Biopharmaceutics Classification System-Based Biowaivers; International Council for Harmonisation; Draft Guidance for Industry; Availability, 54107-54108 [2018-23425]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 208 / Friday, October 26, 2018 / Notices available for inspection at the offices of the Board of Governors. Interested persons may express their views in writing on the standards enumerated in the BHC Act (12 U.S.C. 1842(c)). If the proposal also involves the acquisition of a nonbanking company, the review also includes whether the acquisition of the nonbanking company complies with the standards in section 4 of the BHC Act (12 U.S.C. 1843). Unless otherwise noted, nonbanking activities will be conducted throughout the United States. Unless otherwise noted, comments regarding each of these applications must be received at the Reserve Bank indicated or the offices of the Board of Governors not later than November 23, 2018. A. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston (Prabal Chakrabarti, Senior Vice President) 600 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02210–2204. Comments can also be sent electronically to BOS.SRC.Applications.Comments@ bos.frb.org: 1. Hometown Financial Group, MHC and Hometown Financial Group, Inc., both of Easthampton, Massachusetts; to merge with Pilgrim Bancshares, Inc., and thereby acquire Pilgrim Bank, both of Cohasset, Massachusetts. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, October 23, 2018. Yao-Chin Chao, Assistant Secretary of the Board. [FR Doc. 2018–23449 Filed 10–25–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE P DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA–2018–D–3614] Biopharmaceutics Classification System-Based Biowaivers; International Council for Harmonisation; Draft Guidance for Industry; Availability AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS. ACTION: Notice of availability. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing the availability of a draft guidance for industry entitled ‘‘Biopharmaceutics Classification System-Based Biowaivers.’’ The draft guidance was prepared under the auspices of the International Council for Harmonisation (ICH), formerly the International Conference on Harmonisation. The draft guidance will provide recommendations to support khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:32 Oct 25, 2018 Jkt 247001 the biopharmaceutics classification of drug substances and the Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS)-based waiver of in vivo bioequivalence (BE) studies for drug products. In vivo BE studies are needed to demonstrate lack of impact of significant formulation changes on a drug’s bioavailability during its development, for post-approval line extensions, and when developing a generic product. Utilizing the critical properties of the drug substance and the drug product, and applying the BCS framework, assurance of in vivo BE findings can be obtained using extensive in vitro studies. The draft guidance is intended to avoid unnecessary human BE trials based on extensive in vitro characterization of the drug substance and drug product properties. DATES: Submit either electronic or written comments on the draft guidance by January 24, 2019 to ensure that the Agency considers your comment on this draft guidance before it begins work on the final version of the guidance. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on any guidance at any time as follows: Electronic Submissions Submit electronic comments in the following way: • Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Comments submitted electronically, including attachments, to https:// www.regulations.gov will be posted to the docket unchanged. Because your comment will be made public, you are solely responsible for ensuring that your comment does not include any confidential information that you or a third party may not wish to be posted, such as medical information, your or anyone else’s Social Security number, or confidential business information, such as a manufacturing process. Please note that if you include your name, contact information, or other information that identifies you in the body of your comments, that information will be posted on https://www.regulations.gov. • If you want to submit a comment with confidential information that you do not wish to be made available to the public, submit the comment as a written/paper submission and in the manner detailed (see ‘‘Written/Paper Submissions’’ and ‘‘Instructions’’). Written/Paper Submissions Submit written/paper submissions as follows: • Mail/Hand delivery/Courier (for written/paper submissions): Dockets Management Staff (HFA–305), Food and PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 54107 Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852. • For written/paper comments submitted to the Dockets Management Staff, FDA will post your comment, as well as any attachments, except for information submitted, marked and identified, as confidential, if submitted as detailed in ‘‘Instructions.’’ Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket No. FDA– 2018–D–3614 for ‘‘Biopharmaceutics Classification System-Based Biowaivers.’’ Received comments will be placed in the docket and, except for those submitted as ‘‘Confidential Submissions,’’ publicly viewable at https://www.regulations.gov or at the Dockets Management Staff between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. • Confidential Submissions—To submit a comment with confidential information that you do not wish to be made publicly available, submit your comments only as a written/paper submission. You should submit two copies total. One copy will include the information you claim to be confidential with a heading or cover note that states ‘‘THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.’’ The Agency will review this copy, including the claimed confidential information, in its consideration of comments. The second copy, which will have the claimed confidential information redacted/blacked out, will be available for public viewing and posted on https://www.regulations.gov. Submit both copies to the Dockets Management Staff. If you do not wish your name and contact information to be made publicly available, you can provide this information on the cover sheet and not in the body of your comments and you must identify this information as ‘‘confidential.’’ Any information marked as ‘‘confidential’’ will not be disclosed except in accordance with 21 CFR 10.20 and other applicable disclosure law. For more information about FDA’s posting of comments to public dockets, see 80 FR 56469, September 18, 2015, or access the information at: https://www.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. E:\FR\FM\26OCN1.SGM 26OCN1 54108 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 208 / Friday, October 26, 2018 / Notices You may submit comments on any guidance at any time (see 21 CFR 10.115(g)(5)). Submit written requests for single copies of this guidance to the Division of Drug Information, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, 10001 New Hampshire Ave., Hillandale Building, 4th Floor, Silver Spring, MD 20993– 0002, or the Office of Communication, Outreach and Development, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 71, Rm. 3128, Silver Spring, MD 20993– 0002. Send one self-addressed adhesive label to assist that office in processing your requests. The guidance may also be obtained by mail by calling CBER at 1– 800–835–4709 or 240–402–8010. See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for electronic access to the guidance document. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Regarding the guidance: Mehul Mehta, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Bldg. 51, Rm. 2178, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20993–0002, 301–796–1573. Regarding the ICH: Amanda Roache, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 51, Rm. 1176, Silver Spring, MD 20993–0002, 301–796–4548. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with NOTICES I. Background In recent years, regulatory authorities and industry associations from around the world have participated in many important initiatives to promote international harmonization of regulatory requirements under the ICH. FDA has participated in several ICH meetings designed to enhance harmonization, and FDA is committed to seeking scientifically based harmonized technical procedures for pharmaceutical development. One of the goals of harmonization is to identify and reduce differences in technical requirements for drug development among regulatory Agencies. ICH was established to provide an opportunity for harmonization initiatives to be developed with input from both regulatory and industry representatives. FDA also seeks input from consumer representatives and others. ICH is concerned with harmonization of technical requirements for the registration of pharmaceutical products for human use among regulators around the world. The six founding members of the ICH are the VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:32 Oct 25, 2018 Jkt 247001 European Commission; the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries Associations; FDA; the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare; the Japanese Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association; and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. The Standing Members of the ICH Association include Health Canada and Swissmedic. Any party eligible as a Member in accordance with the ICH Articles of Association can apply for membership in writing to the ICH Secretariat. The ICH Secretariat, which coordinates the preparation of documentation, operates as an international nonprofit organization and is funded by the Members of the ICH Association. The ICH Assembly is the overarching body of the Association and includes representatives from each of the ICH members and observers. The Assembly is responsible for the endorsement of draft guidelines and adoption of final guidelines. FDA publishes ICH guidelines as FDA guidance. In May 2018, the ICH Assembly endorsed the draft guideline entitled ‘‘Biopharmaceutics Classification System-Based Biowaivers’’ and agreed that the guideline should be made available for public comment. The draft guideline is the product of the Multidisciplinary M9 Expert Working Group of the ICH. Comments about this draft will be considered by FDA and the Multidisciplinary M9 Expert Working Group. The draft guidance provides guidance on the biopharmaceutics classification of drug substances and the BCS-based waiver of in vivo BE studies for drug products. This draft guidance is being issued consistent with FDA’s good guidance practices regulation (21 CFR 10.115). The draft guidance, when finalized, will represent the current thinking of FDA on ‘‘Biopharmaceutics Classification System-Based Biowaivers.’’ It does not establish any rights for any person and is not binding on FDA or the public. You can use an alternative approach if it satisfies the requirements of the applicable statutes and regulations. This guidance is not subject to Executive Order 12866. II. Electronic Access Persons with access to the internet may obtain the draft guidance at https:// www.fda.gov/Drugs/ GuidanceComplianceRegulatory Information/Guidances/default.htm, https://www.regulations.gov, or https:// www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/ GuidanceCompliance PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 RegulatoryInformation/Guidances/ default.htm. Dated: October 22, 2018. Leslie Kux, Associate Commissioner for Policy. [FR Doc. 2018–23425 Filed 10–25–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4164–01–P DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket Nos. FDA–2017–E–4274; FDA– 2016–E–3887] Determination of Regulatory Review Period for Purposes of Patent Extension; TALTZ AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS. ACTION: Notice. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or the Agency) has determined the regulatory review period for TALTZ and is publishing this notice of that determination as required by law. FDA has made the determination because of the submission of applications 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 biological 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 December 26, 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 April 24, 2019. 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 December 26, 2018. The https://www.regulations.gov electronic filing system will accept comments until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time at the end of December 26, 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. SUMMARY: Electronic Submissions Submit electronic comments in the following way: E:\FR\FM\26OCN1.SGM 26OCN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 208 (Friday, October 26, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54107-54108]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-23425]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2018-D-3614]


Biopharmaceutics Classification System-Based Biowaivers; 
International Council for Harmonisation; Draft Guidance for Industry; 
Availability

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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

SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing 
the availability of a draft guidance for industry entitled 
``Biopharmaceutics Classification System-Based Biowaivers.'' The draft 
guidance was prepared under the auspices of the International Council 
for Harmonisation (ICH), formerly the International Conference on 
Harmonisation. The draft guidance will provide recommendations to 
support the biopharmaceutics classification of drug substances and the 
Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS)-based waiver of in vivo 
bioequivalence (BE) studies for drug products. In vivo BE studies are 
needed to demonstrate lack of impact of significant formulation changes 
on a drug's bioavailability during its development, for post-approval 
line extensions, and when developing a generic product. Utilizing the 
critical properties of the drug substance and the drug product, and 
applying the BCS framework, assurance of in vivo BE findings can be 
obtained using extensive in vitro studies. The draft guidance is 
intended to avoid unnecessary human BE trials based on extensive in 
vitro characterization of the drug substance and drug product 
properties.

DATES: Submit either electronic or written comments on the draft 
guidance by January 24, 2019 to ensure that the Agency considers your 
comment on this draft guidance before it begins work on the final 
version of the guidance.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on any guidance at any time as 
follows:

Electronic Submissions

    Submit electronic comments in the following way:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Comments submitted 
electronically, including attachments, to https://www.regulations.gov 
will be posted to the docket unchanged. Because your comment will be 
made public, you are solely responsible for ensuring that your comment 
does not include any confidential information that you or a third party 
may not wish to be posted, such as medical information, your or anyone 
else's Social Security number, or confidential business information, 
such as a manufacturing process. Please note that if you include your 
name, contact information, or other information that identifies you in 
the body of your comments, that information will be posted on https://www.regulations.gov.
     If you want to submit a comment with confidential 
information that you do not wish to be made available to the public, 
submit the comment as a written/paper submission and in the manner 
detailed (see ``Written/Paper Submissions'' and ``Instructions'').

Written/Paper Submissions

    Submit written/paper submissions as follows:
     Mail/Hand delivery/Courier (for written/paper 
submissions): Dockets Management Staff (HFA-305), Food and Drug 
Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
     For written/paper comments submitted to the Dockets 
Management Staff, FDA will post your comment, as well as any 
attachments, except for information submitted, marked and identified, 
as confidential, if submitted as detailed in ``Instructions.''
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket No. 
FDA-2018-D-3614 for ``Biopharmaceutics Classification System-Based 
Biowaivers.'' Received comments will be placed in the docket and, 
except for those submitted as ``Confidential Submissions,'' publicly 
viewable at https://www.regulations.gov or at the Dockets Management 
Staff between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
     Confidential Submissions--To submit a comment with 
confidential information that you do not wish to be made publicly 
available, submit your comments only as a written/paper submission. You 
should submit two copies total. One copy will include the information 
you claim to be confidential with a heading or cover note that states 
``THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.'' The Agency will 
review this copy, including the claimed confidential information, in 
its consideration of comments. The second copy, which will have the 
claimed confidential information redacted/blacked out, will be 
available for public viewing and posted on https://www.regulations.gov. 
Submit both copies to the Dockets Management Staff. If you do not wish 
your name and contact information to be made publicly available, you 
can provide this information on the cover sheet and not in the body of 
your comments and you must identify this information as 
``confidential.'' Any information marked as ``confidential'' will not 
be disclosed except in accordance with 21 CFR 10.20 and other 
applicable disclosure law. For more information about FDA's posting of 
comments to public dockets, see 80 FR 56469, September 18, 2015, or 
access the information at: https://www.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.

[[Page 54108]]

    You may submit comments on any guidance at any time (see 21 CFR 
10.115(g)(5)).
    Submit written requests for single copies of this guidance to the 
Division of Drug Information, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, 
Food and Drug Administration, 10001 New Hampshire Ave., Hillandale 
Building, 4th Floor, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, or the Office of 
Communication, Outreach and Development, Center for Biologics 
Evaluation and Research (CBER), Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New 
Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 71, Rm. 3128, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002. Send 
one self-addressed adhesive label to assist that office in processing 
your requests. The guidance may also be obtained by mail by calling 
CBER at 1-800-835-4709 or 240-402-8010. See the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section for electronic access to the guidance document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    Regarding the guidance: Mehul Mehta, Center for Drug Evaluation and 
Research, Food and Drug Administration, Bldg. 51, Rm. 2178, 10903 New 
Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, 301-796-1573.
    Regarding the ICH: Amanda Roache, Center for Drug Evaluation and 
Research, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 
51, Rm. 1176, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, 301-796-4548.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    In recent years, regulatory authorities and industry associations 
from around the world have participated in many important initiatives 
to promote international harmonization of regulatory requirements under 
the ICH. FDA has participated in several ICH meetings designed to 
enhance harmonization, and FDA is committed to seeking scientifically 
based harmonized technical procedures for pharmaceutical development. 
One of the goals of harmonization is to identify and reduce differences 
in technical requirements for drug development among regulatory 
Agencies.
    ICH was established to provide an opportunity for harmonization 
initiatives to be developed with input from both regulatory and 
industry representatives. FDA also seeks input from consumer 
representatives and others. ICH is concerned with harmonization of 
technical requirements for the registration of pharmaceutical products 
for human use among regulators around the world. The six founding 
members of the ICH are the European Commission; the European Federation 
of Pharmaceutical Industries Associations; FDA; the Japanese Ministry 
of Health, Labour, and Welfare; the Japanese Pharmaceutical 
Manufacturers Association; and the Pharmaceutical Research and 
Manufacturers of America. The Standing Members of the ICH Association 
include Health Canada and Swissmedic. Any party eligible as a Member in 
accordance with the ICH Articles of Association can apply for 
membership in writing to the ICH Secretariat. The ICH Secretariat, 
which coordinates the preparation of documentation, operates as an 
international nonprofit organization and is funded by the Members of 
the ICH Association.
    The ICH Assembly is the overarching body of the Association and 
includes representatives from each of the ICH members and observers. 
The Assembly is responsible for the endorsement of draft guidelines and 
adoption of final guidelines. FDA publishes ICH guidelines as FDA 
guidance.
    In May 2018, the ICH Assembly endorsed the draft guideline entitled 
``Biopharmaceutics Classification System-Based Biowaivers'' and agreed 
that the guideline should be made available for public comment. The 
draft guideline is the product of the Multidisciplinary M9 Expert 
Working Group of the ICH. Comments about this draft will be considered 
by FDA and the Multidisciplinary M9 Expert Working Group.
    The draft guidance provides guidance on the biopharmaceutics 
classification of drug substances and the BCS-based waiver of in vivo 
BE studies for drug products.
    This draft guidance is being issued consistent with FDA's good 
guidance practices regulation (21 CFR 10.115). The draft guidance, when 
finalized, will represent the current thinking of FDA on 
``Biopharmaceutics Classification System-Based Biowaivers.'' It does 
not establish any rights for any person and is not binding on FDA or 
the public. You can use an alternative approach if it satisfies the 
requirements of the applicable statutes and regulations. This guidance 
is not subject to Executive Order 12866.

II. Electronic Access

    Persons with access to the internet may obtain the draft guidance 
at https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Guidances/default.htm, https://www.regulations.gov, or https://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Guidances/default.htm.

    Dated: October 22, 2018.
Leslie Kux,
Associate Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2018-23425 Filed 10-25-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4164-01-P
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.