81_FR_26893 81 FR 26807 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review; Comment Request; Market Claims in Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Print Ads

81 FR 26807 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review; Comment Request; Market Claims in Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Print Ads

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Food and Drug Administration

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 86 (May 4, 2016)

Page Range26807-26811
FR Document2016-10396

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.

Federal Register, Volume 81 Issue 86 (Wednesday, May 4, 2016)
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 86 (Wednesday, May 4, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26807-26811]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-10396]



[[Page 26807]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2015-N-2406]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for Office 
of Management and Budget Review; Comment Request; Market Claims in 
Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Print Ads

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: 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.

DATES: Fax written comments on the collection of information by June 3, 
2016.

ADDRESSES: To ensure that comments on the information collection are 
received, OMB recommends that written comments be faxed to the Office 
of Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attn: FDA Desk Officer, 
FAX: 202-395-7285, or emailed to [email protected]. All 
comments should be identified with the OMB control number 0910--NEW and 
title, ``Market Claims in Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Print 
Ads.'' Also include the FDA docket number found in brackets in the 
heading of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: FDA PRA Staff, Office of Operations, 
Food and Drug Administration, 8455 Colesville Rd., COLE-14526, Silver 
Spring, MD 20993-002, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In compliance with 44 U.S.C. 3507, FDA has 
submitted the following proposed collection of information to OMB for 
review and clearance.

Market Claims in Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Print Ads--OMB 
Control Number 0910--NEW

    Section 1701(a)(4) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
300u(a)(4)) authorizes FDA to conduct research relating to health 
information. Section 1003(d)(2)(C) of the Federal Food, Drug, and 
Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act) (21 U.S.C. 393(d)(2)(C)) authorizes FDA to 
conduct research relating to drugs and other FDA regulated products in 
carrying out the provisions of the FD&C Act.
    The marketing literature divides product attributes (``cues'') into 
intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic cues are physical characteristics of 
the product (e.g., size, shape), whereas extrinsic cues are product-
related but not part of the product (e.g., price and brand name) (Refs. 
1 and 2). Research has found that both intrinsic and extrinsic cues can 
influence perceptions of product quality (Ref. 3). Consumers may rely 
on product cues in the absence of explicit quality information. The 
objective quality of prescription drugs is not easily obtained from 
promotional claims in direct-to-consumer (DTC) ads; thus consumers may 
rely upon extrinsic cues to inform their decisions. Market claims such 
as ``#1 Prescribed'' and ``New'' may act as extrinsic cues about the 
product's quality, independent of the product's intrinsic 
characteristics. Prior research has found that market leadership claims 
can affect consumer beliefs about product efficacy, as well as their 
beliefs about doctors' judgments about product efficacy (Ref. 4). One 
limitation of these prior studies is the lack of quantitative 
information about product efficacy in the information provided to 
respondents. Research indicates that providing consumers with efficacy 
information generally improves understanding and facilitates 
decisionmaking (Refs. 5 and 6). Efficacy information may moderate the 
effect of the extrinsic cue by providing insight into characteristics 
that would otherwise be unknown. Other research has shown that 
consumers are able to use information about efficacy to inform 
judgments about the product (Refs. 6 and 7).
    The Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (OPDP) plans to 
investigate, through empirical research, the impact of market claims on 
prescription drug product perceptions with and without quantitative 
information about product efficacy. This will be investigated in DTC 
print advertising for prescription drugs.

I. Design Overview and Procedure

    The design consists of two parts: A main study and a followup 
study. We will conduct two sequential pretest waves prior to the main 
study and one pretest prior to the followup study. The purpose of the 
pretests are to (1) ensure the stimuli are understandable and viewable, 
(2) identify and address any challenges to embedding the stimuli within 
the online survey, and (3) ensure the study questions are appropriate 
and meet the study's goals.
    Participants in the main study will be randomly assigned to view 
one of nine versions of an ad, as depicted in table 1. The two 
variables of interest are type of market claim (#1 Prescribed, New) and 
type of efficacy information (High, Low, or None). Efficacy information 
will be operationalized in the form of realistic quantitative 
information (for example, ``46 percent of patients felt their nerve 
pain reduced by at least half, compared to baseline'').

                                           Table 1--Main Study Design
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                              Type of market claim
                                                              --------------------------------------------------
                                                                #1 Prescribed         New         None (control)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Efficacy Level Information:                                    ...............  ...............  ...............
    High.....................................................               A                B                 C
    Low......................................................               D                E                F
    None (control)...........................................               G                H                I
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In the followup study, participants (n = 216) will complete a 15-
minute paired choice experiment. Participants will be asked to choose 
between two hypothetical drugs based on print ads, one of which 
includes a market claim from the Main Study (#1 Prescribed or New). The 
ads also include different efficacy information (for example, ``46 
percent of patients felt their nerve pain reduced by at least half, 
compared to baseline'' versus ``51 percent of patients felt their nerve 
pain reduced by at least half, compared to baseline''). Figure 1 
depicts an example choice. Participants are asked to indicate which 
drug they would prefer. They are given 48 such choice sets, which vary 
in efficacy information and the presence of the market claim.

[[Page 26808]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN04MY16.000

II. Procedure

    Pretests: Each participant will be randomly assigned to view a 
print ad for a fictitious prescription drug indicated to treat diabetic 
neuropathy and will be asked to complete an online survey assessing 
their benefit/risk perceptions, intentions, and attitudes toward the 
drug. Based on the pretest findings, we will revise and remove poorly 
performing survey items prior to full-scale testing.
    Main study: Each participant will be randomly assigned to view a 
print ad for a fictitious prescription drug for diabetic neuropathy and 
will be asked to complete an online survey assessing their benefit/risk 
perceptions, intentions, and attitudes toward the drug.
    Followup study: Each participant will be asked to view a series of 
pairs of print ads for a product that treats diabetic neuropathy. One 
ad will contain a market claim. Both ads will contain quantitative 
efficacy information that varies along a continuum of effectiveness in 
a series of 48 trials. In each comparison, participants will be asked 
to choose one of the two drugs.
    In the Federal Register of July 20, 2015 (80 FR 42823), FDA 
published a 60-day notice requesting public comment on the proposed 
collection of information. Six submissions were received; three from 
biopharmaceutical companies (AbbVie, Eli Lilly, Merck), two that were 
anonymous, and one from Danny Weiss, PharmD. The comments from the two 
anonymous submitters and Dr. Weiss requested the United States ban DTC 
advertising for pharmaceuticals. This is outside the scope of this 
project. We summarize and respond to the other comments as follows.
    (Comment 1) From AbbVie: Respondents may view ``benefits'' and 
``risks'' more generally versus ``side effects'' as a specific inquiry. 
For example, ``side effects'' could be interpreted as adverse effects 
or adverse events, and as such, elicit a much more specific response 
than ``risks'' which could be seen more broadly. We suggest that ``side 
effects'' be eliminated from question 4 to keep questions 3 and 4 as 
both general in nature.
    (Response) We are interested in recall of both risks and side 
effects, and so we inquire about both. Inquiring about risks only may 
artificially reduce the quantity of recall. Moreover, we counterbalance 
the presentation of questions 3 and 4 in efforts to account for any 
influence of question ordering. It would be feasible to instead inquire 
about risks and side effects in separate questions; however, in our 
experience, we find that consumers tend to think about risks and side 
effects together, which makes sense given the typical presentation of 
risks and side effects in direct-to-consumer promotional materials.
    (Comment 2) From AbbVie: The answers to questions 7 through 12 may 
be biased by attitudes toward advertising in general and may go well 
beyond the pharmaceutical ad they are shown.
    (Response) By asking these questions, we hope to detect any 
differences in perceived effectiveness and risk between those exposed 
to different experimental conditions. For example, those exposed to an 
ad with a #1 Prescribed market claim may perceive the product to be 
more effective than those in the control condition. We acknowledge 
participants may bring their own opinions about advertising to the 
study. However, these opinions tend to be evenly distributed across 
experimental conditions based on random assignment procedures. Thus, 
any differences result from the experimental manipulations.
    (Comment 3) From AbbVie: We acknowledge we have not seen the test 
ad; but, we wish to point out that questions 13 and 17 rely on the ad 
presenting numeric efficacy and safety information that can be 
interpreted by respondents.
    (Response) Prior research has shown that consumers can reach 
numeric judgments about efficacy and risk despite no numeric 
information being presented (Ref. 5). As described in our study design 
(see table 1), we are not manipulating quantitative safety information 
and not all test ads contain quantitative efficacy information. We have 
worked with an expert reviewer in OPDP to produce efficacy claims that 
are realistic for this drug product class.
    (Comment 4) From AbbVie: Question 18 relies on the ad presenting 
information about the seriousness of one or more ``side effects'' that 
the respondent could rank. We do not usually see print ads that present 
details about the extent of the seriousness of one or more side 
effects. In the absence of this presentation, how are respondents to 
answer this question?
    (Response) We find that consumers are generally able to 
differentiate between the seriousness of various risks and side 
effects, and also that they can make judgments about the overall (gist) 
seriousness of the risks and side effects. We ask this question with 
the intention to detect whether or not exposure to market claims and 
efficacy information impacts risk perceptions.
    (Comment 5) From AbbVie: The answers to questions 21 to 26 may 
reflect a patient's perception of their doctor rather than the ad. 
Therefore, the answers may not reflect what was communicated in the ad 
but rather

[[Page 26809]]

reflect the patient-doctor relationship (e.g., patient perception of 
their doctor).
    (Response) We are endeavoring to replicate the results of Mitra et 
al. (Ref. 4), who found that market leadership claims affected consumer 
beliefs about doctor's judgments.
    (Comment 6) From AbbVie: In the table headers for questions 27 and 
28, please change ``claim'' to ``statement'' so that it matches the 
text in the question.
    (Response) We will make this change.
    (Comment 7) From AbbVie: It is beneficial to rotate the order of 
response choices in questions 27 and 28 as is done in prior questions. 
Some of the features a-h are broad (b. pictures and images) while some 
are specific (e. percentages). It would be better to compare the very 
general features in a question and group the very specific features 
into another question to compare like features.
    (Response) We will make this change.
    (Comment 8) From AbbVie: For questions 35 to 38, rather than rank 
from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree, which are absolutes, it would 
be better to rank by frequency from Never to Always; this moves the 
response to how often patients perceive this and away from absolutes.
    (Response) We acknowledge that it is difficult to rank agree/
disagree on all drugs. However, a scale range of Always-Never is 
unipolar; we can't assess whether respondents think the opposite, e.g., 
that New drugs tend to be more risky or that the #1 Prescribed drug is 
more risky. Our intention is to use these items as a moderator when 
examining the impact of the experimental manipulations (i.e., market 
claims, efficacy claims) on benefit and risk perceptions, intentions to 
take the product, and other outcomes. We believe the most relevant 
scale for this analysis is the current Strongly Disagree to Strongly 
Agree scale. Although it would be interesting to assess participant 
responding using both scales, doing so may not add significant value 
relative to the additional burden it would pose for participants.
    (Comment 9) From AbbVie: We suggest that all the features of 
question 43a to h be stated in the affirmative/positive. For example, 
question 43h should be worded as ``the drug has few side effects'' to 
be consistent with features of question 43a to g that are positively 
stated.
    (Response) The proposed item, ``the drug has few side effects,'' 
assesses a different outcome than our current question, ``the drug has 
serious side effects.'' We have also added items assessing ``drug cost 
and/or copay'' and ``doctor's recommendation.'' For consistency, we 
will change the wording so that all features are neutral (for instance: 
The drug's side effects, opinions of people I know, how often the drug 
is prescribed).
    (Comment 10) From Lilly: Given the proposed FDA research questions, 
Lilly believes the design is appropriate and the sample size will allow 
for breakouts by each cell. In advertising A/B tests, in which this is 
similar to, all aspects of the stimulus not being tested are held the 
same in order to reduce bias and isolate the feature being tested. We 
strongly recommend that this guideline is followed in this study.
    (Response) We intend to hold all features other than the 
manipulations constant in the stimuli.
    (Comment 11) From Lilly: One research objective for the main study 
suggests that the study will measure perceptions of the doctors' 
acceptance of the drug by respondents. Since respondents will only be 
seeing a print ad and not interacting with a doctor, we believe the 
research setting will be too artificial to gain meaningful insights 
into this topic. We recommend removing the section (questions 21 to 
26).
    (Response) Please see response to Comment 5 from AbbVie.
    (Comment 12) From Lilly: The details of the followup study are less 
clear than the main study. What are the techniques and what are the 
dependent measures on which the respondent will be asked to decide?
    (Response) The followup study assesses the relative weighting of a 
market claim and efficacy in decisionmaking. Participants are asked to 
choose a drug out of two options that vary in (1) the presence of a 
market claim and (2) efficacy. We will examine product preference as a 
function of efficacy using logistic regression. The difference in 
efficacy between the two drugs on each choice set will be a continuous 
predictor variable and drug choice will be a binary outcome variable. 
Critically, we will examine whether, and to what extent, the efficacy-
choice relationship varies as a function of an added market claim; 
thus, market claim presence will be an interaction term. The experiment 
uses a discrete choice approach common in psychology and economics 
(Ref. 8).
    (Comment 13) From Lilly: We suggest FDA stratify the sample for 
both studies across demographic variables to ensure it is 
representative of the U.S. diabetic population.
    (Response) We are applying demographic quotas to achieve a 
representative sample.
    (Comment 14) From Lilly: The questionnaire employs a number of 
different Likert scales that differ on the number of scale values and 
definition of values. Lilly suggests using a standard five-point scale 
with a mid-point and definitions for each value for all scalar 
questions.
    (Response) We have changed the Likert scales to be internally 
consistent.
    (Comment 15) From Lilly: For questions 9 and 16, by asking the 
respondents to perceive overall quality of the drug, the survey risks 
introducing perceptions outside of experimental control into the study. 
Overall quality is a very broad topic and might be dependent on the 
graphics, wording, and personal biases that are outside of the market 
claims and efficacy levels being tested. We suggest removing these 
questions, or changing the question to ``overall efficacy.''
    (Response) By asking these questions, we hope to detect any 
differences in perceived quality between those exposed to different 
experimental conditions. For example, those exposed to an ad with a #1 
Prescribed market claim may perceive the product to be of higher 
quality than those in the control condition. By keeping all ad elements 
beyond the experimental manipulations (market claims, efficacy claims) 
constant, we can ensure that significant differences between conditions 
are a result of the manipulations rather than any extraneous factors. 
Random assignment to conditions should also distribute any random 
variance equally across all cells.
    (Comment 16) From Lilly: We recommend removing questions 13 and 17 
as they have the potential to be misinterpreted or simply difficult for 
the respondent to answer if the stimulus is not communicating 
prevalence of the drug's side effects or benefits using precise 
numbers.
    (Response) Please see response to Comment 3 from AbbVie.
    (Comment 17) From Lilly: For questions 27 and 28, we recommend 
slightly changing the wordings for the possible answer choices to 
``Yes/No, claim is/is not mentioned as a benefit in the ad'' for 
question 27, and ``Yes/No, claim is/is not mentioned as a side effect 
or risk in the ad'' for question 28.
    (Response) We agree that more specific wording would be helpful and 
have revised the answer choices to read ``Yes, statement is mentioned 
in the ad'' and ``No, statement is not mentioned in the ad.''
    (Comment 18) From Lilly: Recommend removing question 31 as the 
question is an inverse of question 30 to avoid confounding data.

[[Page 26810]]

    (Response) We have removed question 31 (skepticism).
    (Comment 19) From Lilly: The instructions for the questions 35 
through 38 section seem to have an omitted word. We recommend revising 
to ``how much do you agree or disagree with the following statements?''
    (Response) Thank you for pointing this out. We will correct this.
    (Comment 20) From Lilly: We agree with placement of demographic 
questions (questions 39-44) at the end but recommend reevaluating them 
and consider removing them so as to avoid lack of response due to 
respondent fatigue.
    (Response) The comment about respondent fatigue is well taken. 
However, we are adhering to good questionnaire design in putting our 
most important dependent measures first and are willing to accept the 
potential tradeoff in missing demographic data.
    (Comment 21) From Lilly: We suggest providing a more complete list 
of choices for question 43 and placing this question earlier in the 
study.
    (Response) We appreciate this suggestion and have added questions 
about cost.
    (Comment 22) From Merck: Merck supports the importance of 
communicating information that can be understood by consumers so that 
they can make better decisions about prescription drugs. We believe 
that FDA should focus their efforts and research first on improving the 
health literacy of approved patient labeling and then on DTC print 
advertising. In addition, FDA should consider exploring the inclusion 
of benefit information in patient labeling, which may help improve 
consumer understanding and comprehension of patient labeling.
    (Response) We share the goal of improving communications about 
prescription drugs. There are efforts underway within FDA examining 
ways to improve patient labeling (Ref. 9). Although this comment is 
outside the scope of this project, we will share this information 
internally.
    (Comment 23) From Merck: Merck believes the current study design 
limits the practical utility of the information collected. The study 
proposes presenting efficacy information in the form of simple 
quantitative information. Prior OPDP research acknowledged the 
limitations of studying simple quantitative information. For many 
prescription drugs, clinical trial outcomes are often more complicated 
than simple frequencies, which limit the applicability of this 
research. Numeracy challenges are common in people with inadequate 
health literacy. Numeracy challenges are not well represented in online 
research, and hence the proposed methodology may not detect a lack of 
comprehension.
    (Response) We are pleased Merck has read FDA's prior research in 
the area of communicating quantitative information. As this is the 
first study examining the impact of quantitative efficacy information 
on the perception of market share claims, we felt it was better to 
start with relatively straightforward, though not simplistic, 
quantitative efficacy information. We have worked with an expert 
reviewer in OPDP to product efficacy claims that are realistic for this 
drug product class. The efficacy claim communicates both the level of 
expected benefit and the likelihood of experiencing that benefit. We 
encourage additional research on this topic utilizing increasingly 
complex quantitative information.
    We have included a measure of numeracy in our questionnaire. We 
acknowledge that online panels may underrepresent individuals with 
extremely low health literacy. Thus, any differences we find as a 
function of numeracy in our sample may be magnified in the general 
population.
    (Comment 24) From Merck: Merck recommends a mixed-method approach 
to reach limited-literacy respondents. The phone or Web approach allows 
for a broad, diverse geographic sample. Respondents with low health 
literacy are not typically represented in these databases, and may need 
to be recruited in less traditional places, such as literacy centers, 
senior centers, and health clinics. Additionally, if a desktop computer 
is required, this may inadvertently eliminate respondents from low 
socioeconomic status, who are less likely to have a desktop computer 
and more likely to have internet only on their mobile device.
    (Response) We acknowledge that internet administration is not 
perfect and have chosen this method to maximize our budget. We will 
permit the survey to be taken on a variety of devices. We are excluding 
phones because the stimuli cannot be fully viewed on a very small 
screen.
    (Comment 25) From Merck: For the followup study, we recommend 
reducing the number of trials for respondents across health literacy 
levels, as respondent fatigue can occur, resulting in reduced focus and 
unreliably responses. Refining the methodology to present fewer choices 
to each respondent, and assuring the clarity of the information 
presented, would help to enhance comprehension.
    (Response) We agree that minimizing respondent burden is a 
priority. We estimate that the 48 trials and instructions would require 
less than 8 minutes, on average. Pretest data may reveal that the 
experiment can be shortened without loss to validity, in which case we 
will reduce the number of trials.
    (Comment 26) From Merck: Questions 6, 32, and 50 include 
percentages. According to Health Literacy Missouri, natural frequencies 
(1 out of 10) may be more useful than percentages. Research suggests 
that less literate readers may interpret numbers as more risky when in 
frequency form (1 out of 10) versus percentage form (10 percent).
    (Response) We have worked with an expert reviewer in OPDP to 
product efficacy claims that are realistic for this drug product class.
    (Comment 27) From Merck: We suggest adding the following screener 
question to increase the odds of recruiting limited-literacy 
respondents: ``How confident are you in filling out medical forms by 
yourself?''
    (Response) We acknowledge that internet panels underrepresent 
individuals with very low literacy. Thus, it is important to 
acknowledge that our findings may not apply to very low literacy 
individuals. It would be prohibitively expensive for us to screen for 
literacy up front in order to establish quotas. We will measure health 
literacy and included it in analyses.
    The first two pretests and main study are expected to last no more 
than 30 minutes. The third pretest and followup study are expected to 
last no more than 15 minutes. This will be a one-time (rather than 
annual) collection of information. FDA estimates the burden of this 
collection of information as follows:

[[Page 26811]]



                                                              Table 2--Estimated Burden \1\
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                  Number of
                   Activity                       Number of     responses per       Total             Average burden per response           Total hours
                                                 respondents     respondent      respondents
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sample Outgo (Pretests and Main Survey)......          16,384  ..............  ..............  .........................................  ..............
Screener Completes...........................           1,638               1           1,638  0.03 (2 minutes).........................            49.1
Eligible.....................................           1,556  ..............  ..............  .........................................  ..............
Completes, Pretest 1.........................             252               1             252  0.5 (30 minutes).........................             126
Completes, Pretest 2.........................             252               1             252  0.5 (30 minutes).........................             126
Completes, Main Study........................             495               1             495  0.5 (30 minutes).........................           247.5
Completes, Pretest 3.........................             108               1             108  0.25 (15 minutes)........................              27
Completes, Followup Study....................             216               1             216  0.25 (15 minutes)........................              54
                                              ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total....................................  ..............  ..............  ..............  .........................................           629.6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ There are no capital costs or operating and maintenance costs associated with this collection of information.

III. References

    The following references are on display in the Division of Dockets 
Management (see ADDRESSES) and are available for viewing by interested 
persons between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday; they are also 
available electronically at http://www.regulations.gov. FDA has 
verified the Web site addresses, as of the date this document publishes 
in the Federal Register, but Web sites are subject to change over time.
1. Lee, M. and Y-C. Lou, ``Consumer Reliance on Intrinsic and 
Extrinsic Cues in Product Evaluations: A Conjoint Approach,'' 
Journal of Applied Business Research, 12(1):21-29, 2011.
2. Teas, R.K. and S. Agarwal, ``The Effects of Extrinsic Product 
Cues on Consumers' Perceptions of Quality, Sacrifice, and Value,'' 
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 28(2):278-290, 2000.
3. Rao, A.R. and K.B. Monroe, ``The Effect of Price, Brand Name, and 
Store Name on Buyers' Perceptions of Product Quality: An Integrative 
Review,'' Journal of Marketing Research, 26(3):351-357, 1989.
4. Mitra, A., J.L. Swasy, and K.J. Aikin, ``How Do Consumers 
Interpret Market Leadership Claims in Direct-to-Consumer Advertising 
of Prescription Drugs?'' Advances in Consumer Research, 33:381-387, 
2006.
5. O'Donoghue, A.C., H.W. Sullivan, K.J. Aikin, et al., ``Presenting 
Efficacy Information in Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug 
Advertisements,'' Patient Education and Counseling, 95(2):271-280, 
2014.
6. Schwartz, L.M., S. Woloshin, and H.G. Welch, ``Using a Drug Facts 
Box to Communicate Drug Benefits and Harms: Two Randomized Trials,'' 
Annals of Internal Medicine, 150(8):516-527, 2009.
7. Sullivan, H.W., A.C. O'Donoghue, and K.J. Aikin, ``Presenting 
Quantitative Information About Placebo Rates to Patients,'' JAMA 
Internal Medicine, 173(2):2006-2007, 2013.
8. Train, K.E., Discrete Choice Methods With Simulation, Cambridge 
University Press, 2009.
9. Boudewyns, V., A.C. O'Donoghue, B. Kelly, et al., ``Influence of 
Patient Medication Information Format on Comprehension and 
Application of Medication Information: A Randomized, Controlled 
Experiment,'' Patient Education and Counseling, 98(12):1592-1599, 
2015.


    Dated: April 28, 2016.
Leslie Kux,
Associate Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2016-10396 Filed 5-3-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4164-01-P



                                                                                              Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 86 / Wednesday, May 4, 2016 / Notices                                                                                                    26807

                                                    DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND                                                   SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:    In                                            the information provided to
                                                    HUMAN SERVICES                                                             compliance with 44 U.S.C. 3507, FDA                                         respondents. Research indicates that
                                                                                                                               has submitted the following proposed                                        providing consumers with efficacy
                                                    Food and Drug Administration                                               collection of information to OMB for                                        information generally improves
                                                                                                                               review and clearance.                                                       understanding and facilitates
                                                    [Docket No. FDA–2015–N–2406]                                                                                                                           decisionmaking (Refs. 5 and 6). Efficacy
                                                                                                                               Market Claims in Direct-to-Consumer
                                                                                                                                                                                                           information may moderate the effect of
                                                    Agency Information Collection                                              Prescription Drug Print Ads—OMB
                                                                                                                                                                                                           the extrinsic cue by providing insight
                                                    Activities; Submission for Office of                                       Control Number 0910—NEW
                                                                                                                                                                                                           into characteristics that would
                                                    Management and Budget Review;                                                 Section 1701(a)(4) of the Public                                         otherwise be unknown. Other research
                                                    Comment Request; Market Claims in                                          Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.                                               has shown that consumers are able to
                                                    Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug                                       300u(a)(4)) authorizes FDA to conduct                                       use information about efficacy to inform
                                                    Print Ads                                                                  research relating to health information.                                    judgments about the product (Refs. 6
                                                    AGENCY:        Food and Drug Administration,                               Section 1003(d)(2)(C) of the Federal                                        and 7).
                                                    HHS.                                                                       Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the                                              The Office of Prescription Drug
                                                                                                                               FD&C Act) (21 U.S.C. 393(d)(2)(C))                                          Promotion (OPDP) plans to investigate,
                                                    ACTION:       Notice.
                                                                                                                               authorizes FDA to conduct research                                          through empirical research, the impact
                                                    SUMMARY:   The Food and Drug                                               relating to drugs and other FDA                                             of market claims on prescription drug
                                                    Administration (FDA) is announcing                                         regulated products in carrying out the                                      product perceptions with and without
                                                    that a proposed collection of                                              provisions of the FD&C Act.                                                 quantitative information about product
                                                    information has been submitted to the                                         The marketing literature divides                                         efficacy. This will be investigated in
                                                    Office of Management and Budget                                            product attributes (‘‘cues’’) into intrinsic                                DTC print advertising for prescription
                                                    (OMB) for review and clearance under                                       and extrinsic. Intrinsic cues are physical                                  drugs.
                                                    the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.                                       characteristics of the product (e.g., size,
                                                                                                                               shape), whereas extrinsic cues are                                          I. Design Overview and Procedure
                                                    DATES: Fax written comments on the
                                                    collection of information by June 3,                                       product-related but not part of the                                            The design consists of two parts: A
                                                    2016.                                                                      product (e.g., price and brand name)                                        main study and a followup study. We
                                                                                                                               (Refs. 1 and 2). Research has found that                                    will conduct two sequential pretest
                                                    ADDRESSES:    To ensure that comments on                                   both intrinsic and extrinsic cues can                                       waves prior to the main study and one
                                                    the information collection are received,                                   influence perceptions of product quality                                    pretest prior to the followup study. The
                                                    OMB recommends that written                                                (Ref. 3). Consumers may rely on product                                     purpose of the pretests are to (1) ensure
                                                    comments be faxed to the Office of                                         cues in the absence of explicit quality                                     the stimuli are understandable and
                                                    Information and Regulatory Affairs,                                        information. The objective quality of                                       viewable, (2) identify and address any
                                                    OMB, Attn: FDA Desk Officer, FAX:                                          prescription drugs is not easily obtained                                   challenges to embedding the stimuli
                                                    202–395–7285, or emailed to oira_                                          from promotional claims in direct-to-                                       within the online survey, and (3) ensure
                                                    submission@omb.eop.gov. All                                                consumer (DTC) ads; thus consumers                                          the study questions are appropriate and
                                                    comments should be identified with the                                     may rely upon extrinsic cues to inform                                      meet the study’s goals.
                                                    OMB control number 0910—NEW and                                            their decisions. Market claims such as                                         Participants in the main study will be
                                                    title, ‘‘Market Claims in Direct-to-                                       ‘‘#1 Prescribed’’ and ‘‘New’’ may act as                                    randomly assigned to view one of nine
                                                    Consumer Prescription Drug Print Ads.’’                                    extrinsic cues about the product’s                                          versions of an ad, as depicted in table
                                                    Also include the FDA docket number                                         quality, independent of the product’s                                       1. The two variables of interest are type
                                                    found in brackets in the heading of this                                   intrinsic characteristics. Prior research                                   of market claim (#1 Prescribed, New)
                                                    document.                                                                  has found that market leadership claims                                     and type of efficacy information (High,
                                                    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: FDA                                       can affect consumer beliefs about                                           Low, or None). Efficacy information will
                                                    PRA Staff, Office of Operations, Food                                      product efficacy, as well as their beliefs                                  be operationalized in the form of
                                                    and Drug Administration, 8455                                              about doctors’ judgments about product                                      realistic quantitative information (for
                                                    Colesville Rd., COLE–14526, Silver                                         efficacy (Ref. 4). One limitation of these                                  example, ‘‘46 percent of patients felt
                                                    Spring, MD 20993–002, PRAStaff@                                            prior studies is the lack of quantitative                                   their nerve pain reduced by at least half,
                                                    fda.hhs.gov.                                                               information about product efficacy in                                       compared to baseline’’).

                                                                                                                                       TABLE 1—MAIN STUDY DESIGN
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Type of market claim

                                                                                                                                                                                                       #1 Prescribed                      New                None (control)

                                                    Efficacy Level Information:                                                                                                                        ........................   ........................   ........................
                                                         High ......................................................................................................................................              A                          B                          C
                                                         Low .......................................................................................................................................              D                          E                          F
                                                         None (control) .......................................................................................................................                  G                           H                          I
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                                                       In the followup study, participants                                     New). The ads also include different                                        depicts an example choice. Participants
                                                    (n = 216) will complete a 15-minute                                        efficacy information (for example, ‘‘46                                     are asked to indicate which drug they
                                                    paired choice experiment. Participants                                     percent of patients felt their nerve pain                                   would prefer. They are given 48 such
                                                    will be asked to choose between two                                        reduced by at least half, compared to                                       choice sets, which vary in efficacy
                                                    hypothetical drugs based on print ads,                                     baseline’’ versus ‘‘51 percent of patients                                  information and the presence of the
                                                    one of which includes a market claim                                       felt their nerve pain reduced by at least                                   market claim.
                                                    from the Main Study (#1 Prescribed or                                      half, compared to baseline’’). Figure 1



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                                                    26808                         Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 86 / Wednesday, May 4, 2016 / Notices




                                                    II. Procedure                                              (Comment 1) From AbbVie:                           random assignment procedures. Thus,
                                                                                                            Respondents may view ‘‘benefits’’ and                 any differences result from the
                                                       Pretests: Each participant will be                   ‘‘risks’’ more generally versus ‘‘side                experimental manipulations.
                                                    randomly assigned to view a print ad for                effects’’ as a specific inquiry. For                    (Comment 3) From AbbVie: We
                                                    a fictitious prescription drug indicated                example, ‘‘side effects’’ could be                    acknowledge we have not seen the test
                                                    to treat diabetic neuropathy and will be                interpreted as adverse effects or adverse             ad; but, we wish to point out that
                                                    asked to complete an online survey                      events, and as such, elicit a much more               questions 13 and 17 rely on the ad
                                                    assessing their benefit/risk perceptions,               specific response than ‘‘risks’’ which                presenting numeric efficacy and safety
                                                    intentions, and attitudes toward the                    could be seen more broadly. We suggest                information that can be interpreted by
                                                    drug. Based on the pretest findings, we                 that ‘‘side effects’’ be eliminated from              respondents.
                                                    will revise and remove poorly                           question 4 to keep questions 3 and 4 as                 (Response) Prior research has shown
                                                    performing survey items prior to full-                  both general in nature.                               that consumers can reach numeric
                                                    scale testing.                                             (Response) We are interested in recall             judgments about efficacy and risk
                                                       Main study: Each participant will be                 of both risks and side effects, and so we             despite no numeric information being
                                                    randomly assigned to view a print ad for                inquire about both. Inquiring about risks             presented (Ref. 5). As described in our
                                                    a fictitious prescription drug for diabetic             only may artificially reduce the quantity             study design (see table 1), we are not
                                                    neuropathy and will be asked to                         of recall. Moreover, we counterbalance                manipulating quantitative safety
                                                    complete an online survey assessing                     the presentation of questions 3 and 4 in              information and not all test ads contain
                                                    their benefit/risk perceptions,                         efforts to account for any influence of               quantitative efficacy information. We
                                                    intentions, and attitudes toward the                    question ordering. It would be feasible               have worked with an expert reviewer in
                                                    drug.                                                   to instead inquire about risks and side               OPDP to produce efficacy claims that
                                                       Followup study: Each participant will                effects in separate questions; however,               are realistic for this drug product class.
                                                    be asked to view a series of pairs of                   in our experience, we find that                         (Comment 4) From AbbVie: Question
                                                    print ads for a product that treats                     consumers tend to think about risks and               18 relies on the ad presenting
                                                    diabetic neuropathy. One ad will                        side effects together, which makes sense              information about the seriousness of one
                                                    contain a market claim. Both ads will                   given the typical presentation of risks               or more ‘‘side effects’’ that the
                                                    contain quantitative efficacy                           and side effects in direct-to-consumer                respondent could rank. We do not
                                                    information that varies along a                         promotional materials.                                usually see print ads that present details
                                                    continuum of effectiveness in a series of                  (Comment 2) From AbbVie: The                       about the extent of the seriousness of
                                                    48 trials. In each comparison,                          answers to questions 7 through 12 may                 one or more side effects. In the absence
                                                    participants will be asked to choose one                be biased by attitudes toward                         of this presentation, how are
                                                    of the two drugs.                                       advertising in general and may go well                respondents to answer this question?
                                                       In the Federal Register of July 20,                  beyond the pharmaceutical ad they are                   (Response) We find that consumers
                                                    2015 (80 FR 42823), FDA published a                     shown.                                                are generally able to differentiate
                                                    60-day notice requesting public                            (Response) By asking these questions,              between the seriousness of various risks
                                                    comment on the proposed collection of                   we hope to detect any differences in                  and side effects, and also that they can
                                                    information. Six submissions were                       perceived effectiveness and risk                      make judgments about the overall (gist)
                                                    received; three from biopharmaceutical                  between those exposed to different                    seriousness of the risks and side effects.
                                                    companies (AbbVie, Eli Lilly, Merck),                   experimental conditions. For example,                 We ask this question with the intention
                                                    two that were anonymous, and one from                   those exposed to an ad with a #1                      to detect whether or not exposure to
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                                                    Danny Weiss, PharmD. The comments                       Prescribed market claim may perceive                  market claims and efficacy information
                                                    from the two anonymous submitters and                   the product to be more effective than                 impacts risk perceptions.
                                                    Dr. Weiss requested the United States                   those in the control condition. We                      (Comment 5) From AbbVie: The
                                                    ban DTC advertising for                                 acknowledge participants may bring                    answers to questions 21 to 26 may
                                                    pharmaceuticals. This is outside the                    their own opinions about advertising to               reflect a patient’s perception of their
                                                    scope of this project. We summarize and                 the study. However, these opinions tend               doctor rather than the ad. Therefore, the
                                                    respond to the other comments as                        to be evenly distributed across                       answers may not reflect what was
                                                                                                                                                                                                               EN04MY16.000</GPH>




                                                    follows.                                                experimental conditions based on                      communicated in the ad but rather


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                                                                                  Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 86 / Wednesday, May 4, 2016 / Notices                                              26809

                                                    reflect the patient-doctor relationship                 consistency, we will change the                          (Comment 14) From Lilly: The
                                                    (e.g., patient perception of their doctor).             wording so that all features are neutral              questionnaire employs a number of
                                                       (Response) We are endeavoring to                     (for instance: The drug’s side effects,               different Likert scales that differ on the
                                                    replicate the results of Mitra et al. (Ref.             opinions of people I know, how often                  number of scale values and definition of
                                                    4), who found that market leadership                    the drug is prescribed).                              values. Lilly suggests using a standard
                                                    claims affected consumer beliefs about                     (Comment 10) From Lilly: Given the                 five-point scale with a mid-point and
                                                    doctor’s judgments.                                     proposed FDA research questions, Lilly                definitions for each value for all scalar
                                                       (Comment 6) From AbbVie: In the                      believes the design is appropriate and                questions.
                                                    table headers for questions 27 and 28,                  the sample size will allow for breakouts                 (Response) We have changed the
                                                    please change ‘‘claim’’ to ‘‘statement’’ so             by each cell. In advertising A/B tests, in            Likert scales to be internally consistent.
                                                    that it matches the text in the question.               which this is similar to, all aspects of                 (Comment 15) From Lilly: For
                                                       (Response) We will make this change.                 the stimulus not being tested are held                questions 9 and 16, by asking the
                                                       (Comment 7) From AbbVie: It is                       the same in order to reduce bias and                  respondents to perceive overall quality
                                                    beneficial to rotate the order of response              isolate the feature being tested. We                  of the drug, the survey risks introducing
                                                    choices in questions 27 and 28 as is                    strongly recommend that this guideline                perceptions outside of experimental
                                                    done in prior questions. Some of the                    is followed in this study.                            control into the study. Overall quality is
                                                    features a–h are broad (b. pictures and                                                                       a very broad topic and might be
                                                                                                               (Response) We intend to hold all
                                                    images) while some are specific (e.                                                                           dependent on the graphics, wording,
                                                                                                            features other than the manipulations
                                                    percentages). It would be better to                                                                           and personal biases that are outside of
                                                                                                            constant in the stimuli.
                                                    compare the very general features in a                                                                        the market claims and efficacy levels
                                                                                                               (Comment 11) From Lilly: One
                                                    question and group the very specific                                                                          being tested. We suggest removing these
                                                                                                            research objective for the main study
                                                    features into another question to                                                                             questions, or changing the question to
                                                                                                            suggests that the study will measure
                                                    compare like features.                                                                                        ‘‘overall efficacy.’’
                                                       (Response) We will make this change.                 perceptions of the doctors’ acceptance
                                                                                                                                                                     (Response) By asking these questions,
                                                       (Comment 8) From AbbVie: For                         of the drug by respondents. Since
                                                                                                                                                                  we hope to detect any differences in
                                                    questions 35 to 38, rather than rank                    respondents will only be seeing a print
                                                                                                                                                                  perceived quality between those
                                                    from Strongly Disagree to Strongly                      ad and not interacting with a doctor, we
                                                                                                                                                                  exposed to different experimental
                                                    Agree, which are absolutes, it would be                 believe the research setting will be too
                                                                                                                                                                  conditions. For example, those exposed
                                                    better to rank by frequency from Never                  artificial to gain meaningful insights
                                                                                                                                                                  to an ad with a #1 Prescribed market
                                                    to Always; this moves the response to                   into this topic. We recommend
                                                                                                                                                                  claim may perceive the product to be of
                                                    how often patients perceive this and                    removing the section (questions 21 to
                                                                                                                                                                  higher quality than those in the control
                                                    away from absolutes.                                    26).
                                                                                                                                                                  condition. By keeping all ad elements
                                                       (Response) We acknowledge that it is                    (Response) Please see response to
                                                                                                                                                                  beyond the experimental manipulations
                                                    difficult to rank agree/disagree on all                 Comment 5 from AbbVie.
                                                                                                                                                                  (market claims, efficacy claims)
                                                    drugs. However, a scale range of                           (Comment 12) From Lilly: The details
                                                                                                                                                                  constant, we can ensure that significant
                                                    Always-Never is unipolar; we can’t                      of the followup study are less clear than
                                                                                                                                                                  differences between conditions are a
                                                    assess whether respondents think the                    the main study. What are the techniques
                                                                                                                                                                  result of the manipulations rather than
                                                    opposite, e.g., that New drugs tend to be               and what are the dependent measures
                                                                                                                                                                  any extraneous factors. Random
                                                    more risky or that the #1 Prescribed                    on which the respondent will be asked
                                                                                                                                                                  assignment to conditions should also
                                                    drug is more risky. Our intention is to                 to decide?
                                                                                                                                                                  distribute any random variance equally
                                                    use these items as a moderator when                        (Response) The followup study                      across all cells.
                                                    examining the impact of the                             assesses the relative weighting of a                     (Comment 16) From Lilly: We
                                                    experimental manipulations (i.e.,                       market claim and efficacy in                          recommend removing questions 13 and
                                                    market claims, efficacy claims) on                      decisionmaking. Participants are asked                17 as they have the potential to be
                                                    benefit and risk perceptions, intentions                to choose a drug out of two options that              misinterpreted or simply difficult for
                                                    to take the product, and other outcomes.                vary in (1) the presence of a market                  the respondent to answer if the stimulus
                                                    We believe the most relevant scale for                  claim and (2) efficacy. We will examine               is not communicating prevalence of the
                                                    this analysis is the current Strongly                   product preference as a function of                   drug’s side effects or benefits using
                                                    Disagree to Strongly Agree scale.                       efficacy using logistic regression. The               precise numbers.
                                                    Although it would be interesting to                     difference in efficacy between the two                   (Response) Please see response to
                                                    assess participant responding using both                drugs on each choice set will be a                    Comment 3 from AbbVie.
                                                    scales, doing so may not add significant                continuous predictor variable and drug                   (Comment 17) From Lilly: For
                                                    value relative to the additional burden                 choice will be a binary outcome                       questions 27 and 28, we recommend
                                                    it would pose for participants.                         variable. Critically, we will examine                 slightly changing the wordings for the
                                                       (Comment 9) From AbbVie: We                          whether, and to what extent, the                      possible answer choices to ‘‘Yes/No,
                                                    suggest that all the features of question               efficacy-choice relationship varies as a              claim is/is not mentioned as a benefit in
                                                    43a to h be stated in the affirmative/                  function of an added market claim; thus,              the ad’’ for question 27, and ‘‘Yes/No,
                                                    positive. For example, question 43h                     market claim presence will be an                      claim is/is not mentioned as a side
                                                    should be worded as ‘‘the drug has few                  interaction term. The experiment uses a               effect or risk in the ad’’ for question 28.
                                                    side effects’’ to be consistent with                    discrete choice approach common in                       (Response) We agree that more
                                                    features of question 43a to g that are                  psychology and economics (Ref. 8).                    specific wording would be helpful and
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                                                    positively stated.                                         (Comment 13) From Lilly: We suggest                have revised the answer choices to read
                                                       (Response) The proposed item, ‘‘the                  FDA stratify the sample for both studies              ‘‘Yes, statement is mentioned in the ad’’
                                                    drug has few side effects,’’ assesses a                 across demographic variables to ensure                and ‘‘No, statement is not mentioned in
                                                    different outcome than our current                      it is representative of the U.S. diabetic             the ad.’’
                                                    question, ‘‘the drug has serious side                   population.                                              (Comment 18) From Lilly:
                                                    effects.’’ We have also added items                        (Response) We are applying                         Recommend removing question 31 as
                                                    assessing ‘‘drug cost and/or copay’’ and                demographic quotas to achieve a                       the question is an inverse of question 30
                                                    ‘‘doctor’s recommendation.’’ For                        representative sample.                                to avoid confounding data.


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                                                    26810                         Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 86 / Wednesday, May 4, 2016 / Notices

                                                       (Response) We have removed                           limitations of studying simple                        because the stimuli cannot be fully
                                                    question 31 (skepticism).                               quantitative information. For many                    viewed on a very small screen.
                                                       (Comment 19) From Lilly: The                         prescription drugs, clinical trial                       (Comment 25) From Merck: For the
                                                    instructions for the questions 35                       outcomes are often more complicated                   followup study, we recommend
                                                    through 38 section seem to have an                      than simple frequencies, which limit the              reducing the number of trials for
                                                    omitted word. We recommend revising                     applicability of this research. Numeracy              respondents across health literacy
                                                    to ‘‘how much do you agree or disagree                  challenges are common in people with                  levels, as respondent fatigue can occur,
                                                    with the following statements?’’                        inadequate health literacy. Numeracy                  resulting in reduced focus and
                                                       (Response) Thank you for pointing                    challenges are not well represented in                unreliably responses. Refining the
                                                    this out. We will correct this.                         online research, and hence the proposed               methodology to present fewer choices to
                                                       (Comment 20) From Lilly: We agree                    methodology may not detect a lack of                  each respondent, and assuring the
                                                    with placement of demographic                           comprehension.                                        clarity of the information presented,
                                                    questions (questions 39–44) at the end                     (Response) We are pleased Merck has                would help to enhance comprehension.
                                                    but recommend reevaluating them and                     read FDA’s prior research in the area of
                                                    consider removing them so as to avoid                   communicating quantitative                               (Response) We agree that minimizing
                                                    lack of response due to respondent                      information. As this is the first study               respondent burden is a priority. We
                                                    fatigue.                                                examining the impact of quantitative                  estimate that the 48 trials and
                                                       (Response) The comment about                         efficacy information on the perception                instructions would require less than 8
                                                    respondent fatigue is well taken.                       of market share claims, we felt it was                minutes, on average. Pretest data may
                                                    However, we are adhering to good                        better to start with relatively                       reveal that the experiment can be
                                                    questionnaire design in putting our                     straightforward, though not simplistic,               shortened without loss to validity, in
                                                    most important dependent measures                       quantitative efficacy information. We                 which case we will reduce the number
                                                    first and are willing to accept the                     have worked with an expert reviewer in                of trials.
                                                    potential tradeoff in missing                           OPDP to product efficacy claims that are                 (Comment 26) From Merck: Questions
                                                    demographic data.                                       realistic for this drug product class. The            6, 32, and 50 include percentages.
                                                       (Comment 21) From Lilly: We suggest                  efficacy claim communicates both the                  According to Health Literacy Missouri,
                                                    providing a more complete list of                       level of expected benefit and the                     natural frequencies (1 out of 10) may be
                                                    choices for question 43 and placing this                likelihood of experiencing that benefit.              more useful than percentages. Research
                                                    question earlier in the study.                          We encourage additional research on                   suggests that less literate readers may
                                                       (Response) We appreciate this                        this topic utilizing increasingly complex             interpret numbers as more risky when
                                                    suggestion and have added questions                     quantitative information.                             in frequency form (1 out of 10) versus
                                                    about cost.                                                We have included a measure of                      percentage form (10 percent).
                                                       (Comment 22) From Merck: Merck                       numeracy in our questionnaire. We                        (Response) We have worked with an
                                                    supports the importance of                              acknowledge that online panels may                    expert reviewer in OPDP to product
                                                    communicating information that can be                   underrepresent individuals with                       efficacy claims that are realistic for this
                                                    understood by consumers so that they                    extremely low health literacy. Thus, any              drug product class.
                                                    can make better decisions about                         differences we find as a function of                     (Comment 27) From Merck: We
                                                    prescription drugs. We believe that FDA                 numeracy in our sample may be
                                                                                                                                                                  suggest adding the following screener
                                                    should focus their efforts and research                 magnified in the general population.
                                                                                                                                                                  question to increase the odds of
                                                    first on improving the health literacy of                  (Comment 24) From Merck: Merck
                                                                                                                                                                  recruiting limited-literacy respondents:
                                                    approved patient labeling and then on                   recommends a mixed-method approach
                                                                                                                                                                  ‘‘How confident are you in filling out
                                                    DTC print advertising. In addition, FDA                 to reach limited-literacy respondents.
                                                                                                                                                                  medical forms by yourself?’’
                                                    should consider exploring the inclusion                 The phone or Web approach allows for
                                                    of benefit information in patient                       a broad, diverse geographic sample.                      (Response) We acknowledge that
                                                    labeling, which may help improve                        Respondents with low health literacy                  internet panels underrepresent
                                                    consumer understanding and                              are not typically represented in these                individuals with very low literacy.
                                                    comprehension of patient labeling.                      databases, and may need to be recruited               Thus, it is important to acknowledge
                                                       (Response) We share the goal of                      in less traditional places, such as                   that our findings may not apply to very
                                                    improving communications about                          literacy centers, senior centers, and                 low literacy individuals. It would be
                                                    prescription drugs. There are efforts                   health clinics. Additionally, if a desktop            prohibitively expensive for us to screen
                                                    underway within FDA examining ways                      computer is required, this may                        for literacy up front in order to establish
                                                    to improve patient labeling (Ref. 9).                   inadvertently eliminate respondents                   quotas. We will measure health literacy
                                                    Although this comment is outside the                    from low socioeconomic status, who are                and included it in analyses.
                                                    scope of this project, we will share this               less likely to have a desktop computer                   The first two pretests and main study
                                                    information internally.                                 and more likely to have internet only on              are expected to last no more than 30
                                                       (Comment 23) From Merck: Merck                       their mobile device.                                  minutes. The third pretest and followup
                                                    believes the current study design limits                   (Response) We acknowledge that                     study are expected to last no more than
                                                    the practical utility of the information                internet administration is not perfect                15 minutes. This will be a one-time
                                                    collected. The study proposes                           and have chosen this method to                        (rather than annual) collection of
                                                    presenting efficacy information in the                  maximize our budget. We will permit                   information. FDA estimates the burden
asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES




                                                    form of simple quantitative information.                the survey to be taken on a variety of                of this collection of information as
                                                    Prior OPDP research acknowledged the                    devices. We are excluding phones                      follows:




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                                                                                             Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 86 / Wednesday, May 4, 2016 / Notices                                                                                                        26811

                                                                                                                                     TABLE 2—ESTIMATED BURDEN 1
                                                                                                                                                                        Number of
                                                                                                                                             Number of                                               Total                   Average burden per
                                                                                       Activity                                                                       responses per                                                                               Total hours
                                                                                                                                            respondents                                           respondents                     response
                                                                                                                                                                        respondent

                                                    Sample Outgo (Pretests and Main Survey) ................                                            16,384        ........................   ........................    ................................   ........................
                                                    Screener Completes ....................................................                              1,638                              1                   1,638        0.03 (2 minutes) .....                              49.1
                                                    Eligible .........................................................................                   1,556        ........................   ........................    ................................   ........................
                                                    Completes, Pretest 1 ...................................................                               252                              1                      252       0.5 (30 minutes) .....                               126
                                                    Completes, Pretest 2 ...................................................                               252                              1                      252       0.5 (30 minutes) .....                               126
                                                    Completes, Main Study ...............................................                                  495                              1                      495       0.5 (30 minutes) .....                            247.5
                                                    Completes, Pretest 3 ...................................................                               108                              1                      108       0.25 (15 minutes) ..                                   27
                                                    Completes, Followup Study .........................................                                    216                              1                      216       0.25 (15 minutes) ...                                  54

                                                          Total ......................................................................     ........................   ........................   ........................    ................................                 629.6
                                                       1 There     are no capital costs or operating and maintenance costs associated with this collection of information.


                                                    III. References                                                                      Kelly, et al., ‘‘Influence of Patient                               Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d–7f) and
                                                                                                                                         Medication Information Format on                                    section 222 of the Public Health Service
                                                       The following references are on                                                   Comprehension and Application of
                                                    display in the Division of Dockets                                                                                                                       Act (42 U.S.C. 217a), HHS established
                                                                                                                                         Medication Information: A Randomized,
                                                    Management (see ADDRESSES) and are                                                   Controlled Experiment,’’ Patient                                    the NPRSB. The Board shall provide
                                                    available for viewing by interested                                                  Education and Counseling, 98(12):1592–                              expert advice and guidance to the
                                                    persons between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.,                                                   1599, 2015.                                                         Secretary on scientific, technical, and
                                                    Monday through Friday; they are also                                                                                                                     other matters of special interest to HHS
                                                    available electronically at http://                                          Dated: April 28, 2016.                                                      regarding current and future chemical,
                                                    www.regulations.gov. FDA has verified                                      Leslie Kux,                                                                   biological, nuclear, and radiological
                                                    the Web site addresses, as of the date                                     Associate Commissioner for Policy.                                            agents, whether naturally occurring,
                                                    this document publishes in the Federal                                     [FR Doc. 2016–10396 Filed 5–3–16; 8:45 am]                                    accidental, or deliberate. The NPRSB
                                                    Register, but Web sites are subject to                                     BILLING CODE 4164–01–P                                                        may also provide advice and guidance
                                                    change over time.                                                                                                                                        to the Secretary and/or the Assistant
                                                    1. Lee, M. and Y-C. Lou, ‘‘Consumer Reliance                                                                                                             Secretary for Preparedness and
                                                         on Intrinsic and Extrinsic Cues in                                    DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
                                                         Product Evaluations: A Conjoint                                                                                                                     Response (ASPR) on other matters
                                                                                                                               HUMAN SERVICES                                                                related to public health emergency
                                                         Approach,’’ Journal of Applied Business
                                                         Research, 12(1):21–29, 2011.                                          Meeting of the National Preparedness                                          preparedness and response.
                                                    2. Teas, R.K. and S. Agarwal, ‘‘The Effects of                                                                                                              Background: This public meeting via
                                                                                                                               and Response Science Board
                                                         Extrinsic Product Cues on Consumers’
                                                         Perceptions of Quality, Sacrifice, and                                                                                                              teleconference will be dedicated to the
                                                                                                                               AGENCY: Department of Health and                                              NPRSB’s deliberation and vote on the
                                                         Value,’’ Journal of the Academy of                                    Human Services, Office of the Secretary.
                                                         Marketing Science, 28(2):278–290, 2000.                                                                                                             task letter received from the ASPR.
                                                    3. Rao, A.R. and K.B. Monroe, ‘‘The Effect of                              ACTION: Notice.                                                               Subsequent agenda topics will be added
                                                         Price, Brand Name, and Store Name on                                                                                                                as priorities dictate. Any additional
                                                         Buyers’ Perceptions of Product Quality:                               SUMMARY:   As stipulated by the Federal
                                                                                                                               Advisory Committee Act, the                                                   agenda topics will be available on the
                                                         An Integrative Review,’’ Journal of
                                                         Marketing Research, 26(3):351–357,                                    Department of Health and Human                                                NPRSB May 26, 2016, meeting Web
                                                         1989.                                                                 Services (HHS) is hereby giving notice                                        page, available at WWW.PHE.GOV/
                                                    4. Mitra, A., J.L. Swasy, and K.J. Aikin, ‘‘How                            that the National Preparedness and                                            NPRSB.
                                                         Do Consumers Interpret Market                                         Response Science Board (NPRSB) will                                              Availability of Materials: The meeting
                                                         Leadership Claims in Direct-to-                                       be holding a public teleconference.
                                                         Consumer Advertising of Prescription                                                                                                                agenda and materials will be posted
                                                         Drugs?’’ Advances in Consumer                                         DATES: The NPRSB will hold a public                                           prior to the meeting on the May 26th
                                                         Research, 33:381–387, 2006.                                           meeting on May 26, 2016, from 1:00                                            meeting Web page at WWW.PHE.GOV/
                                                    5. O’Donoghue, A.C., H.W. Sullivan, K.J.                                   p.m. to 2:00 p.m. EST. The agenda is                                          NPRSB.
                                                         Aikin, et al., ‘‘Presenting Efficacy                                  subject to change as priorities dictate.
                                                         Information in Direct-to-Consumer                                                                                                                      Procedures for Providing Public Input:
                                                                                                                               ADDRESSES: Individuals who wish to                                            Members of the public are invited to
                                                         Prescription Drug Advertisements,’’
                                                         Patient Education and Counseling,
                                                                                                                               participate should send an email to                                           attend by teleconference via a toll-free
                                                         95(2):271–280, 2014.                                                  NPRSB@HHS.GOV with ‘‘NPRSB                                                    call-in phone number which is available
                                                    6. Schwartz, L.M., S. Woloshin, and H.G.                                   Registration’’ in the subject line. The                                       on the NPRSB Web site at
                                                         Welch, ‘‘Using a Drug Facts Box to                                    meeting will occur by teleconference.
                                                                                                                                                                                                             WWW.PHE.GOV/NPRSB. All members
                                                         Communicate Drug Benefits and Harms:                                  To attend via teleconference and for
                                                         Two Randomized Trials,’’ Annals of                                                                                                                  of the public are encouraged to provide
                                                                                                                               further instructions, please visit the
                                                         Internal Medicine, 150(8):516–527, 2009.                                                                                                            written comment to the NPRSB. All
asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES




                                                                                                                               NPRSB Web site at WWW.PHE.GOV/
                                                    7. Sullivan, H.W., A.C. O’Donoghue, and K.J.                               NPRSB.                                                                        written comments must be received
                                                         Aikin, ‘‘Presenting Quantitative                                                                                                                    prior to May 26, 2016, and should be
                                                         Information About Placebo Rates to                                    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:                                              sent by email to NPRSB@HHS.GOV with
                                                         Patients,’’ JAMA Internal Medicine,                                   Please submit an inquiry via the NPRSB                                        ‘‘NPRSB Public Comment’’ as the
                                                         173(2):2006–2007, 2013.                                               Contact Form located at www.phe.gov/
                                                    8. Train, K.E., Discrete Choice Methods With                                                                                                             subject line. Public comments received
                                                                                                                               NBSBComments.                                                                 by close of business one week prior to
                                                         Simulation, Cambridge University Press,
                                                         2009.                                                                 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:    Pursuant                                        each teleconference will be distributed
                                                    9. Boudewyns, V., A.C. O’Donoghue, B.                                      to section 319M of the Public Health                                          to the NPRSB in advance.


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Document Created: 2016-05-04 01:22:53
Document Modified: 2016-05-04 01:22:53
CategoryRegulatory Information
CollectionFederal Register
sudoc ClassAE 2.7:
GS 4.107:
AE 2.106:
PublisherOffice of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
SectionNotices
ActionNotice.
DatesFax written comments on the collection of information by June 3, 2016.
ContactFDA PRA Staff, Office of Operations, Food and Drug Administration, 8455 Colesville Rd., COLE-14526, Silver Spring, MD 20993-002, [email protected]
FR Citation81 FR 26807 

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