Department of Health and Human Services December 12, 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing the availability of a draft guidance for industry and FDA staff entitled ``Biomarker Qualification: Evidentiary Framework.'' This draft guidance provides recommendations on general considerations to address when developing a biomarker for qualification under the 21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act), enacted on December 13, 2016, that added a new section to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act). Qualification of a biomarker is a determination that within the stated context of use, the biomarker can be relied on to have a specific interpretation and application in drug development and regulatory review.

The President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities (PCPID) will host a webinar/conference call for its members to discuss the potential topics of the Committee's 2019 Report to the President. All the PCPID meetings, in any format, are open to the public. This virtual meeting will be conducted in a discussion format.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing the availability of a final guidance for industry entitled ``Interpretation of the `Deemed To Be a License' Provision of the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009.'' This guidance describes FDA's interpretation of the statutory provision under which an application for a biological product approved under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) as of March 23, 2020, will be deemed to be a license for the biological product under the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act) on March 23, 2020. Specifically, this guidance describes FDA's interpretation of the ``deemed to be a license'' provision of the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 (BPCI Act) for biological products that are approved under the FD&C Act as of March 23, 2020. This guidance also provides recommendations to sponsors of proposed protein products intended for submission in an application that may not receive final approval under the FD&C Act on or before March 23, 2020, to facilitate alignment of product development plans with FDA's interpretation of the transition provision of the BPCI Act.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing the availability of a draft guidance for industry entitled ``New and Revised Draft Q&As on Biosimilar Development and the BPCI Act (Revision 2).'' The question and answer (Q&A) format is intended to inform prospective applicants and facilitate the development of proposed biosimilars and proposed interchangeable biosimilars, as well as to describe FDA's interpretation of certain statutory requirements added by the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 (BPCI Act). This draft guidance document revises the draft guidance document entitled ``Biosimilars: Additional Questions and Answers Regarding Implementation of the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009,'' issued May 13, 2015, to provide new and revised Q&As.