition,
licensees and permittees would have to
submit summary reports of adverse
events to APHIS every 12 months for
products licensed for 1 year or more; for
newly licensed products, a summary
report would have to be submitted at 6month intervals during the first year of
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the product license and at 12-month
intervals thereafter. These information
collection and recordkeeping
requirements would allow us to monitor
and provide the appropriate level of
regulatory oversight.
We are soliciting comments from the
public (as well as affected agencies)
concerning our proposed information
collection and recordkeeping
requirements. These comments will
help us:
(1) Evaluate whether the proposed
information collection is necessary for
the proper performance of our agency’s
functions, including whether the
information will have practical utility;
(2) Evaluate the accuracy of our
estimate of the burden of the proposed
information collection, including the
validity of the methodology and
assumptions used;
(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and
(4) Minimize the burden of the
information collection on those who are
to respond (such as through the use of
appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology, e.g., permitting
electronic submission of responses).
Estimate of burden: The public
reporting burden for this collection of
information is estimated to average 0.5
hour per response.
Respondents: Veterinary biologics
licensees and permittees.
Estimated annual number of
respondents: 125.
Estimated annual number of
responses per respondent: 4.
Estimated annual number of
responses: 1,000.
Estimated total annual burden on
respondents: 500 hours. (Due to
averaging, the total annual burden hours
may not equal the product of the annual
number of responses multiplied by the
reporting burden per response.)
Copies of this information collection
can be obtained from Mrs. Celeste
Sickles, APHIS’ Information Collection
Coordinator, at (301) 734–7477.
Government Paperwork Elimination Act
Compliance
The Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service is committed to
compliance with the Government
Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA),
which requires Government agencies in
general to provide the public the option
of submitting information or transacting
business electronically to the maximum
extent possible. For information
pertinent to GPEA compliance related to
this proposed rule, please contact Mrs.
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Celeste Sickles, APHIS’ Information
Collection Coordinator, at (301) 734–
7477.
List of Subjects
9 CFR Part 101
Animal biologics.
§ 116.8 Completion and retention of
records.
9 CFR Part 116
Animal biologics, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
Accordingly, we propose to amend 9
CFR parts 101 and 116 as follows:
PART 101—DEFINITIONS
1. The authority citation for part 101
would continue to read as follows:
Authority: 21 U.S.C. 151–159; 7 CFR 2.22,
2.80, and 371.4.
2. In § 101.2, definitions of adverse
event and adverse event report would be
added in alphabetical order to read as
follows:
§ 101.2
Administrative terminology.
*
*
*
*
*
Adverse event. Any observation in
animals, whether or not the cause of the
event is known, that is unfavorable and
unintended and that occurs after any
use (off label or on label) of a biological
product. Included are events related to
a suspected lack of expected efficacy.
For products intended to diagnose
disease, adverse events refer to anything
that hinders discovery of the correct
diagnosis.
Adverse event report. Any
communication concerning the
occurrence of an adverse event from an
identifiable first-hand reporter which
includes at least the following
information:
(1) An identifiable reporter;
(2) An identifiable animal;
(3) An identifiable biological product;
and
(4) One or more adverse events.
*
*
*
*
*
PART 116—RECORDS AND REPORTS
3. The authority citation for part 116
would continue to read as follows:
Authority: 21 U.S.C. 151–159; 7 CFR 2.22,
2.80, and 371.4.
4. In § 116.1, paragraph (a)(3) would
be revised to read as follows:
§ 116.1 Applicability and general
considerations.
(a) * * *
(3) Records (other than disposition
records and adverse event records)
required by this part must be completed
by the licensee, permittee, or foreign
manufacturer, as the case may be, before
VerDate jul<14>2003
12:19 Aug 16, 2005
any portion of a serial of any product
may be marketed in the United States or
exported.
*
*
*
*
*
5. Section 116.8 would be revised to
read as follows:
Jkt 205001
All records (other than disposition
records and adverse event records)
required by this part must be completed
by the licensee, permittee, or foreign
manufacturer before any portion of a
serial of any product may be marketed
in the United States or exported. All
records must be retained at the licensed
or foreign establishment or permittee’s
place of business for a period of 2 years
after the expiration date of a product or
longer as may be required by the
Administrator. (Approved by the Office
of Management and Budget under
control number 0579–0013)
6. A new § 116.9 would be added to
read as follows:
§ 116.9 Adverse event report records and
summary reports.
(a) A detailed record must be
maintained for every adverse event
report the licensee or permittee receives
for any biological product it produces or
distributes. Each record must include:
(1) The date of the report;
(2) The identification of the person
initiating the report;
(3) The product code number as it
appears on the product license or
permit, and product trade name;
(4) The serial number(s) of the
product, if available;
(5) A description of the adverse event;
(6) A description of the animal(s)
involved, including the number dead,
number affected, number exposed to the
product, species, breed, age, sex, and
physiological status;
(7) The opinion (probable, possible,
unknown, unlikely, no assessment) of
the person initiating the report as to
whether the event is product-related;
(8) The route and site of vaccination
for products administered parenterally;
(9) The identity of the person
administering the product (veterinarian,
animal owner, other, unknown);
(10) The date of the event; and
(11) The outcome of the event
(recovered, death, euthanized, alive
with side effects, ongoing event).
(b) A summary report of all adverse
event reports received by a licensee or
permittee must be compiled and
submitted to the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service. For products
licensed for 1 year or more, such
summary reports must cover intervals of
12 months; for products licensed for less
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
48329
than 1 year, the summary reports must
be submitted at 6-month intervals. All
summary reports must be received
within 60 days after the end of the
reporting date that will be determined
by the licensee or permittee and
approved by the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service. Each
summary report must include:
(1) The name, address, and U.S.
Veterinary License or Permit number of
the producer, permittee, or foreign
manufacturer;
(2) Copies of any individual adverse
event reports for the product maintained
as prescribed in paragraph (a) of this
section; and
(3) The number of doses, or the
average number of doses, of the product
in distribution channels, if available.
Done in Washington, DC, this 11th day of
August 2005.
Bill Hawks,
Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory
Programs.
[FR Doc. 05–16266 Filed 8–16–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–34–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 51
[Docket No. PRM–51–8]
State of Nevada; Denial of a Petition
for Rulemaking
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Petition for rulemaking: denial.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC or Commission) is
denying a petition for rulemaking
submitted by the State of Nevada (PRM–
51–8). The petitioner requests that NRC
amend a decision reached in a 1990
rulemaking, referred to as the ‘‘Waste
Confidence’’ decision, that at least one
mined geologic repository will be
available within the first quarter of the
twenty-first century as well as a
regulation making a generic
determination of no significant
environmental impact from the
temporary storage of spent fuel after
cessation of reactor operation which
incorporates this decision. Petitioner
believes that the decision and rule must
be amended to avoid ‘‘prejudging’’ the
outcome of the anticipated licensing
proceeding on a potential application
from the Department of Energy for a
construction authorization for a geologic
repository at the Yucca Mountain,
Nevada site. The NRC is denying the
petition because the petition
E:\FR\FM\17AUP1.SGM
17AUP1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 158 (Wednesday, August 17, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 48325-48329]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-16266]
========================================================================
Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
========================================================================
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 158 / Wednesday, August 17, 2005 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 48325]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
9 CFR Parts 101 and 116
[Docket No. 00-071-2]
RIN 0579-AB90
Viruses, Serums, Toxins, and Analogous Products; Records and
Reports
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Proposed rule; withdrawal and reproposal.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We are proposing to amend the Virus-Serum-Toxin Act
regulations concerning records and reports to require veterinary
biologics licensees and permittees to record specific information
concerning adverse events associated with the use of biological
products that they produce or distribute and to compile and submit
those records in a summary report to the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS) every 12 months for products licensed for 1
year or more; for newly licensed products, a summary report would have
to be submitted at 6-month intervals during the first year of the
product license and at 12-month intervals thereafter. The summary
report would also have to identify the number of doses, or the average
number of doses, of the product in distribution channels, if available.
These records and reports would help ensure that APHIS will be able to
provide complete and accurate information to consumers regarding
adverse reactions or other problems associated with the use of licensed
biological products. This proposed rule replaces a previously published
proposed rule, which we are withdrawing as part of this document, that
contained fewer specifics concerning the information that would have to
be recorded in adverse event reports associated with the use of
veterinary biologics that are submitted to the Agency.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before
October 17, 2005.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
EDOCKET: Go to https://www.epa.gov/feddocket to submit or
view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the
official public docket, and to access those documents in the public
docket that are available electronically. Once you have entered
EDOCKET, click on the ``View Open APHIS Dockets'' link to locate this
document.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send four copies
of your comment (an original and three copies) to Docket No. 00-071-2,
Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3C71, 4700
River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your
comment refers to Docket No. 00-071-2.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://
www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions for locating this
docket and submitting comments.
Reading Room: You may read any comments that we receive on this
docket in our reading room. The reading room is located in room 1141 of
the USDA South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC. Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to
help you, please call (202) 690-2817 before coming.
Other Information: You may view APHIS documents published in the
Federal Register and related information on the Internet at https://
www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Albert P. Morgan, Section Leader,
Operational Support Section, Policy, Evaluation, and Licensing, Center
for Veterinary Biologics, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 148,
Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-8245.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Virus-Serum-Toxin Act regulations in 9 CFR part 116 (referred
to below as the regulations) contain requirements for maintaining
detailed records of information necessary to give a complete accounting
of all the activities within a veterinary biologics establishment. In
Sec. 116.1, paragraph (a) states that such reports must include, but
are not limited to, the items enumerated in the regulations, including
inventory and disposition records (Sec. 116.2), information concerning
product development and preparation and market suspension and recalls
(Sec. 116.5), animal records (Sec. 116.6), and test records (Sec.
116.7).
In Sec. 116.5, paragraph (b) states that if at any time there are
indications that raise questions regarding the purity, safety, potency,
or efficacy of a product, or if it appears that there may be a problem
regarding the preparation, testing, or distribution of a product, the
licensee, permittee, or foreign manufacturer must immediately notify
the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) concerning the
circumstances and the action taken, if any.
However, the regulations in Sec. 116.1 do not explicitly require
licensees and permittees to maintain records of adverse events
associated with the use of veterinary biologics, nor do the regulations
in Sec. 116.5 provide specific guidance in determining whether an
adverse event should be considered an indication that raises questions
regarding the purity, safety, potency, efficacy, preparation, testing,
or distribution (PSPEPTD) of such product. Consequently, each
veterinary biologics manufacturer makes an independent determination
concerning (1) whether an adverse event report raises PSPEPTD questions
and (2) when and in what manner such report of the adverse event will
be provided to APHIS.
To limit the harm to animals posed by unsatisfactory veterinary
biologics, APHIS must rely on adverse event reports provided by
veterinary biologics licensees and permittees. However, without any
explicit guidance in the regulations as to the form those reports
should take, licensees and permittees are using nonstandardized methods
to record and submit reports regarding adverse events to APHIS.
Similarly, without explicit reporting requirements concerning adverse
events, reports that may signal problems concerning the use of
veterinary biological products are not all being submitted to APHIS in
a timely manner.
[[Page 48326]]
To address this situation, on January 15, 2002, we published in the
Federal Register (67 FR 1910-1913, Docket No. 00-071-1) a proposed rule
to amend the regulations concerning records and reports to require
veterinary biologics licensees and permittees to record and submit
reports to APHIS concerning adverse events associated with the use of
veterinary biological products that they produce or distribute. The
proposed rule would have required veterinary biologics licensees and
permittees to report to APHIS the number of doses of each licensed
product that they distribute. The proposed rule also would have amended
the regulations in 9 CFR part 101 to provide definitions for the terms
adverse event and adverse event report.
We solicited comments on our proposal for 60 days ending on March
18, 2002. We received 13 comments by that date. The comments were from
10 veterinary biologics manufacturers, 2 trade associations
representing veterinary biologics manufacturers, and a veterinary
association. Six commenters expressed conceptual support for the
proposed rule, but were concerned that parts of the proposed
regulations were overly broad or ambiguous and would increase the
regulatory burden on the industry and possibly compromise confidential
business information. Four commenters were opposed to the rule, stating
that it was unnecessary and that APHIS had underestimated the
regulatory burden that would be imposed on the industry. The remaining
three commenters neither supported nor opposed the rule, but instead
either asked for clarification of certain aspects of the proposed rule
or suggested alternative wording that they believed would provide
greater clarity.
In response to these comments, we believe it is necessary to
clarify those provisions that could be subject to multiple
interpretations and to provide more specifics concerning the
information that should be included in adverse event reports associated
with the use of veterinary biologics that are submitted to the Agency.
Therefore, we are withdrawing the January 15, 2002, proposed rule
referenced above and are replacing it with the proposed changes
described in this document. The proposed recordkeeping and reporting
requirements regarding adverse events that would apply to each
licensee, permittee, and foreign establishment that prepares and
distributes biological products are described below.
Definitions
The regulations in 9 CFR part 101 contain definitions of terms used
in the regulations concerning veterinary biologics. The proposed
changes to part 116 of the regulations would make it necessary for us
to add definitions in Sec. 101.2 for two terms used in the proposed
regulations: Adverse event and adverse event report. We would define
adverse event as any observation in animals, whether or not the cause
of the event is known, that is unfavorable and unintended and that
occurs after any use (on or off label) of a biological product. For
products administered to animals, this would include events related to
a suspected lack of expected efficacy. For products intended to
diagnose disease, adverse events would refer to anything that hinders
discovery of the correct diagnosis. We would define adverse event
report as a communication concerning the occurrence of an adverse event
from an identifiable first-hand reporter that includes at least the
following information: An identifiable reporter; an identifiable
animal; an identifiable biological product; and one or more adverse
events.
Adverse Event Records
In this document we are proposing to add to the regulations a new
Sec. 116.9 for adverse event records, reports, and summary reports.
New Sec. 116.9 would require licensees and permittees to record
reports of all adverse events that they receive concerning the use of
biological products they produce or distribute and to submit a summary
of such reports to APHIS on an annual (for products licensed for more
than 1 year) or semiannual (for products licensed less than 1 year)
basis. For each event, licensees and permittees would be required to
record the following information: (1) The date of the report; (2) the
identification of the person initiating the report; (3) the product
code number as it appears on the product license or permit and the
product trade name; (4) the product serial number(s), if available; (5)
a description of the adverse event; (6) a description of the animal(s)
involved in the event, including the number dead, number affected,
number exposed to the product, species, breed, age, sex, and
physiological status; (7) the opinion of the person reporting the event
as to whether the event is product-related (i.e., probable, possible,
unknown, unlikely, no assessment); (8) route and site of vaccination
for products administered parenterally; (9) identity of the person
administering the product (veterinarian, animal owner, other, unknown);
(10) the date the event occurred; and (11) the outcome of the event
(recovered, death, euthanized, alive with side effects, ongoing event).
Summary Reports
We are proposing to require that licensees and permittees submit to
APHIS a summary report of all adverse event reports received during the
reporting period. For products licensed for 1 year or more, the summary
report would have to be submitted at 12-month intervals; for newly
licensed products, a summary report would have to be submitted at 6-
month intervals during the first year of the product license and at 12-
month intervals thereafter. For new products, we had considered an
alternative proposal that would also have allowed summary reports for
new products to also be submitted every 12 months. However, we believe
that more frequent reporting for new products will enable us to
identify trends more quickly and thereby resolve any problems sooner.
We specifically request that you comment on the merit of 6-month as
compared to 12-month reporting of adverse events concerning new
products.
The summary report would have to include the following information:
(1) The name, address, and U.S. Veterinary License or Permit number of
the producer or permittee; (2) copies of any individual adverse event
report record(s); and (3) the number of doses, or the average number of
doses, of the product in distribution channels, if available. For
products licensed for 1 year or more, firms would be allowed 1 year
after the effective date of the final rule to come into compliance with
the proposed amendment and submit their first summary report, with
subsequent summary reports being submitted at 12-month intervals
thereafter. For the reasons explained above, the first summary report
for newly licensed products would have to be submitted 6 months after
the effective date of the final rule and a second report submitted 6
months later, after which summary reports would have to be submitted at
12-month intervals. We would require all summary reports to be received
by APHIS within 60 days after the reporting date (semiannual or annual,
as the case may be) that would be established by the licensee or
permittee and approved by APHIS.
We would require the submission of summary reports at 12-month
intervals (6-month intervals for new products) because we believe that
frequent reporting of adverse events concerning veterinary biologicals
would ensure that
[[Page 48327]]
we have adequate data to support a decision, if necessary, to take
regulatory action against products that are associated with an unusual
number of adverse event reports.
In order to provide an objective measure of when it may be
necessary to take action against a veterinary biologic to limit harm in
animals, and as a component of the adverse event reporting system, we
would use the number of doses of product distributed or the average
number of doses of the product in distribution channels, if available,
instead of the number of doses of product administered to animals to
calculate the incidence of adverse events associated with a particular
product. Typically, the number of doses of product administered to
animals would be used to calculate incidence. However, because we must
take timely action and may not know precisely how many animals have
been treated with a product, we would use the number of distributed
doses of a product as representative of the number of doses that were
administered to animals.
Completion of Records
The regulations in Sec. Sec. 116.1(a)(3) and 116.8 provide that
all records (other than disposition records) required under part 116
shall be completed by the licensee, permittee, or foreign manufacturer
before any portion of a serial of any product may be marketed in the
United States or exported. We are proposing to amend those provisions
to also allow adverse event records to be excluded from the list of
records that must be completed before a product may be marketed or
exported. Like disposition records, adverse event records could not be
expected to have been completed prior to the marketing or exportation
of a product.
Miscellaneous
We would also make several minor, nonsubstantive editorial changes
to the regulations to improve their clarity.
Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866. The rule
has been determined to be significant for purposes of Executive Order
12866, and, therefore, has been reviewed by the Office of Management
and Budget.
We are proposing to amend the Virus-Serum-Toxin Act regulations for
records and reports to require veterinary biologics licensees and
permittees to record and submit reports to APHIS concerning adverse
events associated with the use of veterinary biologics that they
produce or distribute. The proposed regulations would specify the
information to be included in adverse event records and would require
the submission, at 12-month intervals (6-month intervals for new
products), of summary reports that would include, among other things,
compilations of individual adverse event records and information
concerning the number of doses, or the average number of doses, of the
product in distribution channels, if available. These proposed
requirements would assist us in providing complete and accurate
information concerning adverse reactions or other problems associated
with the use of licensed veterinary biologics.
For this rule, we have prepared an economic analysis. The economic
analysis provides a cost-benefit analysis as required by Executive
Order 12866, as well as an analysis of the potential economic effects
of this proposed rule on small entities, as required under the
Regulatory Flexibility Act. The economic analysis is set forth below.
We do not expect that the proposed recordkeeping requirements would
have a significant economic impact on most veterinary biologics
manufacturers. This is because most manufacturers already maintain
recordkeeping systems for adverse event reports that capture most, if
not all, of the information that would be required to be recorded under
the proposal. The information that would be required is basic in
nature; it is the type of information that most manufacturers record
anyway, in order to improve their product or reduce their potential
legal liability. Furthermore, the proposed regulations would not
restrict manufacturers from using their discretion to choose the most
appropriate recordkeeping system for maintaining records of these
reports; the proposal, therefore, should not result in veterinary
biologics manufacturers having to alter their current recordkeeping
systems or create new recordkeeping systems. It should also be noted
that the vast majority of licensed products are not likely to be
associated with adverse events. It is estimated, for example, that
reports of adverse events are received for no more than 10 percent of
the approximately 2,000 currently licensed products.
The proposed requirement for the submission of summary reports to
APHIS should not have a significant economic impact on most veterinary
biologics manufacturers. As indicated above, most manufacturers already
maintain recordkeeping systems for adverse event reports that capture
most, if not all, of the information that would be required to be
recorded under the proposal. For most manufacturers that receive
adverse reports, therefore, the proposed requirement for the submission
of annual summary reports to APHIS should involve no more than
packaging and assembling information that has already been captured, a
task that should have only minimal economic consequences. The current
regulations do not require veterinary biologics licensees or permittees
to report to APHIS on the number of doses of each licensed or permitted
product that has been distributed, but that information, too, is
currently being captured by most manufacturers.
Effect on Small Entities
The proposed rule would affect all of the approximately 125 U.S.
veterinary biologics manufacturers, including permittees. This is
because, at the present time, none of the licensees and permittees is
in full compliance with the proposed requirements on a voluntary basis;
they would all have to take at least some additional action, even if
that additional action simply involved establishing a formal system for
recording adverse event reports that they receive.
We do not have definitive information on the size of all
potentially affected entities. However, it is reasonable to assume that
most are small in size, under the U.S. Small Business Administration's
(SBA) standards. This assumption is based on composite data for
providers of the same and similar services in the United States. In
2002, there were 296 U.S. establishments in North American Industry
Classification System (NAICS) subsector 325414, a classification
comprised of establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing
vaccines, toxoids, blood fractions, and culture media of plant or
animal origin (except diagnostic). Of the 296 establishments, 285 (or
96 percent) had fewer than 500 employees, the SBA's small entity
threshold for establishments in that NAICS category. Similarly, in
2002, there were 236 U.S. establishments in NAICS 325413, a
classification comprised of establishments primarily engaged in
manufacturing in-vitro diagnostic substances, including biological
substances. Of the 236 establishments, 223 (or 95 percent) had fewer
than 500 employees, the SBA's small entity threshold for establishments
in NAICS 325413.
Alternatives
Alternatives to the proposed rule would be to either leave the
regulations unchanged, or to require a different set
[[Page 48328]]
of criteria than is proposed. Leaving the regulations unchanged would
be unsatisfactory, because it would perpetuate the current situation,
i.e., one that may not allow APHIS to take expeditious action to limit
the harm to animals caused by harmful or dangerous veterinary
biologics. The current regulations have resulted in licensees and
permittees using non-standardized methods to record and submit reports
regarding adverse events to APHIS. In addition, adverse event reports
that may signal problems concerning the use of veterinary biological
products are not all being submitted to APHIS in a timely manner.
Without complete information and timely reports, APHIS may not be able
to take prompt action to limit the harm to animals posed by
unsatisfactory veterinary biologics.
APHIS considers the proposed set of criteria to be the minimum
necessary to accomplish the rule's objectives. The submission of
reports to APHIS at longer than 12-month intervals was considered but
rejected; we believe that longer reporting intervals would not ensure
that we have adequate data to support a decision to take regulatory
action against products that are associated with an unusual number of
adverse event reports.
Costs and Benefits
The proposed rule has the potential to benefit animals and their
owners, to the extent that it allows APHIS to act quickly to limit the
harm to animals posed by unsatisfactory veterinary biologics. For
animal owners, the monetary benefits are difficult to estimate, because
they would depend on several factors that are currently unknown--the
significance, or gravity, of the harm that would be avoided with the
rule in effect, and the number, and value, of animals that would avoid
harm with the rule in effect. For some animal owners, especially those
with large numbers of high-value animals, the potential monetary
benefits of avoided harm could be large. For the reasons discussed
above, manufacturer costs to comply with the rule should be minimal in
most cases. Thus, we expect that the benefits of this proposed action
would outweigh its costs.
Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action would
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
Executive Order 12372
This program/activity is listed in the category of Federal Domestic
Assistance under No. 10.025 and is subject to Executive Order 12372,
which requires intergovernmental consultation with State and local
officials. (See 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V.)
Executive Order 12988
This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988,
Civil Justice Reform. It is not intended to have retroactive effect.
This rule would not preempt any State or local laws, regulations, or
policies unless they present an irreconcilable conflict with this rule.
The Virus-Serum-Toxin Act does not provide administrative procedures
which must be exhausted prior to a judicial challenge to the provisions
of this rule.
Paperwork Reduction Act
In accordance with section 3507(d) of the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the information collection or
recordkeeping requirements included in this proposed rule have been
submitted for approval to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
The information collection and recordkeeping requirements described in
the January 2002 proposed rule withdrawn by this document were approved
by OMB under control number 0579-0209, and we will request that OMB
approve the information collection or recordkeeping requirements
included in this proposed rule under that same number. Please send
written comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs,
OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for APHIS, Washington, DC 20503. Please
state that your comments refer to Docket No. 00-071-2. Please send a
copy of your comments to: (1) Docket No. 00-071-2, Regulatory Analysis
and Development, PPD, APHIS, Suite 3C03, 4700 River Road Unit 118,
Riverdale, MD 20737-1238, and (2) Clearance Officer, OCIO, USDA, room
404-W, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250. A
comment to OMB is best assured of having its full effect if OMB
receives it within 30 days of publication of this proposed rule.
This proposed rule would require manufacturers of veterinary
biological products to maintain records of adverse event reports that
they receive concerning the use of veterinary biological products that
they produce or distribute for 2 years. In addition, licensees and
permittees would have to submit summary reports of adverse events to
APHIS every 12 months for products licensed for 1 year or more; for
newly licensed products, a summary report would have to be submitted at
6-month intervals during the first year of the product license and at
12-month intervals thereafter. These information collection and
recordkeeping requirements would allow us to monitor and provide the
appropriate level of regulatory oversight.
We are soliciting comments from the public (as well as affected
agencies) concerning our proposed information collection and
recordkeeping requirements. These comments will help us:
(1) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is
necessary for the proper performance of our agency's functions,
including whether the information will have practical utility;
(2) Evaluate the accuracy of our estimate of the burden of the
proposed information collection, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
(4) Minimize the burden of the information collection on those who
are to respond (such as through the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic
submission of responses).
Estimate of burden: The public reporting burden for this collection
of information is estimated to average 0.5 hour per response.
Respondents: Veterinary biologics licensees and permittees.
Estimated annual number of respondents: 125.
Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 4.
Estimated annual number of responses: 1,000.
Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 500 hours. (Due to
averaging, the total annual burden hours may not equal the product of
the annual number of responses multiplied by the reporting burden per
response.)
Copies of this information collection can be obtained from Mrs.
Celeste Sickles, APHIS' Information Collection Coordinator, at (301)
734-7477.
Government Paperwork Elimination Act Compliance
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is committed to
compliance with the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA), which
requires Government agencies in general to provide the public the
option of submitting information or transacting business electronically
to the maximum extent possible. For information pertinent to GPEA
compliance related to this proposed rule, please contact Mrs.
[[Page 48329]]
Celeste Sickles, APHIS' Information Collection Coordinator, at (301)
734-7477.
List of Subjects
9 CFR Part 101
Animal biologics.
9 CFR Part 116
Animal biologics, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Accordingly, we propose to amend 9 CFR parts 101 and 116 as
follows:
PART 101--DEFINITIONS
1. The authority citation for part 101 would continue to read as
follows:
Authority: 21 U.S.C. 151-159; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.4.
2. In Sec. 101.2, definitions of adverse event and adverse event
report would be added in alphabetical order to read as follows:
Sec. 101.2 Administrative terminology.
* * * * *
Adverse event. Any observation in animals, whether or not the cause
of the event is known, that is unfavorable and unintended and that
occurs after any use (off label or on label) of a biological product.
Included are events related to a suspected lack of expected efficacy.
For products intended to diagnose disease, adverse events refer to
anything that hinders discovery of the correct diagnosis.
Adverse event report. Any communication concerning the occurrence
of an adverse event from an identifiable first-hand reporter which
includes at least the following information:
(1) An identifiable reporter;
(2) An identifiable animal;
(3) An identifiable biological product; and
(4) One or more adverse events.
* * * * *
PART 116--RECORDS AND REPORTS
3. The authority citation for part 116 would continue to read as
follows:
Authority: 21 U.S.C. 151-159; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.4.
4. In Sec. 116.1, paragraph (a)(3) would be revised to read as
follows:
Sec. 116.1 Applicability and general considerations.
(a) * * *
(3) Records (other than disposition records and adverse event
records) required by this part must be completed by the licensee,
permittee, or foreign manufacturer, as the case may be, before any
portion of a serial of any product may be marketed in the United States
or exported.
* * * * *
5. Section 116.8 would be revised to read as follows:
Sec. 116.8 Completion and retention of records.
All records (other than disposition records and adverse event
records) required by this part must be completed by the licensee,
permittee, or foreign manufacturer before any portion of a serial of
any product may be marketed in the United States or exported. All
records must be retained at the licensed or foreign establishment or
permittee's place of business for a period of 2 years after the
expiration date of a product or longer as may be required by the
Administrator. (Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under
control number 0579-0013)
6. A new Sec. 116.9 would be added to read as follows:
Sec. 116.9 Adverse event report records and summary reports.
(a) A detailed record must be maintained for every adverse event
report the licensee or permittee receives for any biological product it
produces or distributes. Each record must include:
(1) The date of the report;
(2) The identification of the person initiating the report;
(3) The product code number as it appears on the product license or
permit, and product trade name;
(4) The serial number(s) of the product, if available;
(5) A description of the adverse event;
(6) A description of the animal(s) involved, including the number
dead, number affected, number exposed to the product, species, breed,
age, sex, and physiological status;
(7) The opinion (probable, possible, unknown, unlikely, no
assessment) of the person initiating the report as to whether the event
is product-related;
(8) The route and site of vaccination for products administered
parenterally;
(9) The identity of the person administering the product
(veterinarian, animal owner, other, unknown);
(10) The date of the event; and
(11) The outcome of the event (recovered, death, euthanized, alive
with side effects, ongoing event).
(b) A summary report of all adverse event reports received by a
licensee or permittee must be compiled and submitted to the Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service. For products licensed for 1 year or
more, such summary reports must cover intervals of 12 months; for
products licensed for less than 1 year, the summary reports must be
submitted at 6-month intervals. All summary reports must be received
within 60 days after the end of the reporting date that will be
determined by the licensee or permittee and approved by the Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service. Each summary report must include:
(1) The name, address, and U.S. Veterinary License or Permit number
of the producer, permittee, or foreign manufacturer;
(2) Copies of any individual adverse event reports for the product
maintained as prescribed in paragraph (a) of this section; and
(3) The number of doses, or the average number of doses, of the
product in distribution channels, if available.
Done in Washington, DC, this 11th day of August 2005.
Bill Hawks,
Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs.
[FR Doc. 05-16266 Filed 8-16-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P