Determination of Regulatory Review Period for Purposes of Patent Extension; VASCEPA, 6192-6194 [2018-02851]

Download as PDF 6192 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 13, 2018 / Notices The number of respondents to be included in each new survey will vary, depending on the nature of the material or message being tested and the target audience. The burden for this information collection extension is proposed to increase by 12,613 hours since the last OMB approval. The burden increase is due to an increase in the number of respondents and the categories of respondents. Dated: February 7, 2018. Leslie Kux, Associate Commissioner for Policy. [FR Doc. 2018–02852 Filed 2–12–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4164–01–P DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA–2018–N–0409] Mallinkrodt Pharmaceuticals LLC; Withdrawal of Approval of an Abbreviated New Drug Application for PEMOLINE Tablets, 18.75 Milligrams, 37.5 Milligrams, and 75 Milligrams AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS. ACTION: Notice. sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES 23:12 Feb 12, 2018 Dated: February 8, 2018. Leslie Kux, Associate Commissioner for Policy. [FR Doc. 2018–02925 Filed 2–12–18; 8:45 am] The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is withdrawing the approval of abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) 075726 for PEMOLINE Tablets, 18.75 milligrams (mg), 37.5 mg, and 75 mg, held by Mallinkrodt Pharmaceuticals, LLC (Mallinkrodt). Mallinkrodt requested withdrawal of this application and has waived its opportunity for a hearing. DATES: Approval is withdrawn as of February 13, 2018. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristiana Brugger, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 51, Rm. 6262, Silver Spring, MD 20993, 301–796– 3600. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FDA approved ANDA 075726 for PEMOLINE Tablets, 18.75 mg, 37.5 mg, and 75 mg, on March 30, 2001, for the conditions of use in the labeling of new drug application (NDA) 016832, the reference listed drug on which it relied. However, on October 24, 2005, FDA announced its concern that the overall liver toxicity risk of CYLERT (NDA 016832) and generic pemoline products outweighed the benefits of these products. Mallinkrodt and other holders of approved applications for PEMOLINE products ceased marketing them at that SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 time. Indeed, Mallinkrodt stated in its May 15, 2013, request for withdrawal of approval of ANDA 075726 that it had never manufactured or distributed its product after it received approval of its application. In the Federal Register of October 4, 2016 (81 FR 68427), FDA erroneously included ANDA 075726 in a list of drug applications for which approval was being withdrawn under § 314.150(c) (21 CFR 314.150(c)). In a separate notice published in this issue of the Federal Register, FDA corrects that notice to remove ANDA 075726 from the list of applications whose approval was withdrawn under § 314.150(c). In addition, for the reasons discussed above, and pursuant to Mallinkrodt’s request, FDA is withdrawing approval of ANDA 075726, and all amendments and supplements thereto, under § 314.150(d). Distribution of PEMOLINE Tablets, 18.75 mg, 37.5 mg, and 75 mg, in interstate commerce without an approved application is illegal and subject to regulatory action (see sections 505(a) and 301(d) of the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. 355(a) and 331(d)). Jkt 244001 BILLING CODE 4164–01–P DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA–2013–E–0780] Determination of Regulatory Review Period for Purposes of Patent Extension; VASCEPA AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS. ACTION: Notice. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or the Agency) has determined the regulatory review period for VASCEPA and is publishing this notice of that determination as required by law. FDA has made the determination because of the submission of an application to the Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Department of Commerce, for the extension of a patent which claims that human drug product. DATES: Anyone with knowledge that any of the dates as published (in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section) are incorrect may submit either electronic or written comments and ask for a SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 redetermination by April 16, 2018. Furthermore, any interested person may petition FDA for a determination regarding whether the applicant for extension acted with due diligence during the regulatory review period by August 13, 2018. See ‘‘Petitions’’ in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for more information. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments as follows. Please note that late, untimely filed comments will not be considered. Electronic comments must be submitted on or before April 16, 2018. The https://www.regulations.gov electronic filing system will accept comments until midnight Eastern Time at the end of April 16, 2018. Comments received by mail/hand delivery/courier (for written/paper submissions) will be considered timely if they are postmarked or the delivery service acceptance receipt is on or before that date. 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 E:\FR\FM\13FEN1.SGM 13FEN1 sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 13, 2018 / Notices information submitted, marked and identified, as confidential, if submitted as detailed in ‘‘Instructions.’’ Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket No. FDA– 2013–E–0780 for ‘‘Determination of Regulatory Review Period for Purposes of Patent Extension; VASCEPA.’’ 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. • 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 § 10.20 (21 CFR 10.20) and other applicable disclosure law. For more information about FDA’s posting of comments to public dockets, see 80 FR 56469, September 18, 2015, or access the information at: https://www.gpo.gov/ fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-09-18/pdf/201523389.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. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beverly Friedman, Office of Regulatory Policy, Food and Drug Administration, VerDate Sep<11>2014 23:12 Feb 12, 2018 Jkt 244001 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 51, Rm. 6250, Silver Spring, MD 20993, 301–796–3600. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background The Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 (Pub. L. 98–417) and the Generic Animal Drug and Patent Term Restoration Act (Pub. L. 100–670) generally provide that a patent may be extended for a period of up to 5 years so long as the patented item (human drug product, animal drug product, medical device, food additive, or color additive) was subject to regulatory review by FDA before the item was marketed. Under these acts, a product’s regulatory review period forms the basis for determining the amount of extension an applicant may receive. A regulatory review period consists of two periods of time: A testing phase and an approval phase. For human drug products, the testing phase begins when the exemption to permit the clinical investigations of the drug becomes effective and runs until the approval phase begins. The approval phase starts with the initial submission of an application to market the human drug product and continues until FDA grants permission to market the drug product. Although only a portion of a regulatory review period may count toward the actual amount of extension that the Director of USPTO may award (for example, half the testing phase must be subtracted as well as any time that may have occurred before the patent was issued), FDA’s determination of the length of a regulatory review period for a human drug product will include all of the testing phase and approval phase as specified in 35 U.S.C. 156(g)(1)(B). FDA has approved for marketing the human drug product VASCEPA (icosapent ethyl). VASCEPA is indicated as an adjunct to diet to reduce triglyceride levels in adult patients with severe (≥500 mg/dL) hypertriglyceridemia. Subsequent to this approval, the USPTO received a patent term restoration application for VASCEPA (U.S. Patent No. 8,188,146) from Amarin Pharmaceuticals Ireland Limited, and the USPTO requested FDA’s assistance in determining this patent’s eligibility for patent term restoration. In a letter dated August 31, 2016, FDA advised the USPTO that this human drug product had undergone a regulatory review period and that the approval of VASCEPA represented the first permitted commercial marketing or use of the product. Thereafter, the USPTO requested that FDA determine the product’s regulatory review period. PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 6193 II. Determination of Regulatory Review Period FDA has determined that the applicable regulatory review period for VASCEPA is 1,133 days. Of this time, 828 days occurred during the testing phase of the regulatory review period, while 305 days occurred during the approval phase. These periods of time were derived from the following dates: 1. The date an exemption under section 505(i) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act) (21 U.S.C. 355(i)) became effective: June 21, 2009. The applicant claims June 22, 2009, as the date the investigational new drug application (IND) became effective. However, FDA records indicate that the IND effective date was June 21, 2009, which was 30 days after FDA receipt of the IND. 2. The date the application was initially submitted with respect to the human drug product under section 505(b) of the FD&C Act: September 26, 2011. FDA has verified the applicant’s claim that the new drug application (NDA) for VASCEPA (NDA 202057) was initially submitted on September 26, 2011. 3. The date the application was approved: July 26, 2012. FDA has verified the applicant’s claim that NDA 202057 was approved on July 26, 2012. This determination of the regulatory review period establishes the maximum potential length of a patent extension. However, the USPTO applies several statutory limitations in its calculations of the actual period for patent extension. In its application for patent extension, this applicant seeks 58 days of patent term extension. III. Petitions Anyone with knowledge that any of the dates as published are incorrect may submit either electronic or written comments and, under 21 CFR 60.24, ask for a redetermination (see DATES). Furthermore, as specified in § 60.30 (21 CFR 60.30), any interested person may petition FDA for a determination regarding whether the applicant for extension acted with due diligence during the regulatory review period. To meet its burden, the petition must comply with all the requirements of § 60.30, including but not limited to: Must be timely (see DATES), must be filed in accordance with § 10.20, must contain sufficient facts to merit an FDA investigation, and must certify that a true and complete copy of the petition has been served upon the patent applicant. (See H. Rept. 857, part 1, 98th Cong., 2d sess., pp. 41–42, 1984.) Petitions should be in the format specified in 21 CFR 10.30. E:\FR\FM\13FEN1.SGM 13FEN1 6194 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 13, 2018 / Notices Submit petitions electronically to https://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FDA–2013–S–0610. Submit written petitions (two copies are required) to the Dockets Management Staff (HFA–305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852. Dated: February 5, 2018. Leslie Kux, Associate Commissioner for Policy. [FR Doc. 2018–02851 Filed 2–12–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4164–01–P DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA–2018–N–0536] Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS. ACTION: Notice. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announces a forthcoming public advisory committee meeting of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC). The general function of the committee is to provide advice and recommendations to the Agency on FDA’s regulatory issues. At least one portion of the meeting will be closed to the public. DATES: The meeting will be held on March 1, 2018, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ADDRESSES: FDA White Oak Campus, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 31 Conference Center, the Great Room (Rm. 1503), Silver Spring, MD 20993–0002. Answers to commonly asked questions including information regarding special accommodations due to a disability, visitor parking, and transportation may be accessed at: https://www.fda.gov/ AdvisoryCommittees/AboutAdvisory Committees/ucm408555.htm. For those unable to attend in person, the meeting will also be webcast and will be available at the following link: https://collaboration.fda.gov/ vrbpac030118. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Serina Hunter-Thomas or Rosanna Harvey, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 71, Rm. 6338, Silver Spring, MD 20993–0002, 240–402–5771, serina.hunter-thomas@fda.hhs.gov and 240–402–8072, rosanna.harvey@ fda.hhs.gov, or FDA Advisory sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 23:12 Feb 12, 2018 Jkt 244001 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 the Agency’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 coming to the meeting. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Agenda: On March 1, 2018, under Topic I, the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research’s (CBER) VRBPAC will meet in open session to hear an overview of the research program in the Laboratory of Mucosal Pathogens and Cellular Immunology (LMPCI), Division of Bacterial, Parasitic and Allergenic Products (DBPAP), Office of Vaccines Research and Review (OVRR), CBER, FDA. Also on March 1, 2018, under Topic II, the committee will meet in open session to discuss and make recommendations on the selection of strains to be included in the influenza virus vaccines for the 2018–2019 influenza season. 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 at the location of the advisory committee meeting, and the background material will be posted on FDA’s website after the meeting. Background material is available at https://www.fda.gov/Advisory Committees/Calendar/default.htm. Scroll down to the appropriate advisory committee meeting link. Procedure: On March 1, 2018, from 8 a.m. to 9:15 a.m., and 9:45 a.m. to 5 p.m., the meeting is open to the public. Interested persons may present data, information, or views, orally or in writing, on issues pending before the committee. Written submissions may be made to the contact person on or before February 22, 2018. Oral presentations from the public will be scheduled between approximately 9 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. for the overview portion of the LMPCI Site Visit portion of the meeting, and 2:10 p.m. to 2:55 p.m. for the flu strain selection portion of the meeting. Those individuals interested in making formal oral presentations should notify the contact person and submit a brief PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 9990 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 February 21, 2018. 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 February 22, 2018. Closed Committee Deliberations: On March 1, 2018, from 9:15 a.m. to 9:45 a.m., the meeting will be closed to permit discussion where disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy (5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(6)). The recommendations of the advisory committee regarding the progress of the investigator’s research will, along with other information, be used in making decisions regarding pay adjustments of service fellows or promotion and permanent staff regarding individual scientists. We believe that public discussion of these recommendations on individual scientists would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Persons attending FDA’s advisory committee meetings are advised that the Agency is not responsible for providing access to electrical outlets. 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 Serina HunterThomas 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/Advisory Committees/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. app. 2). Dated: February 7, 2018. Leslie Kux, Associate Commissioner for Policy. [FR Doc. 2018–02853 Filed 2–12–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4164–01–P E:\FR\FM\13FEN1.SGM 13FEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 30 (Tuesday, February 13, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6192-6194]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-02851]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2013-E-0780]


Determination of Regulatory Review Period for Purposes of Patent 
Extension; VASCEPA

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or the Agency) has 
determined the regulatory review period for VASCEPA and is publishing 
this notice of that determination as required by law. FDA has made the 
determination because of the submission of an application to the 
Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Department of 
Commerce, for the extension of a patent which claims that human drug 
product.

DATES: Anyone with knowledge that any of the dates as published (in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section) are incorrect may submit either 
electronic or written comments and ask for a redetermination by April 
16, 2018. Furthermore, any interested person may petition FDA for a 
determination regarding whether the applicant for extension acted with 
due diligence during the regulatory review period by August 13, 2018. 
See ``Petitions'' in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for more 
information.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments as follows. Please note that late, 
untimely filed comments will not be considered. Electronic comments 
must be submitted on or before April 16, 2018. The https://www.regulations.gov electronic filing system will accept comments until 
midnight Eastern Time at the end of April 16, 2018. Comments received 
by mail/hand delivery/courier (for written/paper submissions) will be 
considered timely if they are postmarked or the delivery service 
acceptance receipt is on or before that date.

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

[[Page 6193]]

information submitted, marked and identified, as confidential, if 
submitted as detailed in ``Instructions.''
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket No. 
FDA-2013-E-0780 for ``Determination of Regulatory Review Period for 
Purposes of Patent Extension; VASCEPA.'' 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.
     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 Sec.  10.20 (21 CFR 10.20) and 
other applicable disclosure law. For more information about FDA's 
posting of comments to public dockets, see 80 FR 56469, September 18, 
2015, or access the information at: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beverly Friedman, Office of Regulatory 
Policy, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 
51, Rm. 6250, Silver Spring, MD 20993, 301-796-3600.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 
(Pub. L. 98-417) and the Generic Animal Drug and Patent Term 
Restoration Act (Pub. L. 100-670) generally provide that a patent may 
be extended for a period of up to 5 years so long as the patented item 
(human drug product, animal drug product, medical device, food 
additive, or color additive) was subject to regulatory review by FDA 
before the item was marketed. Under these acts, a product's regulatory 
review period forms the basis for determining the amount of extension 
an applicant may receive.
    A regulatory review period consists of two periods of time: A 
testing phase and an approval phase. For human drug products, the 
testing phase begins when the exemption to permit the clinical 
investigations of the drug becomes effective and runs until the 
approval phase begins. The approval phase starts with the initial 
submission of an application to market the human drug product and 
continues until FDA grants permission to market the drug product. 
Although only a portion of a regulatory review period may count toward 
the actual amount of extension that the Director of USPTO may award 
(for example, half the testing phase must be subtracted as well as any 
time that may have occurred before the patent was issued), FDA's 
determination of the length of a regulatory review period for a human 
drug product will include all of the testing phase and approval phase 
as specified in 35 U.S.C. 156(g)(1)(B).
    FDA has approved for marketing the human drug product VASCEPA 
(icosapent ethyl). VASCEPA is indicated as an adjunct to diet to reduce 
triglyceride levels in adult patients with severe (>=500 mg/dL) 
hypertriglyceridemia. Subsequent to this approval, the USPTO received a 
patent term restoration application for VASCEPA (U.S. Patent No. 
8,188,146) from Amarin Pharmaceuticals Ireland Limited, and the USPTO 
requested FDA's assistance in determining this patent's eligibility for 
patent term restoration. In a letter dated August 31, 2016, FDA advised 
the USPTO that this human drug product had undergone a regulatory 
review period and that the approval of VASCEPA represented the first 
permitted commercial marketing or use of the product. Thereafter, the 
USPTO requested that FDA determine the product's regulatory review 
period.

II. Determination of Regulatory Review Period

    FDA has determined that the applicable regulatory review period for 
VASCEPA is 1,133 days. Of this time, 828 days occurred during the 
testing phase of the regulatory review period, while 305 days occurred 
during the approval phase. These periods of time were derived from the 
following dates:
    1. The date an exemption under section 505(i) of the Federal Food, 
Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act) (21 U.S.C. 355(i)) became 
effective: June 21, 2009. The applicant claims June 22, 2009, as the 
date the investigational new drug application (IND) became effective. 
However, FDA records indicate that the IND effective date was June 21, 
2009, which was 30 days after FDA receipt of the IND.
    2. The date the application was initially submitted with respect to 
the human drug product under section 505(b) of the FD&C Act: September 
26, 2011. FDA has verified the applicant's claim that the new drug 
application (NDA) for VASCEPA (NDA 202057) was initially submitted on 
September 26, 2011.
    3. The date the application was approved: July 26, 2012. FDA has 
verified the applicant's claim that NDA 202057 was approved on July 26, 
2012.
    This determination of the regulatory review period establishes the 
maximum potential length of a patent extension. However, the USPTO 
applies several statutory limitations in its calculations of the actual 
period for patent extension. In its application for patent extension, 
this applicant seeks 58 days of patent term extension.

III. Petitions

    Anyone with knowledge that any of the dates as published are 
incorrect may submit either electronic or written comments and, under 
21 CFR 60.24, ask for a redetermination (see DATES). Furthermore, as 
specified in Sec.  60.30 (21 CFR 60.30), any interested person may 
petition FDA for a determination regarding whether the applicant for 
extension acted with due diligence during the regulatory review period. 
To meet its burden, the petition must comply with all the requirements 
of Sec.  60.30, including but not limited to: Must be timely (see 
DATES), must be filed in accordance with Sec.  10.20, must contain 
sufficient facts to merit an FDA investigation, and must certify that a 
true and complete copy of the petition has been served upon the patent 
applicant. (See H. Rept. 857, part 1, 98th Cong., 2d sess., pp. 41-42, 
1984.) Petitions should be in the format specified in 21 CFR 10.30.

[[Page 6194]]

    Submit petitions electronically to https://www.regulations.gov at 
Docket No. FDA-2013-S-0610. Submit written petitions (two copies are 
required) to the Dockets Management Staff (HFA-305), Food and Drug 
Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.

    Dated: February 5, 2018.
Leslie Kux,
Associate Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2018-02851 Filed 2-12-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4164-01-P
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