Department of Health and Human Services January 12, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The inventions listed below are owned by an agency of the U.S. Government and are available for licensing in the U.S. in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 207 to achieve expeditious commercialization of results of federally-funded research and development. Foreign patent applications are filed on selected inventions to extend market coverage for companies and may also be available for licensing.

Section 602 of Public Law 102-585, the ``Veterans Health Care Act of 1992,'' enacted Section 340B of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act ``Limitation on Prices of Drugs Purchased by Covered Entities.'' Section 340B provides that in order to obtain Medicaid reimbursement for its covered outpatient drugs, a manufacturer must sign a pharmaceutical pricing agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human Services in which the manufacturer agrees to charge a price to covered entities for outpatient drugs that will not exceed an amount determined under a statutory formula. Section 340B is administered as the ``340B Drug Pricing Program'' and is commonly referred to as ``the 340B Program.'' Section 340B states that it is illegal for covered entities to sell medications purchased under the 340B Program to persons who are not considered ``patients'' of the covered entity. The purpose of this notice is to inform interested parties of proposed clarifications to the definition of ``patient'' for whom the covered entity can purchase discounted pharmaceuticals under the 340B Program. This clarification is necessary to protect the integrity of the 340B Program and to assist covered entities and other participants in their compliance efforts.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (the PRA), Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension of an existing collection of information, and to allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This notice solicits comments on information collection regarding the manufacture of infant formula, including infant formula labeling, quality control procedures, notification requirements, and recordkeeping.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a direct final rule that appeared in the Federal Register of September 25, 2006 (71 FR 55729), that would have amended certain classification regulations for reprocessed single-use devices (SUDs) whose exemption from premarket notification (510(k)) requirements have been terminated and other reprocessed SUDs already subject to premarket notification for which validation data, as specified under the Medical Device User Fee and Modernization Act of 2002, are necessary in a 510(k). FDA stated in the direct final rule that, if it received a significant adverse comment by December 11, 2006, FDA would publish a notice of withdrawal. FDA received two comments and considers at least one of these comments a significant adverse comment and, therefore, is withdrawing the direct final rule. Accordingly, the agency will consider the comments received under our usual procedures for notice and comment in connection with the notice of proposed rulemaking that was published in the Federal Register of September 25, 2006 (71 FR 55748) as a companion to the direct final rule.