Toll-free number for reporting adverse events on labeling for human drug products. Interim final rule

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing an interim final rule to codify the provisions of the proposed rule entitled "Toll-Free Number for Reporting Adverse Events on Labeling for Human Drug Products" (69 FR 21778, April 22, 2004) (the toll-free number proposed rule or proposed rule) that, under the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 (FDAAA), became effective by operation of law on January 1, 2008. This interim final rule requires the addition of a statement on the labeling of certain human drug products for which an application is approved under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the act). The added statement includes a toll-free number and advises that the number is to be used only for reporting side effects and is not intended for medical advice (the side effects statement). As mandated by FDAAA, this interim final rule does not apply to over-the-counter drug products approved as new drugs under the act if the product packaging includes a manufacturer's or distributor's toll-free number for reporting complaints.     

Expedited safety reporting requirements for human drug and biological products; correction--FDA. Final rule; correction

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is correcting a document that appeared in the Federal Register of October 7, 1997 (62 FR 52237), to include some conforming amendments that were inadvertently omitted. The final rule amended the expedited safety reporting regulations for human drug and biological products. This action is being taken to ensure the accuracy and consistency of the regulations.     

Investigational new drug safety reporting requirements for human drug and biological products and safety reporting requirements for bioavailability and bioequivalence studies in humans. Final rule

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending its regulations governing safety reporting requirements for human drug and biological products subject to an investigational new drug application (IND). The final rule codifies the agency's expectations for timely review, evaluation, and submission of relevant and useful safety information and implements internationally harmonized definitions and reporting standards. The revisions will improve the utility of IND safety reports, reduce the number of reports that do not contribute in a meaningful way to the developing safety profile of the drug, expedite FDA's review of critical safety information, better protect human subjects enrolled in clinical trials, subject bioavailability and bioequivalence studies to safety reporting requirements, promote a consistent approach to safety reporting internationally, and enable the agency to better protect and promote public health.     

Medical devices containing materials derived from animal sources (except for in vitro diagnostic devices), guidance for FDA reviewers and industry; availability--FDA. Notice

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the availability of the guidance entitled "Medical Devices Containing Materials Derived From Animal Sources (Except for In Vitro Diagnostic Devices), Guidance for FDA Reviewers and Industry." This guidance is intended to provide recommendations for information that is to be included in premarket submissions--investigational device exemption (IDE), premarket approval application (PMA), and 510(k) submissions for medical devices that either contain or are exposed to animal-derived materials during manufacturing.     

Guidance for industry: donor screening for antibodies to HTLV-II; availability--FDA. Notice

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the availability of a document entitled "Guidance for Industry: Donor Screening for Antibodies to HTLV-II." The guidance document provides information regarding human T-lymphotrophic virus type II (HTLV-II) screening tests for Whole Blood and blood components. This guidance document is a further effort of FDA to help ensure a safe blood supply for the United States of America (U.S.).     

International conference on harmonisation; guidance on statistical principles for clinical trials; availability--FDA. Notice

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is publishing a guidance entitled "E9 Statistical Principles for Clinical Trials." The guidance was prepared under the auspices of the International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH). The guidance is intended to provide recommendations to sponsors and scientific experts regarding statistical principles and methodology which, when applied to clinical trials for marketing applications, will facilitate the general acceptance of analyses and conclusions drawn from the trials.     

Bar code label requirement for human drug products and biological products. Final rule

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing a new rule to require certain human drug and biological product labels to have bar codes. The bar code for human drug products and biological products (other than blood, blood components, and devices regulated by the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research) must contain the National Drug Code (NDC) number in a linear bar code. The rule will help reduce the number of medication errors in hospitals and other health care settings by allowing health care professionals to use bar code scanning equipment to verify that the right drug (in the right dose and right route of administration) is being given to the right patient at the right time. The rule also requires the use of machine-readable information on blood and blood component container labels to help reduce medication errors.     

International Conference on Harmonisation; guidance on viral safety evaluation of biotechnology products derived from cell lines of human or animal origin; availability--FDA. Notice

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is publishing a guidance entitled "Q5A Viral Safety Evaluation of Biotechnology Products Derived From Cell Lines of Human or Animal Origin." The guidance was prepared under the auspices of the International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH). The guidance describes the testing and evaluation of the viral safety of biotechnology products derived from characterized cell lines of human or animal origin, and outlines data that should be submitted in marketing applications.     

Draft guidance for industry; container and closure integrity testing in lieu of sterility testing as a component of the stability protocol for sterile products; availability--FDA. Notice

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the availability of the draft guidance entitled "Guidance for Industry: Container and Closure Integrity Testing in Lieu of Sterility Testing as a Component of the Stability Protocol for Sterile Products." The draft guidance is intended to provide recommendations and offer alternative methods for sterility testing to confirm the integrity of container and closure systems for sterile biological products, human and veterinary drugs, and medical devices. The draft guidance applies only to the replacement of the sterility test with an appropriate container and closure integrity test in the stability protocol, and it is not offered as a replacement for sterility testing for product release.     

Revised precautionary measures to reduce the possible transmission of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) by blood and blood products; guidance document; availability--FDA. Notice

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the availability of a guidance document entitled "Revised Precautionary Measures to Reduce the Possible Transmission of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) by Blood and Blood Products," dated December 11, 1996. The guidance document is intended to provide recommendations to the blood industry and may include information useful to other interested persons.     

Biological products: reporting of biological product deviations in manufacturing. Food and Drug Administration, HHS. Final rule

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the regulation requiring licensed manufacturers of biological products to report errors and accidents in manufacturing that may affect the safety, purity, or potency of a product. FDA also is amending the current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) regulations for blood and blood components to require establishments involved in the manufacture of blood and blood components, including licensed manufacturers, unlicensed registered establishments and transfusion services, to report biological product deviations in manufacturing. The final rule requires licensed manufacturers, unlicensed registered blood establishments, and transfusion services who had control over the product when a deviation occurred to report to FDA the biological product deviation if the product has been distributed. The final rule also establishes a 45-day reporting period. FDA is issuing the final rule as part of a retrospective review under Executive Order 12866 of significant FDA regulations to improve the effectiveness of FDA's regulatory program.     

Interim recommendations for deferral of donors at increased risk for HIV-1 Group O infection; guidance document; availability--FDA. Notice

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the availability of a guidance document entitled "Interim Recommendations for Deferral of Donors at Increased Risk for HIV-1 Group O Infection," dated December 11, 1996. The guidance document, which discusses the appearance in 1996 of two cases of HIV-1 Group O infection in the United States, is intended to provide interim measures to reduce the risk of HIV-1 Group O transmission by blood and blood products pending the licensure of test kits specifically labeled for detection of antibodies to HIV-1 Group O viruses. The guidance document recommends adding three questions to screening questionnaires used to exclude donors at high risk of HIV-1 infection.     

New drug, antibiotic, and biological drug product regulations; accelerated approval--FDA. Final rule

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing final regulations under which the agency will accelerate approval of certain new drugs and biological products for serious or life-threatening illnesses, with provisions for any necessary continued study of the drugs' clinical benefits after approval or with restrictions on use, if necessary. These new procedures are intended to provide expedited marketing of drugs for patients suffering from such illnesses when the drugs provide meaningful therapeutic benefit compared to existing treatment. Accelerated approval will be considered in two situations: (1) When approval can be reliably based on evidence from adequate and well-controlled studies of the drug's effect on a surrogate endpoint that reasonably suggests clinical benefit or on evidence of the drug's effect on a clinical endpoint other than survival or irreversible morbidity, pending completion of studies to establish and define the degree of clinical benefits to patients; and (2) when FDA determines that a drug, effective for the treatment of a disease, can be used safely only if distribution or use is modified or restricted. Drugs or biological products approved under these procedures will have met the requisite standards for safety and effectiveness under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (the act) or the Public Health Service Act (the PHS Act) and, thus, will have full approval for marketing.     

Medical devices; exemptions from premarket notification and reserved devices; class I--FDA. Notice

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is publishing a list of class I devices, subject to certain limitations, that will be exempt from premarket notification requirements on February 19, 1998. FDA is also publishing a list of those class I devices that FDA believes will remain subject to premarket notification requirements because they meet the new statutory criteria for premarket notification requirements. These lists do not include class I devices that have been previously exempted by regulation from the premarket notification requirements. FDA is taking this action in order to meet a requirement of the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997 (the FDAMA). The agency requests comments on whether the list of class I devices that will remain subject to the premarket notification requirements should be modified.     

Postmarketing studies for approved human drug and licensed biological products; status reports. Food and Drug Administration, HHS. Final rule

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is revising the requirements for annual postmarketing status reports for approved human drug and biological products, and is requiring applicants to submit annual status reports for certain postmarketing studies of licensed biological products. This rule describes the types of postmarketing studies covered by these status reports, the information to be included in the reports, and the type of information that FDA would consider appropriate for public disclosure. This action will implement the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997 (FDAMA).     

Skin protectant drug products for over-the-counter human use; astringent drug products; final monograph; direct final rule. Direct final rule

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the regulation that established conditions under which over-the-counter (OTC) skin protectant astringent drug products are generally recognized as safe and effective and not misbranded. This action revises some labeling for astringent drug products to be consistent with the final rule for OTC skin protectant drug products (68 FR 33362, June 4, 2003) and adds labeling for certain small packages (styptic pencils). This action is part of FDA's ongoing review of OTC drug products. Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, FDA is publishing a companion proposed rule, under FDA's usual procedure for notice-and-comment rulemaking, to provide a procedural framework to finalize the rule in the event the agency receives any significant adverse comments and withdraws this direct final rule.     

Antiperspirant drug products for over-the-counter human use; final monograph. Final rule

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing a final rule in the form of a final monograph establishing conditions under which over-the-counter (OTC) antiperspirant drug products are generally recognized as safe and effective and not misbranded as part of FDA's ongoing review of OTC drug products. FDA is issuing this final rule after considering public comments on its proposed regulation, issued as a tentative final monograph (TFM), and all new data and information on antiperspirant drug products that have come to the agency's attention.     

Antidiarrheal drug products for over-the-counter human use; final monograph. Final rule

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing a final rule in the form of a final monograph establishing conditions under which over-the-counter (OTC) antidiarrheal drug products (to control the symptoms of diarrhea) are generally recognized as safe and effective and not misbranded. This final rule is part of FDA's ongoing review of OTC drug products. FDA is issuing this final rule after considering public comments on the agency's proposed regulation, which was issued in the form of a tentative final monograph (TFM), and all new data and information on OTC antidiarrheal drug products that have come to the agency's attention. Also, this final rule amends the regulation that lists nonmonograph active ingredients by adding those OTC antidiarrheal active ingredients that have been found to be not generally recognized as safe and effective.     

Labeling and effectiveness testing; sunscreen drug products for over-the-counter human use. Final rule

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing this document to address labeling and effectiveness testing for certain over-the counter (OTC) sunscreen products containing specified active ingredients and marketed without approved applications. This document addresses labeling and effectiveness testing issues raised by the nearly 2,900 submissions that we received in response to the sunscreen proposed rule of August 27, 2007 (2007 proposed rule). The document also identifies specific claims that render a product that is subject to this rule misbranded or would not be allowed on any OTC sunscreen product marketed without an approved application. The document does not address issues related to sunscreen active ingredients or certain other issues regarding the GRASE determination for sunscreen products. The document requires OTC sunscreen products to comply with the content and format requirements for OTC drug labeling contained in the 1999 Drug Facts final rule (published in the Federal Register of March 17, 1999, by lifting the delay of implementation date for that rule that we published on September 3, 2004).