Department of Health and Human Services July 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is issuing an order under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act) permanently debarring Talib Khan from providing services in any capacity to a person that has an approved or pending drug product application. FDA bases this order on a finding that Mr. Khan was convicted of two felonies under Federal law for conduct relating to the regulation of a drug product. Mr. Khan was given notice of the proposed permanent debarment and an opportunity to request a hearing within the timeframe prescribed by regulation. Mr. Khan failed to respond. Mr. Khan's failure to respond constitutes a waiver of his right to a hearing concerning this action.

This notice announces the intention of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approve the proposed information collection project: ``Assessing the Impact of the National Implementation of TeamSTEPPS Master Training Program.'' In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520, AHRQ invites the public to comment on this proposed information collection. This proposed information collection was previously published in the Federal Register on April 10th, 2015 and allowed 60 days for public comment. No substantive comments were received. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comment.

Under the provisions of section 3507(a)(1)(D) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for review and approval of the information collection listed below. This proposed information collection was previously published in the Federal Register on April 22, 2015, page 22542 and allowed 60-days for public comment. One public comment was received. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comment. The National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health, may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection that has been extended, revised, or implemented on or after October 1, 1995, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Direct Comments to OMB: Written comments and/or suggestions regarding the item(s) contained in this notice, especially regarding the estimated public burden and associated response time, should be directed to the: Office of Management and Budget, Office of Regulatory Affairs, OIRA_submission@omb.eop.gov or by fax to 202-395-6974, Attention: NIH Desk Officer. Comment Due Date: Comments regarding this information collection are best assured of having their full effect if received within 30-days of the date of this publication.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is announcing an opportunity for the public to comment on CMS' intention to collect information from the public. 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 or reinstatement of an existing collection of information) and to allow 60 days for public comment on the proposed action. Interested persons are invited to send comments regarding our burden estimates or any other aspect of this collection of information, including any of the following subjects: (1) The necessity and utility of the proposed information collection for the proper performance of the agency's functions; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology to minimize the information collection burden.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing the availability of a draft guidance for industry entitled ``Qualification of BiomarkerPlasma Fibrinogen in Studies Examining Exacerbations and/or All-Cause Mortality in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.'' This draft guidance provides a qualified context of use (COU) for plasma fibrinogen in interventional clinical trials of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) subjects at high risk for exacerbations and/or all-cause mortality. This draft guidance also describes the experimental conditions and constraints for which this biomarker is qualified through the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) Biomarker Qualification Program. This biomarker can be used by drug developers for the qualified COU in submissions of investigational new drug applications (INDs), new drug applications (NDAs), and biologics license applications (BLAs) without the relevant CDER review group reconsidering and reconfirming the suitability of the biomarker. In the Federal Register of January 7, 2014, FDA announced the availability of a final guidance for industry entitled ``Qualification Process for Drug Development Tools'' that described the process that would be used to qualify drug development tools (DDTs) and to make new DDT qualification recommendations available on FDA's Web site. The qualification recommendations in this draft guidance were developed using the process described in that guidance.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is denying Chung Po Liu's (Liu) request for a hearing and is issuing an order under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act) debarring Liu for 5 years from importing articles of food or offering such articles for importation into the United States. FDA bases this order on a finding that Liu was convicted of a felony for conduct relating to the importation of an article of food into the United States. In determining the appropriateness and period of Liu's debarment, FDA has considered the relevant factors listed in the FD&C Act. Liu has failed to file with the Agency information and analysis sufficient to create a basis for a hearing concerning this action.

This document corrects a technical error that appeared in the final rule published in the February 27, 2015 Federal Register (80 FR 10749) entitled ``Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; HHS Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2016.''

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is publishing this notice of petitions received under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (the Program), as required by Section 2112(b)(2) of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act, as amended. While the Secretary of Health and Human Services is named as the respondent in all proceedings brought by the filing of petitions for compensation under the Program, the United States Court of Federal Claims is charged by statute with responsibility for considering and acting upon the petitions.

In accordance with section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463), notice is hereby given of the following meeting of the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice (NACNEP).

This notice announces the public meeting of the Advisory Council on Alzheimer's Research, Care, and Services (Advisory Council). The Advisory Council on Alzheimer's Research, Care, and Services provides advice on how to prevent or reduce the burden of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias on people with the disease and their caregivers. During the July meeting, the Advisory Council will hear from experts on related dementias, such as Frontotemporal dementia, Lewy Body dementia, and others. Following this session, the Advisory Council will also hold a discussion of the expected bypass budget from NIA, required in the CRomnibus Bill. The Council will also discuss updates to international events on dementia.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is announcing the availability of a guidance for industry entitled ``DSCSA Implementation: Product Tracing Requirements for DispensersCompliance Policy.'' This guidance announces FDA's intention with regard to enforcement of certain product tracing requirements of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) added by the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA). FDA does not intend to take action against dispensers who, prior to November 1, 2015, accept ownership of product without receiving product tracing information, prior to or at the time of a transaction or do not capture and maintain the product tracing information, as required by the FD&C Act.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the biologics regulations by removing the general safety test (GST) requirements for biological products. FDA is finalizing this action because the existing codified GST regulations are duplicative of requirements that are also specified in biologics license applications (BLAs), or are no longer necessary or appropriate to help ensure the safety, purity, and potency of licensed biological products. FDA is taking this action as part of its retrospective review of its regulations to promote improvement and innovation, in response to the Executive order.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing its intention to take enforcement action against unapproved and misbranded otic drug products labeled for prescription use and containing benzocaine; benzocaine and antipyrine; benzocaine, antipyrine, and zinc acetate; benzocaine, chloroxylenol, and hydrocortisone; chloroxylenol and pramoxine; or chloroxylenol, pramoxine, and hydrocortisone; and against persons who manufacture or cause the manufacture or distribution of such products in interstate commerce. These unapproved and misbranded prescription drug products are marketed without evidence of safety and effectiveness; may present safety concerns; and pose a direct challenge to the new drug approval system and, in some cases, the over-the-counter (OTC) drug monograph system.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing that a proposed collection of information has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

In accordance with section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App. 2, this notice announces a meeting of the National Advisory Council for Healthcare Research and Quality.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is announcing an opportunity for the public to comment on CMS' intention to collect information from the public. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension or reinstatement of an existing collection of information, and to allow a second opportunity for public comment on the notice. Interested persons are invited to send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including any of the following subjects: (1) The necessity and utility of the proposed information collection for the proper performance of the agency's functions; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology to minimize the information collection burden.