Department of Health and Human Services March 1, 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Office for Human Research Protections, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OHRP), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are announcing the availability of a draft guidance entitled ``Key Information and Facilitating Understanding in Informed Consent.'' This draft guidance provides recommendations related to two provisions of the revised Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects (the revised Common Rule) by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and identical provisions in FDA's proposed rule ``Protection of Human Subjects and Institutional Review Boards.'' FDA's proposed rule, if finalized, would harmonize certain sections of FDA's regulations on human subject protections and institutional review boards (IRBs), to the extent practicable and consistent with other statutory provisions, with the revised Common Rule, in accordance with the 21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act). The guidance addresses the provisions of the revised Common Rule that require informed consent to begin with key information about the research and to present information in a way that facilitates understanding and identical provisions in FDA's proposed rule.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing the availability of a final guidance for industry entitled ``Clinical Pharmacology Considerations for Antibody-Drug Conjugates,'' which provides recommendations for the development of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Specifically, this guidance addresses the FDA's current thinking regarding clinical pharmacology considerations and recommendations for ADC development programs, including bioanalytical methods, dose selection and adjustment, dose- and exposure-response analysis, intrinsic factors, QTc assessments, immunogenicity, and drug- drug interactions (DDIs) for ADCs with a cytotoxic small-molecule drug or payload. Currently, there are no final FDA guidances outlining the clinical pharmacology considerations for ADCs. This guidance finalizes the draft guidance of the same title issued on February 8, 2022.

The invention listed below is owned by an agency of the U.S. Government and is available for licensing 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.

Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, U.S.C. Appendix 2, notice is hereby given that the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections (SACHRP) will hold a meeting that will be open to the public. Information about SACHRP, the full meeting agenda, and instructions for linking to public access will be posted on the SACHRP website at https://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/sachrp- committee/meetings/.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) notifies Federal agencies of the laboratories and Instrumented Initial Testing Facilities (IITFs) currently certified to meet the standards of the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs (Mandatory Guidelines) using Urine and the laboratories currently certified to meet the standards of the Mandatory Guidelines using Oral Fluid.