81_FR_47067 81 FR 46929 - Prescription Drug User Fee Act; Public Meeting; Request for Comments

81 FR 46929 - Prescription Drug User Fee Act; Public Meeting; Request for Comments

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Food and Drug Administration

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 138 (July 19, 2016)

Page Range46929-46935
FR Document2016-16916

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing a public meeting to discuss proposed recommendations for the reauthorization of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) for fiscal years (FYs) 2018 through 2022. PDUFA authorizes FDA to collect fees and use them for the process for the review of human drug applications. The current legislative authority for PDUFA expires in September 2017. At that time, new legislation will be required for FDA to continue collecting prescription drug user fees in future fiscal years. Following discussions with the regulated industry and periodic consultations with public stakeholders, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act) directs FDA to publish the recommendations for the reauthorized program in the Federal Register, hold a meeting at which the public may present its views on such recommendations, and provide for a period of 30 days for the public to provide written comments on such recommendations. FDA will then consider such public views and comments and revise such recommendations as necessary.

Federal Register, Volume 81 Issue 138 (Tuesday, July 19, 2016)
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 138 (Tuesday, July 19, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46929-46935]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-16916]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2016-N-1895]


Prescription Drug User Fee Act; Public Meeting; Request for 
Comments

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing 
a public meeting to discuss proposed recommendations for the 
reauthorization of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) for 
fiscal years (FYs) 2018 through 2022. PDUFA authorizes FDA to collect 
fees and use them for the process for the review of human drug 
applications. The current legislative authority for PDUFA expires in 
September 2017. At that time, new legislation will be required for FDA 
to continue collecting prescription drug user fees in future fiscal 
years. Following discussions with the regulated industry and periodic 
consultations with public stakeholders, the Federal Food, Drug, and 
Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act) directs FDA to publish the recommendations 
for the reauthorized program in the Federal Register, hold a meeting at 
which the public may present its views on such recommendations, and 
provide for a period of 30 days for the public to provide written 
comments on such recommendations. FDA will then consider such public 
views and comments and revise such recommendations as necessary.

DATES: The public meeting will be held on August 15, 2016, from 9 a.m. 
to 2 p.m. Please register for the meeting by August 8, 2016, at http://pdufareauthorization.eventbrite.com. Submit electronic or written 
comments to the public docket by August 22, 2016.

ADDRESSES: The meeting and workshop will be held at the FDA White Oak 
Campus, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 31 Conference Center, the Great 
Room (Rm. 1503, Section A), Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002. Participants 
must enter through Building 1 and undergo security screening. For more 
information on parking and security procedures, please refer to http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/WorkingatFDA/BuildingsandFacilities/WhiteOakCampusInformation/ucm241740.htm.
    You may submit comments as follows:

Electronic Submissions

    Submit electronic comments in the following way:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Comments submitted 
electronically, including attachments, to http://www.regulations.gov 
will be posted to the docket unchanged. Because your comment will be 
made public, you are solely responsible for ensuring that your comment 
does not include any confidential information that you or a third party 
may not wish to be posted, such as medical information, your or anyone 
else's Social Security number, or confidential business information, 
such as a manufacturing process. Please note that if you include your 
name, contact information, or other information that identifies you in 
the body of your comments, that information will be posted on http://www.regulations.gov.
     If you want to submit a comment with confidential 
information that you do not wish to be made available to the public, 
submit the comment as a written/paper submission and in the manner 
detailed (see ``Written/Paper Submissions'' and ``Instructions'').

Written/Paper Submissions

    Submit written/paper submissions as follows:
     Mail/Hand delivery/Courier (for written/paper 
submissions): Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305), Food and Drug 
Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
     For written/paper comments submitted to the Division of 
Dockets Management, FDA will post your comment, as well as any 
attachments, except for information submitted, marked and identified, 
as confidential,

[[Page 46930]]

if submitted as detailed in ``Instructions.''
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket No. 
FDA-2016-N-1895 for ``Prescription Drug User Fee Act; Public Meeting.'' 
Received comments will be placed in the docket and, except for those 
submitted as ``Confidential Submissions,'' publicly viewable at http://www.regulations.gov or at the Division of Dockets Management between 9 
a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
     Confidential Submissions--To submit a comment with 
confidential information that you do not wish to be made publicly 
available, submit your comments only as a written/paper submission. You 
should submit two copies total. One copy will include the information 
you claim to be confidential with a heading or cover note that states 
``THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.'' The Agency will 
review this copy, including the claimed confidential information, in 
its consideration of comments. The second copy, which will have the 
claimed confidential information redacted/blacked out, will be 
available for public viewing and posted on http://www.regulations.gov. 
Submit both copies to the Division of Dockets Management. If you do not 
wish your name and contact information to be made publicly available, 
you can provide this information on the cover sheet and not in the body 
of your comments and you must identify this information as 
``confidential.'' Any information marked as ``confidential'' will not 
be disclosed except in accordance with 21 CFR 10.20 and other 
applicable disclosure law. For more information about FDA's posting of 
comments to public dockets, see 80 FR 56469, September 18, 2015, or 
access the information at: http://www.fda.gov/regulatoryinformation/dockets/default.htm.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
the electronic and written/paper comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov and insert the docket number, found in brackets in 
the heading of this document, into the ``Search'' box and follow the 
prompts and/or go to the Division of Dockets Management, 5630 Fishers 
Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
    FDA will post the agenda approximately 5 days before the meeting 
at: http://www.fda.gov/ForIndustry/UserFees/PrescriptionDrugUserFee/ucm446608.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Graham Thompson, Center for Drug 
Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New 
Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 51, Rm. 1146, Silver Spring, MD 20993, 301-796-
5003, FAX: 301-847-8443, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    FDA is announcing a public meeting to discuss proposed 
recommendations for the reauthorization of PDUFA, the legislation that 
authorizes FDA to collect user fees and use them for the process for 
the review of human drug applications. The current authorization of the 
program (PDUFA V) expires in September 2017. Without new legislation, 
FDA will no longer be able to collect user fees for future fiscal years 
to fund the process for the review of human drug applications. Section 
736B(d)(4) of the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. 379h-2(d)(4)) requires that after 
FDA holds negotiations with regulated industry and periodic 
consultations with stakeholders, we do the following: (1) Present 
recommendations to the relevant Congressional committees, (2) publish 
recommendations in the Federal Register, (3) provide a period of 30 
days for the public to provide written comments on the recommendations, 
(4) hold a meeting at which the public may present its views, and (5) 
after consideration of public views and comments, revise the 
recommendations as necessary.
    This notice, the 30-day comment period, and the public meeting will 
satisfy some of these requirements. After the public meeting, we will 
revise the recommendations as necessary and present our proposed 
recommendations to the Congressional committees.
    The purpose of the meeting is to hear the public's views on the 
proposed recommendations for the reauthorized program (PDUFA VI). The 
following information is provided to help potential meeting 
participants better understand the history and evolution of the PDUFA 
program and the current status of the proposed PDUFA VI 
recommendations.

II. What is PDUFA and what does it do?

    PDUFA is a law that authorizes FDA to collect fees from drug 
companies that submit marketing applications for certain human drug and 
biological products. PDUFA was originally enacted in 1992 as the 
Prescription Drug User Fee Act (Pub. L. 102-571) for a period of 5 
years. In 1997, Congress passed the FDA Modernization Act (FDAMA, Pub. 
L. 105-115) that reauthorized the program (PDUFA II) for an additional 
5 years. In 2002, Congress extended PDUFA again through FY 2007 (PDUFA 
III) in the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and 
Response Act (Pub. L. 107-188). In 2007, Title I of the Food and Drug 
Administration Amendments Act of 2007 (FDAAA, Pub. L. 110-85) 
reauthorized PDUFA through FY 2012 (PDUFA IV). Most recently, PDUFA was 
reauthorized through FY 2017 (PDUFA V) as Title I of the Food and Drug 
Administration Safety and Innovation Act (FDASIA, Pub. L. 112-144).
    PDUFA's intent is to provide additional revenues so that FDA can 
hire more staff, improve systems, and establish a better-managed human 
drug review process to make important therapies available to patients 
sooner without compromising review quality or FDA's high standards for 
safety, efficacy, and quality. As part of FDA's agreement with industry 
during each reauthorization, the Agency agrees to certain performance 
goals. These goals apply to the process for the review of new human 
drug and biological product applications, resubmissions of original 
applications, and supplements to approved applications. During the 
first few years of PDUFA I, the additional funding enabled FDA to 
eliminate backlogs of original applications and supplements. Phased in 
over the 5 years of PDUFA I, the goals were to review and act on 90 
percent of priority new drug applications (NDAs), biologics license 
applications (BLAs), and efficacy supplements within 6 months of 
submission of a complete application; to review and act on 90 percent 
of standard original NDAs, BLAs, and efficacy supplements within 12 
months; and to review and act on resubmissions and manufacturing 
supplements within 6 months. Over the course of PDUFA I, FDA exceeded 
all of these performance goals and significantly reduced median review 
times of both priority and standard NDAs and BLAs.
    Under PDUFA II, some of the review performance goals were shortened 
and new procedural goals were added to improve FDA's interactions with 
industry sponsors and to help facilitate the drug development process. 
The procedural goals, for example, articulated timeframes for 
scheduling sponsor-requested meetings intended to address issues or 
questions regarding specific drug development programs, as well as 
timeframes for the timely response to industry-submitted questions on 
special study protocols. FDA met or exceeded nearly all of the review 
and procedural goals under PDUFA II. However, concerns grew that 
overworked review teams often had to return applications as 
``approvable''

[[Page 46931]]

because they did not have the resources and sufficient staff time to 
work with the sponsors to resolve issues so that applications could be 
approved in the first review cycle.
    A sound financial footing and support for limited postmarket risk 
management were key themes of PDUFA III. Base user fee resources were 
significantly increased and a mechanism to account for changes in human 
drug review workload was adopted. PDUFA III also expanded the scope of 
user fee activities to include postmarket surveillance of new therapies 
for up to 3 years after marketing approval. FDA committed to the 
development of guidance for industry on risk assessment, risk 
management, and pharmacovigilance as well as guidance to review staff 
and industry on good review management principles and practices 
(GRMPs). Initiatives to improve application submissions and Agency-
sponsored interactions during the drug development and application 
review processes were also adopted.
    With PDUFA's reauthorization under FDAAA Title I (PDUFA IV), FDA 
obtained a significant increase in base fee funding and committed to 
full implementation of GRMPs, which includes providing a planned review 
timeline for premarket review, development of new guidance for industry 
on innovative clinical trials, modernization of postmarket safety, and 
elimination of the 3-year limitation on fee support for postmarket 
surveillance. Additional provisions in FDAAA (Titles IV, V, and IX) 
gave FDA additional statutory authority that increased the pre- and 
postmarket review process requirements, added new deadlines, and 
effectively increased review workload. Specifically, the new provisions 
expanded FDA's drug safety authorities such as the authority to require 
risk evaluation mitigation strategies, order safety labeling changes, 
and require postmarket studies.
    With the current authorization of PDUFA under Title I of FDASIA, 
FDA implemented a new review program (``the Program'') to promote 
greater transparency and increase communication between the FDA review 
team and the applicant on the most innovative products reviewed by the 
Agency. The Program applies to all new molecular entity (NME) NDAs and 
original BLAs received by the Agency from October 1, 2012, through 
September 30, 2017. The Program adds new opportunities for 
communication between the FDA review team and the applicant during 
review of a marketing application, including mid-cycle communications 
and late-cycle meetings, while adding 60 days to the review clock to 
provide for this increased interaction and to address review issues for 
these complex applications. PDUFA V also required two assessments of 
the impact of the Program. The first of these, the interim assessment, 
is available on FDA's Web site at http://www.fda.gov/downloads/ForIndustry/UserFees/PrescriptionDrugUserFee/UCM436448.pdf.
    In addition to continued commitment to a significant set of review, 
processing, and procedural goals, PDUFA V also included commitments 
related to enhancing regulatory science and expediting drug 
development, enhancing benefit-risk assessment in regulatory 
decisionmaking, modernizing the FDA drug safety system, and improving 
the efficiency of human drug application review by requiring electronic 
submissions and standardization of electronic drug application data. 
The PDUFA V Commitment Letter requires that FDA report on the progress 
in satisfying these commitments in the annual PDUFA performance report. 
The annual performance reports can be found at http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/ReportsManualsForms/Reports/UserFeeReports/PerformanceReports/ucm2007449.htm. More information about FDA's implementation of PDUFA V 
can also be found at http://www.fda.gov/ForIndustry/UserFees/PrescriptionDrugUserFee/ucm272170.htm.

III. Proposed PDUFA VI Recommendations

    In preparing the proposed recommendations to Congress for PDUFA 
reauthorization, FDA conducted discussions with the regulated industry 
and consulted with stakeholders, as required by the law. We began the 
PDUFA reauthorization process by publishing a notice in the Federal 
Register requesting public input on the reauthorization and announcing 
a public meeting that was held on July 15, 2015. The meeting included 
presentations by FDA and a series of panels with representatives of 
different stakeholder groups, including patient advocates, consumer 
groups, regulated industry, health professionals, and academic 
researchers. The materials from the meeting, including a transcript and 
Webcast recording, can be found at http://www.fda.gov/ForIndustry/UserFees/PrescriptionDrugUserFee/ucm446608.htm.
    Following the July 2015 public meeting, FDA conducted negotiations 
with the regulated industry and held monthly consultations with 
stakeholders from September 2015 through February 2016. As directed by 
Congress, FDA posted minutes of these meetings on its Web site at 
http://www.fda.gov/ForIndustry/UserFees/PrescriptionDrugUserFee/ucm446608.htm.
    The proposed enhancements for PDUFA VI address many of the top 
priorities identified by public stakeholders, the regulated industry, 
and FDA. While some of the proposed enhancements are new, many either 
build on successful enhancements or refine elements from the existing 
program. The enhancements are proposed in the following areas: 
Premarket review, regulatory decision tools, postmarketing evaluation, 
electronic submissions and data standards, and administrative areas 
(hiring and financial management). The full text of the proposed PDUFA 
VI commitment letter can be found here at http://www.fda.gov/ForIndustry/UserFees/PrescriptionDrugUserFee/ucm446608.htm. Each 
significant new or modified enhancement is described briefly below:

A. Program for Enhanced Review Transparency and Communication for NME 
NDAs and Original BLAs

    The program for enhanced review transparency and communication for 
NME NDAs and original BLAs (the Program), first established in PDUFA V, 
provides for additional communication between FDA review teams and the 
applicants of NME NDAs or original BLAs in the form of pre-submission 
meetings, mid-cycle communications, and late-cycle meetings, while also 
adding 60 days to the review timeframe to accommodate this additional 
interaction. An interim assessment of the Program suggested that the 
Program has created conditions that enhance the ability of applicants 
and FDA reviewers to work toward application approval in the first 
cycle (see http://www.fda.gov/ForIndustry/UserFees/PrescriptionDrugUserFee/ucm327030.htm).
    For PDUFA VI, FDA proposes to maintain the Program with minor 
modifications to reduce administrative burden and increase flexibility 
to the benefit of FDA review teams and applicants. FDA proposes to 
provide an option for the FDA review team and the applicant to agree on 
a formal communication plan to govern interactions during the 
application review. The formal communication plan may or may not 
include Program elements (e.g. mid-cycle communication, late-cycle 
meeting) and may include other interactions that are not part of the 
Program (e.g. application

[[Page 46932]]

orientation meetings). Additional flexibility is also provided for 
scheduling of advisory committee (AC) meetings and an option for an 
informal teleconference following the AC meeting is provided as well 
for purposes of discussing the committee's input. Review activities 
involving FDA's controlled substance scheduling recommendations are 
also to be discussed at Program meetings, if relevant. Applications 
that receive a refuse-to-file action and are subsequently filed over 
protest are now subject to the Program review performance goals, but do 
not benefit from the Program interactions; additionally any subsequent 
resubmissions for applications filed over protest are not subject to 
any review performance goals.
    This enhancement is described in section I.B. of the proposed PDUFA 
VI commitment letter.

B. Goal Extensions for Missing Manufacturing Facilities

    Inspections late in the review process of inadequately identified 
manufacturing facilities can adversely impact FDA's ability to complete 
application review within the performance goal timeframes. FDA proposes 
to extend the goal date for an original application or an efficacy 
supplement when it identifies a need to inspect a facility that was not 
included in a comprehensive and readily located list of manufacturing 
facilities. This enhancement is described in section I.A.5.b of the 
proposed PDUFA VI commitment letter.

C. Meeting Management

    The number of requests for formal meetings between sponsors and the 
FDA is rapidly increasing; in FY 2015 alone, FDA received over 3,000 
requests for formal PDUFA meetings with sponsors. The background 
packages for these meetings are increasingly complex which creates 
challenges for FDA to review and deliberate internally before providing 
advice to sponsors on complex drug development questions within current 
performance goal timeframes. To help address this issue, FDA proposes 
to create a new Type B End of Phase (EOP) meeting type for certain EOP 
1 and EOP 2/pre-phase 3 meetings. The performance goal timeframes for 
responses to meeting requests, submission of meeting background 
packages, and FDA's issuance of preliminary responses for the Type B 
(EOP) meetings and the Type C meetings would be modified to provide 
adequate time for FDA review and response. Sponsors would receive 
preliminary responses to their questions no later than five calendar 
days before the scheduled meeting, providing the sponsor with time to 
evaluate whether an in-person meeting would still be necessary. 
Sponsors would also be able to request a Written Response Only for any 
meeting type. The language for meeting management is described in 
section I.H of the proposed PDUFA VI commitment letter.

D. Enhancing Regulatory Science and Expediting Drug Development

    The enhancements under this section focus on enhancing regulatory 
science and expediting drug development. Regulatory science, in this 
context, is the science of developing and applying new tools, 
standards, and approaches to assess the safety, effectiveness, quality, 
and performance of FDA-regulated drug products. The details of these 
enhancements can be found in section I.I of the proposed PDUFA VI 
commitment letter.
1. FDA-Sponsor Communication During Drug Development
    FDA recognizes that timely interactive communication with sponsors 
can help foster efficient and effective drug development. Under 
commitments in PDUFA V, FDA focused on improving communication between 
FDA and sponsors during drug development by establishing a dedicated 
drug development communications and training staff in the Center for 
Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) and augmenting existing 
communications staff in the Center for Biologics Evaluation and 
Research (CBER). Under PDUFA VI, FDA proposes to build on this 
enhancement by conducting a third-party evaluation of current 
communication practices between FDA and sponsors during drug 
development, to convene a public workshop to discuss results of this 
evaluation, and then to update the guidance on ``Best Practices for 
Communication Between IND Sponsors and FDA During Drug Development,'' 
if necessary (available here: http://www.fda.gov/downloads/drugs/guidancecomplianceregulatoryinformation/guidances/ucm475586.pdf).
2. Breakthrough Therapies
    FDASIA established a new designation, breakthrough therapy, for 
drugs intended to treat a serious or life threatening disease or 
condition where preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the drug 
may demonstrate substantial improvement over existing therapies on one 
or more clinically significant endpoints. Utilization of the 
breakthrough therapy program has been higher than anticipated with over 
300 requests for designation received, and over 100 granted (as of 
March 2016). Additional resources will enable the FDA to continue to 
work closely with sponsors throughout the development and review of 
breakthrough therapies. Both the FDA and the regulated industry are 
committed to ensuring the expedited development and review of 
innovative therapies for serious or life-threatening diseases by 
investing additional resources in the breakthrough therapy program 
during PDUFA VI.
3. Early Consultation on New Surrogate Endpoints
    FDA recognizes that early consultation can be important to an 
efficient development program when a sponsor intends to use a biomarker 
as a new surrogate endpoint that has never been used as the primary 
basis for product approval in the proposed context of use. Early 
consultation enables the FDA review team to consult with senior 
management to evaluate the sponsor's proposal before providing advice 
to the sponsor on a critical aspect of their development program. FDA 
proposes that these requests for early consultation in PDUFA VI be 
considered as Type C meeting requests. The purpose of the meeting will 
be to discuss the feasibility of the surrogate as a primary endpoint, 
any knowledge gaps, and how these gaps should be addressed before the 
surrogate endpoint could be used as the primary basis for approval. To 
qualify for this consultation, the meeting background package will be 
due at the time of the meeting request and must include preliminary 
human data indicating the impact of the drug on the biomarker.
4. Rare Disease Drug Development
    In PDUFA VI, FDA proposes to build on the success of the Rare 
Disease Program (RDP) by continuing to advance and facilitate the 
development and timely approval of drugs and biologics for rare 
diseases, including diseases in children. In addition to providing 
training for review staff related to development and review of drugs 
for rare diseases and engaging in outreach to external stakeholders, 
the RDP staff in CDER will be integrated into review teams for rare 
disease development programs and application review, while the RDP 
Staff in CBER will ensure that CBER's review offices consider flexible 
and feasible approaches in review. The RDP will also continue to foster 
collaborations in the development of tools to support rare disease drug 
development and facilitate interactions

[[Page 46933]]

between stakeholders to increase awareness of FDA regulatory programs 
and engagement of patients in FDA's regulatory decisionmaking.
5. Advancing Development of Drug-Device and Biologic-Device Combination 
Products Regulated by CBER and CDER
    Under PDUFA VI FDA will pursue the opportunity to improve inter-
center and intra-center combination review coordination and 
transparency for PDUFA-led products. FDA proposes to enhance staff 
capacity and capability across the relevant medical product centers and 
the Office of Combination Products to more efficiently, effectively, 
and consistently review drug and device-led combination products. FDA 
also proposes to streamline the process for combination product review 
and to improve the Agency's ability to track drug and device-led 
combination product review workload, including a third party assessment 
of current practices for combination drug product review.
    Under this enhancement FDA will also establish new performance 
goals and submission procedures for the review of human factors 
protocols for PDUFA combination products. These goals will be to 
provide the sponsor with written comments on these protocols within 60 
days of receipt. The goals to provide written comments within 60 days 
will begin at the 50 percent level in FY 2019, and increase to 90 
percent by FY 2021.
    In addition, FDA proposes to publish draft guidance or update 
previously published guidance on bridging studies and patient-oriented 
labeling.
6. Enhancing Use of Real World Evidence for Use in Regulatory 
Decisionmaking
    FDA recognizes the potential value of utilizing ``real-world'' 
evidence in evaluating not only the safety of medications but also 
their effectiveness. To better understand how real-world evidence can 
be generated and used appropriately in product evaluation, FDA proposes 
to conduct one or more public workshops, as well as other appropriate 
activities (e.g. pilot studies or methodology development projects). 
Considering the available input, FDA will then publish draft guidance 
on how real-world evidence can contribute to the assessment of safety 
and effectiveness in regulatory submissions.
7. Enhancing Regulatory Decision Tools to Support Drug Development and 
Review
    The enhancements under this section focus on enhancing regulatory 
decision tools to support drug development and review. The details of 
these enhancements can be found in section I.J of the proposed PDUFA VI 
commitment letter.
8. Enhancing the Incorporation of the Patient's Voice in Drug 
Development and Decisionmaking
    In PDUFA V, FDA conducted a series of Patient-Focused Drug 
Development (PFDD) meetings with the aim to more systematically gather 
patients' perspectives on their condition and available therapies to 
treat their condition. Under PDUFA VI, FDA proposes to build on these 
efforts to bridge from PFDD meetings to fit-for-purpose tools to 
collect meaningful patient input that can be incorporated into 
regulatory review. FDA proposes to develop a series of guidance 
documents to advance the collection of meaningful patient input. The 
publication of each draft guidance will be preceded by a public 
workshop conducted by FDA to gather stakeholder input relevant to the 
topics that will be the focus of that guidance. FDA also proposes to 
publish a repository of publicly available tools on FDA's Web site as a 
resource for stakeholders, to update internal policies and procedures, 
as appropriate, to incorporate an increased focus on patient input, and 
to enhance staff capacity to facilitate development and use of patient-
focused methods to inform drug development and regulatory decisions.
9. Enhancing Benefit-Risk Assessment in Regulatory Decisionmaking
    Ensuring the safety, effectiveness, and quality of drug products is 
an increasingly complicated regulatory task, requiring FDA's expert 
consideration of a multitude of complex factors. During PDUFA V, FDA 
implemented an enhanced structured approach to benefit-risk assessment 
in regulatory decisionmaking for drug products. In PDUFA VI, FDA 
proposes to publish an update to its benefit-risk framework 
implementation plan, to conduct an evaluation of the implementation of 
the benefit-risk framework, to develop guidance on benefit-risk 
assessments for new drugs and biologics, and to revise relevant 
policies and procedures to include new approaches that incorporate the 
benefit-risk framework into the human drug review program.
10. Advancing Model-Informed Drug Development
    The development and application of exposure-based, biological, and 
statistical models derived from preclinical and clinical data sources 
can be used to inform regulatory decision-making, for example, in 
determining patient selection in clinical trials, individualized dosing 
for specific populations, or the need for post-marketing studies. To 
facilitate the development and application of these approaches during 
PDUFA VI, FDA proposes to convene a series of workshops to identify 
best practices for model-informed drug development (MIDD), to conduct a 
pilot program, to develop guidance on MIDD, and to update policies and 
procedures, as appropriate, to incorporate guidelines for the 
evaluation of MIDD approaches.
11. Enhancing Capacity To Review Complex Innovative Designs
    To facilitate the advancement and use of complex adaptive, 
Bayesian, and other novel clinical trial designs during PDUFA VI, FDA 
proposes to convene a public workshop on complex innovative trial 
designs, publish guidance on complex innovative trial designs, to 
conduct a pilot program, and to update policies and procedures as 
appropriate to incorporate guidelines on evaluating complex innovative 
trial designs.
12. Enhancing Capacity To Support Analysis Data Standards for Product 
Development and Review
    As regulatory submissions are increasingly submitted in fully 
standard electronic format, it becomes increasingly important to ensure 
that analysis datasets are structured according to the standards to 
facilitate acceptance and analysis of the datasets. To support the 
enhancement of analysis data standards for product development and 
review in PDUFA VI, FDA proposes to enhance staff capacity to develop 
and update relevant standards, to support the efficient submission and 
review of analysis datasets, to convene a public workshop to advance 
the development and application of analysis data standards, to 
collaborate with external stakeholders on development of data 
standards, and to update, as appropriate, internal policies and 
procedures associated with the submission and utilization of 
standardized analysis datasets.
13. Enhancing Drug Development Tools Qualification Pathway for 
Biomarkers
    The Biomarker Qualification Program was established to support 
FDA's work with external partners to develop

[[Page 46934]]

biomarkers that aid in the drug development process. To facilitate the 
enhancement of the drug development tools qualification pathway for 
biomarkers in PDUFA VI, FDA proposes to convene a public meeting to 
discuss taxonomy and a framework with standards for biomarkers used in 
drug development, to develop guidance on biomarker taxonomy, contexts 
of uses, and general evidentiary standards, and to maintain a public 
Web site to communicate a list of biomarker qualification submissions 
in the qualification process.

E. Enhancement and Modernization of the FDA Drug Safety System

    The drug safety enhancements in PDUFA VI focus on expansion of the 
Sentinel System and enhancements to support the review, oversight, 
tracking, and communication of postmarketing drug safety issues. The 
enhancements are described in I.K of the proposed PDUFA VI commitment 
letter.
1. Advancing Postmarketing Drug Safety Evaluation Through Expansion of 
the Sentinel System and Integration into FDA Pharmacovigilance 
Activities
    FDA's Sentinel Initiative is a long-term program designed to build 
and implement a national electronic system for monitoring the safety of 
FDA-approved medical products. FDA recently transitioned from the Mini-
Sentinel pilot to the Sentinel System, but full utilization of the 
Sentinel System remains a work in progress. Continued development and 
integration of the Sentinel System is needed to realize the system's 
full value to the postmarketing safety review process. To help realize 
the full value of the Sentinel System during PDUFA VI, FDA proposes to 
continue to expand the systems' data sources and core capabilities, to 
systematically integrate Sentinel into postmarketing review activities, 
to enhance Sentinel communication practices with sponsors and the 
public, and to conduct an analysis of the impact of Sentinel expansion 
and integration for regulatory purposes.
2. Timely and Effective Evaluation and Communication of Postmarketing 
Safety Findings Related to New Drugs
    During PDUFA VI, FDA proposes to continue to support the review, 
oversight, tracking, and communication of postmarketing drug safety 
issues. FDA proposes to make improvements to its current processes and 
information technology systems to enhance the management and oversight 
of postmarketing drug safety issues, to update policies and procedures 
to provide timely notification to a sponsor, to the extent practicable, 
when a serious safety signal is identified, and to conduct an 
assessment of how its data systems and processes support review, 
oversight, and communication of postmarketing drug safety issues.

F. Electronic Submissions and Data Standards Activities

    FDA is committed to achieving the long-term goal of improving the 
predictability and consistency of the electronic submission process and 
enhancing transparency and accountability of FDA information technology 
related activities. During PDUFA VI, FDA proposes to publish submission 
documentation, metrics, submission status, and system and process 
changes, to hold quarterly meetings to share performance updates 
between FDA and the regulated industry, to hold annual public meetings 
to gather stakeholder input to inform the FDA information technology 
strategic plan, and to collaborate with standards development 
organizations and stakeholders to ensure the long-term sustainability 
of supported data standards. These enhancements are described in 
section IV of the proposed PDUFA VI commitment letter.

G. Improving FDA Hiring and Retention of Review Staff

    To speed and improve development of safe and effective new 
therapies for patients requires that FDA hire and retain sufficient 
numbers and types of technical and scientific experts to efficiently 
conduct reviews of human drug applications. In order to strengthen this 
core function during PDUFA VI, FDA proposes to commit to completing 
implementation of an full time equivalent staff (FTE)-based position 
management system capability, to complete implementation of an online 
position classification system, to complete implementation of corporate 
recruiting practices, to augment hiring capacity with expert contractor 
support, to complete establishment of a dedicated function to ensure 
needed scientific staffing for the human drug review program, to 
establish clear goals for human drug review program hiring, and to 
conduct a comprehensive and continuous assessment of hiring and 
retention performance. These enhancements are described in section III 
of the proposed PDUFA VI commitment letter.

H. Enhancing Management of User Fee Resources

    FDA is committed to enhancing management of PDUFA resources and 
ensuring PDUFA user fee resources are administered, allocated, and 
reported in an efficient and transparent manner. In PDUFA VI, FDA 
proposes to establish a resource capacity planning function to improve 
its ability to analyze current resource needs and project future 
resource needs, to modernize its time reporting approach, to conduct an 
evaluation of PDUFA program resource management, to publish a 5-year 
PDUFA financial plan with annual updates, and to convene an annual 
public meeting, beginning in FY 2019, to discuss the financial plan and 
progress towards the financial management enhancements. These 
enhancements are described in section II of the proposed PDUFA VI 
commitment letter.

I. Enhancements to Fee Structure and Related Mechanisms for Increased 
Predictability, Stability, and Efficiency

    The current overall PDUFA fee structure and the fee setting process 
were established in 1993 for PDUFA I and have generally remained in 
place through four reauthorizations of PDUFA. Over the years, FDA and 
industry agreed that some elements of the fee structure and the fee 
setting process could be updated to enhance the predictability and 
stability of fee amounts and revenues in a manner to improve FDA's 
ability to engage in long-term financial planning. Additionally, some 
elements of the fee structure reduce the efficiency of administrative 
work without a corresponding benefit to the public or to the regulated 
industry. To address these issues, FDA proposes to shift a greater 
proportion of the target revenue allocation to more predictable fee-
paying types (20 percent to applications; 80 percent to Program fees), 
to discontinue the establishment and supplement fees, to rename the 
product fee as the PDUFA Program fee, to modify the Program fee billing 
date to minimize the need for multiple billing cycles, to add a 
limitation that a sponsor shall not be assessed more than five PDUFA 
Program fees for a fiscal year for products identified in each distinct 
approved human drug application held by that sponsor, and to 
discontinue the Fees-Exceed-the-Costs waiver. FDA also proposes during 
PDUFA VI to replace the workload adjuster with a robust methodology for 
adjusting fees based on the capacity needs of the program, and to 
replace the fifth year offset provision and final year

[[Page 46935]]

adjustment provisions with an annual operating reserve adjustment to 
provide for adequate carryover resources.

J. Impact of PDUFA VI Enhancements on User Fee Revenue

    To implement the proposed enhancements for PDUFA VI, funding for a 
cumulative total of 230 FTE staff is proposed to be phased in over the 
course of PDUFA VI. The new funding will be phased in as follows:

 $20,077,793 for FY 2018
 $21,317,472 for FY 2019
 $16,953,329 for FY 2020
 $5,426,896 for FY 2021
 $2,769,609 for FY 2022
    In addition, $8.73 million will be added in FY 2018 to provide for 
other additional direct costs associated with the PDUFA VI 
enhancements. This amount will be included for FYs 2019 through 2022 
after being adjusted for inflation.

IV. Purpose and Scope of the Meeting

    If you wish to attend this meeting, visit http://pdufareauthorization.eventbrite.com. Please register by August 8, 2016. 
If you are unable to attend the meeting in person, you can register to 
view a live Webcast of the meeting. You will be asked to indicate in 
your registration if you plan to attend in person or via the Webcast. 
Seating will be limited, so early registration is recommended. 
Registration is free and will be on a first-come, first-served basis. 
However, FDA may limit the number of participants from each 
organization based on space limitations. Registrants will receive 
confirmation once they have been accepted. Onsite registration on the 
day of the meeting will be based on space availability. If you need 
special accommodations because of a disability, please contact Graham 
Thompson (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) at least 7 days before 
the meeting.
    The meeting will include a presentation by FDA and a series of 
invited panels representing different stakeholder groups identified in 
the statute (such as patient advocacy groups, consumer advocacy groups, 
health professionals, and regulated industry). We will also provide an 
opportunity for other organizations and individuals to make 
presentations at the meeting or to submit written comments to the 
docket before the meeting.
    FDA will also hold an open public comment period at the meeting to 
give the public an opportunity to present their comments. Registration 
for open public comment will occur at the registration desk on the day 
of the meeting and workshop on a first-come, first-served basis.
    Transcripts: As soon as a transcript is available, FDA will post it 
at http://www.fda.gov/ForIndustry/UserFees/PrescriptionDrugUserFee/ucm446608.htm.

    Dated: July 13, 2016.
Leslie Kux,
Associate Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2016-16916 Filed 7-15-16; 4:15 pm]
 BILLING CODE 4164-01-P



                                                                                  Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 138 / Tuesday, July 19, 2016 / Notices                                          46929

                                                  Auditorium, Natcher Conference Center,                   space available basis beginning at 7:30               p.m. Please register for the meeting by
                                                  Bldg. 45, National Institutes of Health                  a.m.                                                  August 8, 2016, at http://
                                                  Campus, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda,                     If you need special accommodations                  pdufareauthorization.eventbrite.com.
                                                  MD 20892. The entrance for the public                    due to a disability, please contact                   Submit electronic or written comments
                                                  workshop participants (non-NIH                           Matthew Morrison (see FOR FURTHER                     to the public docket by August 22, 2016.
                                                  employees) is through the NIH Gateway                    INFORMATION CONTACT) at least 7 days in               ADDRESSES: The meeting and workshop
                                                  Center located adjacent to the Medical                   advance.                                              will be held at the FDA White Oak
                                                  Center Metro, where routine security                       Transcripts: Please be advised that as              Campus, 10903 New Hampshire Ave.,
                                                  check procedures will be performed.                      soon as possible after a transcript of this           Bldg. 31 Conference Center, the Great
                                                  Please visit the following Web site for                  public workshop is available, it will be              Room (Rm. 1503, Section A), Silver
                                                  NIH campus location, parking, security,                  accessible at: http://www.fda.gov/                    Spring, MD 20993–0002. Participants
                                                  and travel information: http://                          BiologicsBloodVaccines/NewsEvents/                    must enter through Building 1 and
                                                  www.nih.gov/about/visitor/index.htm.                     WorkshopsMeetingsConferences/                         undergo security screening. For more
                                                  Please visit the following Web site for                  ucm507890.htm.                                        information on parking and security
                                                  information on the Natcher Conference                      Dated: July 13, 2016.                               procedures, please refer to http://
                                                  Center: http://www.genome.gov/                           Leslie Kux,                                           www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/
                                                  11007522.                                                                                                      WorkingatFDA/BuildingsandFacilities/
                                                                                                           Associate Commissioner for Policy.
                                                  FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:                         [FR Doc. 2016–17008 Filed 7–18–16; 8:45 am]           WhiteOakCampusInformation/
                                                  Matthew Morrison, Center for Biologics                   BILLING CODE 4164–01–P
                                                                                                                                                                 ucm241740.htm.
                                                  Evaluation and Research, Food and                                                                                You may submit comments as
                                                  Drug Administration, 10903 New                                                                                 follows:
                                                  Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 71, rm. 3128,                      DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND                              Electronic Submissions
                                                  Silver Spring, MD 20993, 240–402–                        HUMAN SERVICES
                                                  8126, Matthew.D.Morrison@fda.hhs.gov.                                                                            Submit electronic comments in the
                                                  For questions email:                                     Food and Drug Administration                          following way:
                                                  CBERPublicEvents@fda.hhs.gov (Subject                                                                            • Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://
                                                                                                           [Docket No. FDA–2016–N–1895]
                                                  line: Red Blood Cell (RBC) Workshop).                                                                          www.regulations.gov. Follow the
                                                  SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The                           Prescription Drug User Fee Act; Public                instructions for submitting comments.
                                                  purpose of the public workshop is to                     Meeting; Request for Comments                         Comments submitted electronically,
                                                  discuss new methodologies for pre-                                                                             including attachments, to http://
                                                  clinical evaluation of the safety and                    AGENCY:    Food and Drug Administration,              www.regulations.gov will be posted to
                                                  efficacy of red blood cell transfusion                   HHS.                                                  the docket unchanged. Because your
                                                  products including potential                             ACTION: Notice of public meeting;                     comment will be made public, you are
                                                  identification of biomarkers measurable                  request for comments.                                 solely responsible for ensuring that your
                                                  during red cell storage that could                                                                             comment does not include any
                                                  predict the in vivo functionality of                     SUMMARY:   The Food and Drug                          confidential information that you or a
                                                  transfused red blood cells. The first day                Administration (FDA or Agency) is                     third party may not wish to be posted,
                                                  of the workshop will include                             announcing a public meeting to discuss                such as medical information, your or
                                                  presentations and panel discussions on                   proposed recommendations for the                      anyone else’s Social Security number, or
                                                  the following topics: (1) Overview of red                reauthorization of the Prescription Drug              confidential business information, such
                                                  blood cells for transfusion; (2) methods                 User Fee Act (PDUFA) for fiscal years                 as a manufacturing process. Please note
                                                  for determining the suitability of red                   (FYs) 2018 through 2022. PDUFA                        that if you include your name, contact
                                                  blood cells for transfusion; (3) new                     authorizes FDA to collect fees and use                information, or other information that
                                                  methods for detecting red blood cell                     them for the process for the review of                identifies you in the body of your
                                                  processing and storage legions; and (4)                  human drug applications. The current                  comments, that information will be
                                                  the use of animal models of oxygen                       legislative authority for PDUFA expires               posted on http://www.regulations.gov.
                                                  delivery as markers of red blood cell                    in September 2017. At that time, new                    • If you want to submit a comment
                                                  safety and efficacy in the acute bleeding                legislation will be required for FDA to               with confidential information that you
                                                  and trauma resuscitation settings.                       continue collecting prescription drug                 do not wish to be made available to the
                                                     The second day of the workshop will                   user fees in future fiscal years.                     public, submit the comment as a
                                                  include presentations and panel                          Following discussions with the                        written/paper submission and in the
                                                  discussions on the potential                             regulated industry and periodic                       manner detailed (see ‘‘Written/Paper
                                                  mechanisms of red blood cell                             consultations with public stakeholders,               Submissions’’ and ‘‘Instructions’’).
                                                  transfusion-associated toxicity and a                    the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
                                                                                                           Act (the FD&C Act) directs FDA to                     Written/Paper Submissions
                                                  summary of all workshop panel
                                                  discussions, identified gaps, and future                 publish the recommendations for the                     Submit written/paper submissions as
                                                  directions.                                              reauthorized program in the Federal                   follows:
                                                     Registration: Please visit the following              Register, hold a meeting at which the                   • Mail/Hand delivery/Courier (for
                                                  Web site to register for the workshop by                 public may present its views on such                  written/paper submissions): Division of
                                                  September 23, 2016: https://                             recommendations, and provide for a                    Dockets Management (HFA–305), Food
                                                  www.eventbrite.com/e/pre-clinical-                       period of 30 days for the public to                   and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers
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                                                  evaluation-of-red-blood-cells-for-                       provide written comments on such                      Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
                                                  transfusion-registration-25813463765.                    recommendations. FDA will then                          • For written/paper comments
                                                  There is no registration fee for the                     consider such public views and                        submitted to the Division of Dockets
                                                  public workshop. Early registration is                   comments and revise such                              Management, FDA will post your
                                                  recommended because seating is                           recommendations as necessary.                         comment, as well as any attachments,
                                                  limited. Registration on the day of the                  DATES: The public meeting will be held                except for information submitted,
                                                  public workshop will be provided on a                    on August 15, 2016, from 9 a.m. to 2                  marked and identified, as confidential,


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                                                  46930                           Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 138 / Tuesday, July 19, 2016 / Notices

                                                  if submitted as detailed in                              Evaluation and Research, Food and                     extended PDUFA again through FY
                                                  ‘‘Instructions.’’                                        Drug Administration, 10903 New                        2007 (PDUFA III) in the Public Health
                                                     Instructions: All submissions received                Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 51, Rm. 1146,                   Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness
                                                  must include the Docket No. FDA–                         Silver Spring, MD 20993, 301–796–                     and Response Act (Pub. L. 107–188). In
                                                  2016–N–1895 for ‘‘Prescription Drug                      5003, FAX: 301–847–8443,                              2007, Title I of the Food and Drug
                                                  User Fee Act; Public Meeting.’’ Received                 graham.thompson@fda.hhs.gov.                          Administration Amendments Act of
                                                  comments will be placed in the docket                    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:                            2007 (FDAAA, Pub. L. 110–85)
                                                  and, except for those submitted as                                                                             reauthorized PDUFA through FY 2012
                                                  ‘‘Confidential Submissions,’’ publicly                   I. Introduction                                       (PDUFA IV). Most recently, PDUFA was
                                                  viewable at http://www.regulations.gov                      FDA is announcing a public meeting                 reauthorized through FY 2017 (PDUFA
                                                  or at the Division of Dockets                            to discuss proposed recommendations                   V) as Title I of the Food and Drug
                                                  Management between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.,                    for the reauthorization of PDUFA, the                 Administration Safety and Innovation
                                                  Monday through Friday.                                   legislation that authorizes FDA to                    Act (FDASIA, Pub. L. 112–144).
                                                     • Confidential Submissions—To                         collect user fees and use them for the                   PDUFA’s intent is to provide
                                                  submit a comment with confidential                       process for the review of human drug                  additional revenues so that FDA can
                                                  information that you do not wish to be                   applications. The current authorization               hire more staff, improve systems, and
                                                  made publicly available, submit your                     of the program (PDUFA V) expires in                   establish a better-managed human drug
                                                  comments only as a written/paper                         September 2017. Without new                           review process to make important
                                                  submission. You should submit two                        legislation, FDA will no longer be able               therapies available to patients sooner
                                                  copies total. One copy will include the                  to collect user fees for future fiscal years          without compromising review quality or
                                                  information you claim to be confidential                 to fund the process for the review of                 FDA’s high standards for safety,
                                                  with a heading or cover note that states                 human drug applications. Section                      efficacy, and quality. As part of FDA’s
                                                  ‘‘THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS                                 736B(d)(4) of the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C.                 agreement with industry during each
                                                  CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.’’ The                          379h–2(d)(4)) requires that after FDA                 reauthorization, the Agency agrees to
                                                  Agency will review this copy, including                  holds negotiations with regulated                     certain performance goals. These goals
                                                  the claimed confidential information, in                 industry and periodic consultations                   apply to the process for the review of
                                                  its consideration of comments. The                       with stakeholders, we do the following:               new human drug and biological product
                                                  second copy, which will have the                         (1) Present recommendations to the                    applications, resubmissions of original
                                                  claimed confidential information                         relevant Congressional committees, (2)                applications, and supplements to
                                                  redacted/blacked out, will be available                  publish recommendations in the                        approved applications. During the first
                                                  for public viewing and posted on http://                 Federal Register, (3) provide a period of             few years of PDUFA I, the additional
                                                  www.regulations.gov. Submit both                         30 days for the public to provide written             funding enabled FDA to eliminate
                                                  copies to the Division of Dockets                        comments on the recommendations, (4)                  backlogs of original applications and
                                                  Management. If you do not wish your                      hold a meeting at which the public may                supplements. Phased in over the 5 years
                                                  name and contact information to be                       present its views, and (5) after                      of PDUFA I, the goals were to review
                                                  made publicly available, you can                         consideration of public views and                     and act on 90 percent of priority new
                                                  provide this information on the cover                    comments, revise the recommendations                  drug applications (NDAs), biologics
                                                  sheet and not in the body of your                        as necessary.                                         license applications (BLAs), and
                                                  comments and you must identify this                         This notice, the 30-day comment                    efficacy supplements within 6 months
                                                  information as ‘‘confidential.’’ Any                     period, and the public meeting will                   of submission of a complete application;
                                                  information marked as ‘‘confidential’’                   satisfy some of these requirements. After             to review and act on 90 percent of
                                                  will not be disclosed except in                          the public meeting, we will revise the                standard original NDAs, BLAs, and
                                                  accordance with 21 CFR 10.20 and other                   recommendations as necessary and                      efficacy supplements within 12 months;
                                                  applicable disclosure law. For more                      present our proposed recommendations                  and to review and act on resubmissions
                                                  information about FDA’s posting of                       to the Congressional committees.                      and manufacturing supplements within
                                                                                                              The purpose of the meeting is to hear              6 months. Over the course of PDUFA I,
                                                  comments to public dockets, see 80 FR
                                                                                                           the public’s views on the proposed                    FDA exceeded all of these performance
                                                  56469, September 18, 2015, or access
                                                                                                           recommendations for the reauthorized                  goals and significantly reduced median
                                                  the information at: http://www.fda.gov/
                                                                                                           program (PDUFA VI). The following                     review times of both priority and
                                                  regulatoryinformation/dockets/
                                                                                                           information is provided to help                       standard NDAs and BLAs.
                                                  default.htm.                                                                                                      Under PDUFA II, some of the review
                                                                                                           potential meeting participants better
                                                     Docket: For access to the docket to
                                                                                                           understand the history and evolution of               performance goals were shortened and
                                                  read background documents or the
                                                                                                           the PDUFA program and the current                     new procedural goals were added to
                                                  electronic and written/paper comments
                                                                                                           status of the proposed PDUFA VI                       improve FDA’s interactions with
                                                  received, go to http://                                                                                        industry sponsors and to help facilitate
                                                                                                           recommendations.
                                                  www.regulations.gov and insert the                                                                             the drug development process. The
                                                  docket number, found in brackets in the                  II. What is PDUFA and what does it do?                procedural goals, for example,
                                                  heading of this document, into the                          PDUFA is a law that authorizes FDA                 articulated timeframes for scheduling
                                                  ‘‘Search’’ box and follow the prompts                    to collect fees from drug companies that              sponsor-requested meetings intended to
                                                  and/or go to the Division of Dockets                     submit marketing applications for                     address issues or questions regarding
                                                  Management, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm.                       certain human drug and biological                     specific drug development programs, as
                                                  1061, Rockville, MD 20852.                               products. PDUFA was originally                        well as timeframes for the timely
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                                                     FDA will post the agenda                              enacted in 1992 as the Prescription Drug              response to industry-submitted
                                                  approximately 5 days before the meeting                  User Fee Act (Pub. L. 102–571) for a                  questions on special study protocols.
                                                  at: http://www.fda.gov/ForIndustry/                      period of 5 years. In 1997, Congress                  FDA met or exceeded nearly all of the
                                                  UserFees/PrescriptionDrugUserFee/                        passed the FDA Modernization Act                      review and procedural goals under
                                                  ucm446608.htm.                                           (FDAMA, Pub. L. 105–115) that                         PDUFA II. However, concerns grew that
                                                  FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:                         reauthorized the program (PDUFA II) for               overworked review teams often had to
                                                  Graham Thompson, Center for Drug                         an additional 5 years. In 2002, Congress              return applications as ‘‘approvable’’


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                                                                                  Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 138 / Tuesday, July 19, 2016 / Notices                                          46931

                                                  because they did not have the resources                  meetings, while adding 60 days to the                 stakeholders from September 2015
                                                  and sufficient staff time to work with                   review clock to provide for this                      through February 2016. As directed by
                                                  the sponsors to resolve issues so that                   increased interaction and to address                  Congress, FDA posted minutes of these
                                                  applications could be approved in the                    review issues for these complex                       meetings on its Web site at http://
                                                  first review cycle.                                      applications. PDUFA V also required                   www.fda.gov/ForIndustry/UserFees/
                                                     A sound financial footing and support                 two assessments of the impact of the                  PrescriptionDrugUserFee/
                                                  for limited postmarket risk management                   Program. The first of these, the interim              ucm446608.htm.
                                                  were key themes of PDUFA III. Base                       assessment, is available on FDA’s Web                   The proposed enhancements for
                                                  user fee resources were significantly                    site at http://www.fda.gov/downloads/                 PDUFA VI address many of the top
                                                  increased and a mechanism to account                     ForIndustry/UserFees/PrescriptionDrug                 priorities identified by public
                                                  for changes in human drug review                         UserFee/UCM436448.pdf.                                stakeholders, the regulated industry,
                                                  workload was adopted. PDUFA III also                        In addition to continued commitment                and FDA. While some of the proposed
                                                  expanded the scope of user fee activities                to a significant set of review, processing,           enhancements are new, many either
                                                  to include postmarket surveillance of                    and procedural goals, PDUFA V also                    build on successful enhancements or
                                                  new therapies for up to 3 years after                    included commitments related to                       refine elements from the existing
                                                  marketing approval. FDA committed to                     enhancing regulatory science and                      program. The enhancements are
                                                  the development of guidance for                          expediting drug development,                          proposed in the following areas:
                                                  industry on risk assessment, risk                        enhancing benefit-risk assessment in                  Premarket review, regulatory decision
                                                  management, and pharmacovigilance as                     regulatory decisionmaking, modernizing                tools, postmarketing evaluation,
                                                  well as guidance to review staff and                     the FDA drug safety system, and                       electronic submissions and data
                                                  industry on good review management                       improving the efficiency of human drug                standards, and administrative areas
                                                  principles and practices (GRMPs).                        application review by requiring                       (hiring and financial management). The
                                                  Initiatives to improve application                       electronic submissions and                            full text of the proposed PDUFA VI
                                                  submissions and Agency-sponsored                         standardization of electronic drug                    commitment letter can be found here at
                                                  interactions during the drug                             application data. The PDUFA V                         http://www.fda.gov/ForIndustry/
                                                  development and application review                       Commitment Letter requires that FDA                   UserFees/PrescriptionDrugUserFee/
                                                  processes were also adopted.                             report on the progress in satisfying these            ucm446608.htm. Each significant new
                                                     With PDUFA’s reauthorization under                    commitments in the annual PDUFA                       or modified enhancement is described
                                                  FDAAA Title I (PDUFA IV), FDA                            performance report. The annual                        briefly below:
                                                  obtained a significant increase in base                  performance reports can be found at
                                                  fee funding and committed to full                                                                              A. Program for Enhanced Review
                                                                                                           http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/
                                                  implementation of GRMPs, which                                                                                 Transparency and Communication for
                                                                                                           ReportsManualsForms/Reports/UserFee
                                                  includes providing a planned review                                                                            NME NDAs and Original BLAs
                                                                                                           Reports/PerformanceReports/
                                                  timeline for premarket review,                           ucm2007449.htm. More information                         The program for enhanced review
                                                  development of new guidance for                          about FDA’s implementation of PDUFA                   transparency and communication for
                                                  industry on innovative clinical trials,                  V can also be found at http://                        NME NDAs and original BLAs (the
                                                  modernization of postmarket safety, and                  www.fda.gov/ForIndustry/UserFees/                     Program), first established in PDUFA V,
                                                  elimination of the 3-year limitation on                  PrescriptionDrugUserFee/                              provides for additional communication
                                                  fee support for postmarket surveillance.                 ucm272170.htm.                                        between FDA review teams and the
                                                  Additional provisions in FDAAA (Titles                                                                         applicants of NME NDAs or original
                                                  IV, V, and IX) gave FDA additional                       III. Proposed PDUFA VI                                BLAs in the form of pre-submission
                                                  statutory authority that increased the                   Recommendations                                       meetings, mid-cycle communications,
                                                  pre- and postmarket review process                          In preparing the proposed                          and late-cycle meetings, while also
                                                  requirements, added new deadlines, and                   recommendations to Congress for                       adding 60 days to the review timeframe
                                                  effectively increased review workload.                   PDUFA reauthorization, FDA conducted                  to accommodate this additional
                                                  Specifically, the new provisions                         discussions with the regulated industry               interaction. An interim assessment of
                                                  expanded FDA’s drug safety authorities                   and consulted with stakeholders, as                   the Program suggested that the Program
                                                  such as the authority to require risk                    required by the law. We began the                     has created conditions that enhance the
                                                  evaluation mitigation strategies, order                  PDUFA reauthorization process by                      ability of applicants and FDA reviewers
                                                  safety labeling changes, and require                     publishing a notice in the Federal                    to work toward application approval in
                                                  postmarket studies.                                      Register requesting public input on the               the first cycle (see http://www.fda.gov/
                                                     With the current authorization of                     reauthorization and announcing a                      ForIndustry/UserFees/PrescriptionDrug
                                                  PDUFA under Title I of FDASIA, FDA                       public meeting that was held on July 15,              UserFee/ucm327030.htm).
                                                  implemented a new review program                         2015. The meeting included                               For PDUFA VI, FDA proposes to
                                                  (‘‘the Program’’) to promote greater                     presentations by FDA and a series of                  maintain the Program with minor
                                                  transparency and increase                                panels with representatives of different              modifications to reduce administrative
                                                  communication between the FDA                            stakeholder groups, including patient                 burden and increase flexibility to the
                                                  review team and the applicant on the                     advocates, consumer groups, regulated                 benefit of FDA review teams and
                                                  most innovative products reviewed by                     industry, health professionals, and                   applicants. FDA proposes to provide an
                                                  the Agency. The Program applies to all                   academic researchers. The materials                   option for the FDA review team and the
                                                  new molecular entity (NME) NDAs and                      from the meeting, including a transcript              applicant to agree on a formal
                                                  original BLAs received by the Agency                     and Webcast recording, can be found at                communication plan to govern
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                                                  from October 1, 2012, through                            http://www.fda.gov/ForIndustry/User                   interactions during the application
                                                  September 30, 2017. The Program adds                     Fees/PrescriptionDrugUserFee/                         review. The formal communication plan
                                                  new opportunities for communication                      ucm446608.htm.                                        may or may not include Program
                                                  between the FDA review team and the                         Following the July 2015 public                     elements (e.g. mid-cycle
                                                  applicant during review of a marketing                   meeting, FDA conducted negotiations                   communication, late-cycle meeting) and
                                                  application, including mid-cycle                         with the regulated industry and held                  may include other interactions that are
                                                  communications and late-cycle                            monthly consultations with                            not part of the Program (e.g. application


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                                                  46932                           Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 138 / Tuesday, July 19, 2016 / Notices

                                                  orientation meetings). Additional                        preliminary responses to their questions              breakthrough therapy program has been
                                                  flexibility is also provided for                         no later than five calendar days before               higher than anticipated with over 300
                                                  scheduling of advisory committee (AC)                    the scheduled meeting, providing the                  requests for designation received, and
                                                  meetings and an option for an informal                   sponsor with time to evaluate whether                 over 100 granted (as of March 2016).
                                                  teleconference following the AC                          an in-person meeting would still be                   Additional resources will enable the
                                                  meeting is provided as well for purposes                 necessary. Sponsors would also be able                FDA to continue to work closely with
                                                  of discussing the committee’s input.                     to request a Written Response Only for                sponsors throughout the development
                                                  Review activities involving FDA’s                        any meeting type. The language for                    and review of breakthrough therapies.
                                                  controlled substance scheduling                          meeting management is described in                    Both the FDA and the regulated
                                                  recommendations are also to be                           section I.H of the proposed PDUFA VI                  industry are committed to ensuring the
                                                  discussed at Program meetings, if                        commitment letter.                                    expedited development and review of
                                                  relevant. Applications that receive a                                                                          innovative therapies for serious or life-
                                                                                                           D. Enhancing Regulatory Science and
                                                  refuse-to-file action and are                                                                                  threatening diseases by investing
                                                                                                           Expediting Drug Development
                                                  subsequently filed over protest are now                                                                        additional resources in the breakthrough
                                                  subject to the Program review                               The enhancements under this section                therapy program during PDUFA VI.
                                                  performance goals, but do not benefit                    focus on enhancing regulatory science
                                                                                                           and expediting drug development.                      3. Early Consultation on New Surrogate
                                                  from the Program interactions;
                                                                                                           Regulatory science, in this context, is               Endpoints
                                                  additionally any subsequent
                                                  resubmissions for applications filed                     the science of developing and applying                   FDA recognizes that early
                                                  over protest are not subject to any                      new tools, standards, and approaches to               consultation can be important to an
                                                  review performance goals.                                assess the safety, effectiveness, quality,            efficient development program when a
                                                     This enhancement is described in                      and performance of FDA-regulated drug                 sponsor intends to use a biomarker as a
                                                  section I.B. of the proposed PDUFA VI                    products. The details of these                        new surrogate endpoint that has never
                                                  commitment letter.                                       enhancements can be found in section                  been used as the primary basis for
                                                                                                           I.I of the proposed PDUFA VI                          product approval in the proposed
                                                  B. Goal Extensions for Missing                           commitment letter.                                    context of use. Early consultation
                                                  Manufacturing Facilities                                                                                       enables the FDA review team to consult
                                                     Inspections late in the review process                1. FDA-Sponsor Communication During
                                                                                                                                                                 with senior management to evaluate the
                                                  of inadequately identified                               Drug Development
                                                                                                                                                                 sponsor’s proposal before providing
                                                  manufacturing facilities can adversely                      FDA recognizes that timely interactive             advice to the sponsor on a critical aspect
                                                  impact FDA’s ability to complete                         communication with sponsors can help                  of their development program. FDA
                                                  application review within the                            foster efficient and effective drug                   proposes that these requests for early
                                                  performance goal timeframes. FDA                         development. Under commitments in                     consultation in PDUFA VI be
                                                  proposes to extend the goal date for an                  PDUFA V, FDA focused on improving                     considered as Type C meeting requests.
                                                  original application or an efficacy                      communication between FDA and                         The purpose of the meeting will be to
                                                  supplement when it identifies a need to                  sponsors during drug development by                   discuss the feasibility of the surrogate as
                                                  inspect a facility that was not included                 establishing a dedicated drug                         a primary endpoint, any knowledge
                                                  in a comprehensive and readily located                   development communications and                        gaps, and how these gaps should be
                                                  list of manufacturing facilities. This                   training staff in the Center for Drug                 addressed before the surrogate endpoint
                                                  enhancement is described in section                      Evaluation and Research (CDER) and                    could be used as the primary basis for
                                                  I.A.5.b of the proposed PDUFA VI                         augmenting existing communications                    approval. To qualify for this
                                                  commitment letter.                                       staff in the Center for Biologics                     consultation, the meeting background
                                                                                                           Evaluation and Research (CBER). Under                 package will be due at the time of the
                                                  C. Meeting Management
                                                                                                           PDUFA VI, FDA proposes to build on                    meeting request and must include
                                                     The number of requests for formal                     this enhancement by conducting a third-               preliminary human data indicating the
                                                  meetings between sponsors and the FDA                    party evaluation of current                           impact of the drug on the biomarker.
                                                  is rapidly increasing; in FY 2015 alone,                 communication practices between FDA
                                                  FDA received over 3,000 requests for                                                                           4. Rare Disease Drug Development
                                                                                                           and sponsors during drug development,
                                                  formal PDUFA meetings with sponsors.                     to convene a public workshop to discuss                  In PDUFA VI, FDA proposes to build
                                                  The background packages for these                        results of this evaluation, and then to               on the success of the Rare Disease
                                                  meetings are increasingly complex                        update the guidance on ‘‘Best Practices               Program (RDP) by continuing to advance
                                                  which creates challenges for FDA to                      for Communication Between IND                         and facilitate the development and
                                                  review and deliberate internally before                  Sponsors and FDA During Drug                          timely approval of drugs and biologics
                                                  providing advice to sponsors on                          Development,’’ if necessary (available                for rare diseases, including diseases in
                                                  complex drug development questions                       here: http://www.fda.gov/downloads/                   children. In addition to providing
                                                  within current performance goal                          drugs/guidancecomplianceregulatory                    training for review staff related to
                                                  timeframes. To help address this issue,                  information/guidances/                                development and review of drugs for
                                                  FDA proposes to create a new Type B                      ucm475586.pdf).                                       rare diseases and engaging in outreach
                                                  End of Phase (EOP) meeting type for                                                                            to external stakeholders, the RDP staff in
                                                  certain EOP 1 and EOP 2/pre-phase 3                      2. Breakthrough Therapies                             CDER will be integrated into review
                                                  meetings. The performance goal                              FDASIA established a new                           teams for rare disease development
                                                  timeframes for responses to meeting                      designation, breakthrough therapy, for                programs and application review, while
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                                                  requests, submission of meeting                          drugs intended to treat a serious or life             the RDP Staff in CBER will ensure that
                                                  background packages, and FDA’s                           threatening disease or condition where                CBER’s review offices consider flexible
                                                  issuance of preliminary responses for                    preliminary clinical evidence indicates               and feasible approaches in review. The
                                                  the Type B (EOP) meetings and the Type                   that the drug may demonstrate                         RDP will also continue to foster
                                                  C meetings would be modified to                          substantial improvement over existing                 collaborations in the development of
                                                  provide adequate time for FDA review                     therapies on one or more clinically                   tools to support rare disease drug
                                                  and response. Sponsors would receive                     significant endpoints. Utilization of the             development and facilitate interactions


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                                                                                  Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 138 / Tuesday, July 19, 2016 / Notices                                          46933

                                                  between stakeholders to increase                         7. Enhancing Regulatory Decision Tools                10. Advancing Model-Informed Drug
                                                  awareness of FDA regulatory programs                     to Support Drug Development and                       Development
                                                  and engagement of patients in FDA’s                      Review                                                  The development and application of
                                                  regulatory decisionmaking.                                  The enhancements under this section                exposure-based, biological, and
                                                  5. Advancing Development of Drug-                        focus on enhancing regulatory decision                statistical models derived from
                                                  Device and Biologic-Device                               tools to support drug development and                 preclinical and clinical data sources can
                                                                                                           review. The details of these                          be used to inform regulatory decision-
                                                  Combination Products Regulated by
                                                                                                           enhancements can be found in section                  making, for example, in determining
                                                  CBER and CDER                                                                                                  patient selection in clinical trials,
                                                                                                           I.J of the proposed PDUFA VI
                                                    Under PDUFA VI FDA will pursue the                     commitment letter.                                    individualized dosing for specific
                                                  opportunity to improve inter-center and                                                                        populations, or the need for post-
                                                                                                           8. Enhancing the Incorporation of the                 marketing studies. To facilitate the
                                                  intra-center combination review                          Patient’s Voice in Drug Development
                                                  coordination and transparency for                                                                              development and application of these
                                                                                                           and Decisionmaking                                    approaches during PDUFA VI, FDA
                                                  PDUFA-led products. FDA proposes to
                                                                                                              In PDUFA V, FDA conducted a series                 proposes to convene a series of
                                                  enhance staff capacity and capability
                                                                                                           of Patient-Focused Drug Development                   workshops to identify best practices for
                                                  across the relevant medical product                                                                            model-informed drug development
                                                                                                           (PFDD) meetings with the aim to more
                                                  centers and the Office of Combination                                                                          (MIDD), to conduct a pilot program, to
                                                                                                           systematically gather patients’
                                                  Products to more efficiently, effectively,                                                                     develop guidance on MIDD, and to
                                                                                                           perspectives on their condition and
                                                  and consistently review drug and                         available therapies to treat their                    update policies and procedures, as
                                                  device-led combination products. FDA                     condition. Under PDUFA VI, FDA                        appropriate, to incorporate guidelines
                                                  also proposes to streamline the process                  proposes to build on these efforts to                 for the evaluation of MIDD approaches.
                                                  for combination product review and to                    bridge from PFDD meetings to fit-for-
                                                  improve the Agency’s ability to track                                                                          11. Enhancing Capacity To Review
                                                                                                           purpose tools to collect meaningful                   Complex Innovative Designs
                                                  drug and device-led combination                          patient input that can be incorporated
                                                  product review workload, including a                     into regulatory review. FDA proposes to                  To facilitate the advancement and use
                                                  third party assessment of current                        develop a series of guidance documents                of complex adaptive, Bayesian, and
                                                  practices for combination drug product                   to advance the collection of meaningful               other novel clinical trial designs during
                                                  review.                                                  patient input. The publication of each                PDUFA VI, FDA proposes to convene a
                                                                                                           draft guidance will be preceded by a                  public workshop on complex innovative
                                                    Under this enhancement FDA will                                                                              trial designs, publish guidance on
                                                  also establish new performance goals                     public workshop conducted by FDA to
                                                                                                                                                                 complex innovative trial designs, to
                                                  and submission procedures for the                        gather stakeholder input relevant to the
                                                                                                                                                                 conduct a pilot program, and to update
                                                  review of human factors protocols for                    topics that will be the focus of that
                                                                                                                                                                 policies and procedures as appropriate
                                                  PDUFA combination products. These                        guidance. FDA also proposes to publish
                                                                                                                                                                 to incorporate guidelines on evaluating
                                                                                                           a repository of publicly available tools
                                                  goals will be to provide the sponsor                                                                           complex innovative trial designs.
                                                                                                           on FDA’s Web site as a resource for
                                                  with written comments on these
                                                                                                           stakeholders, to update internal policies             12. Enhancing Capacity To Support
                                                  protocols within 60 days of receipt. The                 and procedures, as appropriate, to                    Analysis Data Standards for Product
                                                  goals to provide written comments                        incorporate an increased focus on                     Development and Review
                                                  within 60 days will begin at the 50                      patient input, and to enhance staff
                                                  percent level in FY 2019, and increase                                                                           As regulatory submissions are
                                                                                                           capacity to facilitate development and                increasingly submitted in fully standard
                                                  to 90 percent by FY 2021.                                use of patient-focused methods to                     electronic format, it becomes
                                                    In addition, FDA proposes to publish                   inform drug development and                           increasingly important to ensure that
                                                  draft guidance or update previously                      regulatory decisions.                                 analysis datasets are structured
                                                  published guidance on bridging studies                   9. Enhancing Benefit-Risk Assessment                  according to the standards to facilitate
                                                  and patient-oriented labeling.                           in Regulatory Decisionmaking                          acceptance and analysis of the datasets.
                                                                                                                                                                 To support the enhancement of analysis
                                                  6. Enhancing Use of Real World                              Ensuring the safety, effectiveness, and            data standards for product development
                                                  Evidence for Use in Regulatory                           quality of drug products is an                        and review in PDUFA VI, FDA proposes
                                                  Decisionmaking                                           increasingly complicated regulatory                   to enhance staff capacity to develop and
                                                                                                           task, requiring FDA’s expert                          update relevant standards, to support
                                                     FDA recognizes the potential value of                 consideration of a multitude of complex
                                                  utilizing ‘‘real-world’’ evidence in                                                                           the efficient submission and review of
                                                                                                           factors. During PDUFA V, FDA                          analysis datasets, to convene a public
                                                  evaluating not only the safety of                        implemented an enhanced structured                    workshop to advance the development
                                                  medications but also their effectiveness.                approach to benefit-risk assessment in                and application of analysis data
                                                  To better understand how real-world                      regulatory decisionmaking for drug                    standards, to collaborate with external
                                                  evidence can be generated and used                       products. In PDUFA VI, FDA proposes                   stakeholders on development of data
                                                  appropriately in product evaluation,                     to publish an update to its benefit-risk              standards, and to update, as
                                                  FDA proposes to conduct one or more                      framework implementation plan, to                     appropriate, internal policies and
                                                  public workshops, as well as other                       conduct an evaluation of the                          procedures associated with the
                                                  appropriate activities (e.g. pilot studies               implementation of the benefit-risk
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                                                                                                                                                                 submission and utilization of
                                                  or methodology development projects).                    framework, to develop guidance on                     standardized analysis datasets.
                                                  Considering the available input, FDA                     benefit-risk assessments for new drugs
                                                  will then publish draft guidance on how                  and biologics, and to revise relevant                 13. Enhancing Drug Development Tools
                                                                                                           policies and procedures to include new                Qualification Pathway for Biomarkers
                                                  real-world evidence can contribute to
                                                  the assessment of safety and                             approaches that incorporate the benefit-                The Biomarker Qualification Program
                                                  effectiveness in regulatory submissions.                 risk framework into the human drug                    was established to support FDA’s work
                                                                                                           review program.                                       with external partners to develop


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                                                  46934                           Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 138 / Tuesday, July 19, 2016 / Notices

                                                  biomarkers that aid in the drug                          update policies and procedures to                     H. Enhancing Management of User Fee
                                                  development process. To facilitate the                   provide timely notification to a sponsor,             Resources
                                                  enhancement of the drug development                      to the extent practicable, when a serious                FDA is committed to enhancing
                                                  tools qualification pathway for                          safety signal is identified, and to                   management of PDUFA resources and
                                                  biomarkers in PDUFA VI, FDA proposes                     conduct an assessment of how its data                 ensuring PDUFA user fee resources are
                                                  to convene a public meeting to discuss                   systems and processes support review,                 administered, allocated, and reported in
                                                  taxonomy and a framework with                            oversight, and communication of                       an efficient and transparent manner. In
                                                  standards for biomarkers used in drug                    postmarketing drug safety issues.                     PDUFA VI, FDA proposes to establish a
                                                  development, to develop guidance on                                                                            resource capacity planning function to
                                                  biomarker taxonomy, contexts of uses,                    F. Electronic Submissions and Data
                                                                                                                                                                 improve its ability to analyze current
                                                  and general evidentiary standards, and                   Standards Activities                                  resource needs and project future
                                                  to maintain a public Web site to
                                                                                                              FDA is committed to achieving the                  resource needs, to modernize its time
                                                  communicate a list of biomarker
                                                                                                           long-term goal of improving the                       reporting approach, to conduct an
                                                  qualification submissions in the
                                                                                                           predictability and consistency of the                 evaluation of PDUFA program resource
                                                  qualification process.
                                                                                                           electronic submission process and                     management, to publish a 5-year
                                                  E. Enhancement and Modernization of                      enhancing transparency and                            PDUFA financial plan with annual
                                                  the FDA Drug Safety System                                                                                     updates, and to convene an annual
                                                                                                           accountability of FDA information
                                                    The drug safety enhancements in                                                                              public meeting, beginning in FY 2019,
                                                                                                           technology related activities. During
                                                  PDUFA VI focus on expansion of the                                                                             to discuss the financial plan and
                                                                                                           PDUFA VI, FDA proposes to publish
                                                  Sentinel System and enhancements to                                                                            progress towards the financial
                                                                                                           submission documentation, metrics,                    management enhancements. These
                                                  support the review, oversight, tracking,                 submission status, and system and
                                                  and communication of postmarketing                                                                             enhancements are described in section
                                                                                                           process changes, to hold quarterly                    II of the proposed PDUFA VI
                                                  drug safety issues. The enhancements
                                                                                                           meetings to share performance updates                 commitment letter.
                                                  are described in I.K of the proposed
                                                                                                           between FDA and the regulated
                                                  PDUFA VI commitment letter.                                                                                    I. Enhancements to Fee Structure and
                                                                                                           industry, to hold annual public
                                                  1. Advancing Postmarketing Drug Safety                   meetings to gather stakeholder input to               Related Mechanisms for Increased
                                                  Evaluation Through Expansion of the                      inform the FDA information technology                 Predictability, Stability, and Efficiency
                                                  Sentinel System and Integration into                     strategic plan, and to collaborate with                  The current overall PDUFA fee
                                                  FDA Pharmacovigilance Activities                         standards development organizations                   structure and the fee setting process
                                                     FDA’s Sentinel Initiative is a long-                  and stakeholders to ensure the long-                  were established in 1993 for PDUFA I
                                                  term program designed to build and                       term sustainability of supported data                 and have generally remained in place
                                                  implement a national electronic system                   standards. These enhancements are                     through four reauthorizations of
                                                  for monitoring the safety of FDA-                        described in section IV of the proposed               PDUFA. Over the years, FDA and
                                                  approved medical products. FDA                           PDUFA VI commitment letter.                           industry agreed that some elements of
                                                  recently transitioned from the Mini-                                                                           the fee structure and the fee setting
                                                  Sentinel pilot to the Sentinel System,                   G. Improving FDA Hiring and Retention                 process could be updated to enhance
                                                  but full utilization of the Sentinel                     of Review Staff                                       the predictability and stability of fee
                                                  System remains a work in progress.                                                                             amounts and revenues in a manner to
                                                                                                              To speed and improve development                   improve FDA’s ability to engage in long-
                                                  Continued development and integration
                                                                                                           of safe and effective new therapies for               term financial planning. Additionally,
                                                  of the Sentinel System is needed to
                                                                                                           patients requires that FDA hire and                   some elements of the fee structure
                                                  realize the system’s full value to the
                                                  postmarketing safety review process. To                  retain sufficient numbers and types of                reduce the efficiency of administrative
                                                  help realize the full value of the                       technical and scientific experts to                   work without a corresponding benefit to
                                                  Sentinel System during PDUFA VI, FDA                     efficiently conduct reviews of human                  the public or to the regulated industry.
                                                  proposes to continue to expand the                       drug applications. In order to strengthen             To address these issues, FDA proposes
                                                  systems’ data sources and core                           this core function during PDUFA VI,                   to shift a greater proportion of the target
                                                  capabilities, to systematically integrate                FDA proposes to commit to completing                  revenue allocation to more predictable
                                                  Sentinel into postmarketing review                       implementation of an full time                        fee-paying types (20 percent to
                                                  activities, to enhance Sentinel                          equivalent staff (FTE)-based position                 applications; 80 percent to Program
                                                  communication practices with sponsors                    management system capability, to                      fees), to discontinue the establishment
                                                  and the public, and to conduct an                        complete implementation of an online                  and supplement fees, to rename the
                                                  analysis of the impact of Sentinel                       position classification system, to                    product fee as the PDUFA Program fee,
                                                  expansion and integration for regulatory                 complete implementation of corporate                  to modify the Program fee billing date
                                                  purposes.                                                recruiting practices, to augment hiring               to minimize the need for multiple
                                                                                                           capacity with expert contractor support,              billing cycles, to add a limitation that a
                                                  2. Timely and Effective Evaluation and                                                                         sponsor shall not be assessed more than
                                                  Communication of Postmarketing Safety                    to complete establishment of a
                                                                                                           dedicated function to ensure needed                   five PDUFA Program fees for a fiscal
                                                  Findings Related to New Drugs                                                                                  year for products identified in each
                                                                                                           scientific staffing for the human drug
                                                     During PDUFA VI, FDA proposes to                      review program, to establish clear goals              distinct approved human drug
                                                  continue to support the review,                                                                                application held by that sponsor, and to
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                                                                                                           for human drug review program hiring,
                                                  oversight, tracking, and communication                                                                         discontinue the Fees-Exceed-the-Costs
                                                                                                           and to conduct a comprehensive and
                                                  of postmarketing drug safety issues.                                                                           waiver. FDA also proposes during
                                                  FDA proposes to make improvements to                     continuous assessment of hiring and                   PDUFA VI to replace the workload
                                                  its current processes and information                    retention performance. These                          adjuster with a robust methodology for
                                                  technology systems to enhance the                        enhancements are described in section                 adjusting fees based on the capacity
                                                  management and oversight of                              III of the proposed PDUFA VI                          needs of the program, and to replace the
                                                  postmarketing drug safety issues, to                     commitment letter.                                    fifth year offset provision and final year


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                                                                                  Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 138 / Tuesday, July 19, 2016 / Notices                                          46935

                                                  adjustment provisions with an annual                     meeting and workshop on a first-come,                 www.regulations.gov will be posted to
                                                  operating reserve adjustment to provide                  first-served basis.                                   the docket unchanged. Because your
                                                  for adequate carryover resources.                           Transcripts: As soon as a transcript is            comment will be made public, you are
                                                                                                           available, FDA will post it at http://                solely responsible for ensuring that your
                                                  J. Impact of PDUFA VI Enhancements
                                                                                                           www.fda.gov/ForIndustry/UserFees/                     comment does not include any
                                                  on User Fee Revenue                                                                                            confidential information that you or a
                                                                                                           PrescriptionDrugUserFee/
                                                     To implement the proposed                             ucm446608.htm.                                        third party may not wish to be posted,
                                                  enhancements for PDUFA VI, funding                         Dated: July 13, 2016.                               such as medical information, your or
                                                  for a cumulative total of 230 FTE staff                  Leslie Kux,
                                                                                                                                                                 anyone else’s Social Security number, or
                                                  is proposed to be phased in over the                                                                           confidential business information, such
                                                                                                           Associate Commissioner for Policy.
                                                  course of PDUFA VI. The new funding                                                                            as a manufacturing process. Please note
                                                  will be phased in as follows:                            [FR Doc. 2016–16916 Filed 7–15–16; 4:15 pm]           that if you include your name, contact
                                                  • $20,077,793 for FY 2018
                                                                                                           BILLING CODE 4164–01–P                                information, or other information that
                                                  • $21,317,472 for FY 2019                                                                                      identifies you in the body of your
                                                  • $16,953,329 for FY 2020                                                                                      comments, that information will be
                                                                                                           DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND                              posted on http://www.regulations.gov.
                                                  • $5,426,896 for FY 2021                                 HUMAN SERVICES
                                                  • $2,769,609 for FY 2022                                                                                         • If you want to submit a comment
                                                                                                                                                                 with confidential information that you
                                                     In addition, $8.73 million will be                    Food and Drug Administration                          do not wish to be made available to the
                                                  added in FY 2018 to provide for other
                                                                                                           [Docket No. FDA–2013–N–0403]                          public, submit the comment as a
                                                  additional direct costs associated with
                                                                                                                                                                 written/paper submission and in the
                                                  the PDUFA VI enhancements. This                          Agency Information Collection                         manner detailed (see ‘‘Written/Paper
                                                  amount will be included for FYs 2019                     Activities; Proposed Collection;                      Submissions’’ and ‘‘Instructions’’).
                                                  through 2022 after being adjusted for                    Comment Request; Protection of
                                                  inflation.                                               Human Subjects: Informed Consent;                     Written/Paper Submissions
                                                  IV. Purpose and Scope of the Meeting                     Institutional Review Boards                              Submit written/paper submissions as
                                                                                                                                                                 follows:
                                                     If you wish to attend this meeting,                   AGENCY:    Food and Drug Administration,                 • Mail/Hand delivery/Courier (for
                                                  visit http://                                            HHS.                                                  written/paper submissions): Division of
                                                  pdufareauthorization.eventbrite.com.                     ACTION:   Notice.                                     Dockets Management (HFA–305), Food
                                                  Please register by August 8, 2016. If you                                                                      and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers
                                                  are unable to attend the meeting in                      SUMMARY:    The Food and Drug
                                                                                                                                                                 Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
                                                  person, you can register to view a live                  Administration (FDA) is announcing an                    • For written/paper comments
                                                  Webcast of the meeting. You will be                      opportunity for public comment on the                 submitted to the Division of Dockets
                                                  asked to indicate in your registration if                proposed collection of certain                        Management, FDA will post your
                                                  you plan to attend in person or via the                  information by the Agency. Under the                  comment, as well as any attachments,
                                                  Webcast. Seating will be limited, so                     Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (the                  except for information submitted,
                                                  early registration is recommended.                       PRA), Federal Agencies are required to                marked and identified, as confidential,
                                                  Registration is free and will be on a first-             publish notice in the Federal Register                if submitted as detailed in
                                                  come, first-served basis. However, FDA                   concerning each proposed collection of                ‘‘Instructions.’’
                                                  may limit the number of participants                     information, including each proposed                     Instructions: All submissions received
                                                  from each organization based on space                    extension of an existing collection of                must include the Docket No. FDA–
                                                  limitations. Registrants will receive                    information, and to allow 60 days for                 2013–N–0403 for ‘‘Protection of Human
                                                  confirmation once they have been                         public comment in response to the                     Subjects; Informed Consent;
                                                  accepted. Onsite registration on the day                 notice. This notice solicits comments on              Institutional Review Boards.’’ Received
                                                  of the meeting will be based on space                    the collection of information related to              comments will be placed in the docket
                                                  availability. If you need special                        certain regulations that provide                      and, except for those submitted as
                                                  accommodations because of a disability,                  protection for human subjects of clinical             ‘‘Confidential Submissions,’’ publicly
                                                  please contact Graham Thompson (see                      investigations conducted in support of                viewable at http://www.regulations.gov
                                                  FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) at                      applications or submissions to FDA for                or at the Division of Dockets
                                                  least 7 days before the meeting.                         FDA-regulated products. The                           Management between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.,
                                                     The meeting will include a                            regulations provide protection of the                 Monday through Friday.
                                                  presentation by FDA and a series of                      rights, safety, and welfare of human                     • Confidential Submissions—To
                                                  invited panels representing different                    subjects involved in research activities              submit a comment with confidential
                                                  stakeholder groups identified in the                     within FDA’s jurisdiction.                            information that you do not wish to be
                                                  statute (such as patient advocacy                        DATES: Submit either electronic or                    made publicly available, submit your
                                                  groups, consumer advocacy groups,                        written comments on the collection of                 comments only as a written/paper
                                                  health professionals, and regulated                      information by September 19, 2016.                    submission. You should submit two
                                                  industry). We will also provide an                       ADDRESSES: You may submit comments                    copies total. One copy will include the
                                                  opportunity for other organizations and                  as follows:                                           information you claim to be confidential
                                                  individuals to make presentations at the                                                                       with a heading or cover note that states
                                                  meeting or to submit written comments                    Electronic Submissions                                ‘‘THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS
mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES




                                                  to the docket before the meeting.                          Submit electronic comments in the                   CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.’’ The
                                                     FDA will also hold an open public                     following way:                                        Agency will review this copy, including
                                                  comment period at the meeting to give                      • Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://               the claimed confidential information, in
                                                  the public an opportunity to present                     www.regulations.gov. Follow the                       its consideration of comments. The
                                                  their comments. Registration for open                    instructions for submitting comments.                 second copy, which will have the
                                                  public comment will occur at the                         Comments submitted electronically,                    claimed confidential information
                                                  registration desk on the day of the                      including attachments, to http://                     redacted/blacked out, will be available


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Document Created: 2016-07-19 01:10:47
Document Modified: 2016-07-19 01:10:47
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 of public meeting; request for comments.
DatesThe public meeting will be held on August 15, 2016, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Please register for the meeting by August 8, 2016, at http:// pdufareauthorization.eventbrite.com. Submit electronic or written comments to the public docket by August 22, 2016.
ContactGraham Thompson, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 51, Rm. 1146, Silver Spring, MD 20993, 301-796- 5003, FAX: 301-847-8443, [email protected]
FR Citation81 FR 46929 

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