[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 208 (Friday, October 25, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55308-55309]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-27490]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting
AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces a forthcoming meeting of a public
advisory committee of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This
notice also summarizes the procedures for the meeting and methods by
which interested persons may participate in open public hearings before
FDA's advisory committees.
FDA has established an Advisory Committee Information Hotline (the
hotline) using a voice-mail telephone system. The hotline provides the
public with access to the most current information on FDA advisory
committee meetings. The advisory committee hotline, which will
disseminate current information and information updates, can be
accessed by dialing 1-800-741-8138 or 301-443-0572. Each advisory
committee is assigned a 5-digit number. This 5-digit number will appear
in each individual notice of meeting. The hotline will enable the
public to obtain information about a particular advisory committee by
using the committee's 5-digit number. Information in the hotline is
preliminary and may change before a meeting is actually held. The
hotline will be updated when such changes are made.
MEETING: The following advisory committee meeting is announced:
Science Board to the Food and Drug Administration
Date, time, and place. November 7, 1996, 8:30 a.m., Sheraton
National Hotel, North Ballrooms 1 and 2, 900 South Orme St. (Columbia
Pike and Washington Blvd.), Arlington, VA.
Type of meeting and contact person. Closed board deliberations,
8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.; open board discussion, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; open
public hearing, 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., unless public participation does not
last that long; open board discussion, 4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Susan K.
Meadows, Office of Science (HF-33), Food and Drug Administration, 5600
Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857, 301-827-3340, or FDA Advisory
Committee Information Hotline, 1-800-741-8138 (301-443-0572 in the
Washington, DC area), Science Board to the Food and Drug
Administration, code 12603. Please call the hotline for information
concerning any possible changes.
General function of the board. The board shall provide advice
primarily to the agency's Senior Science Advisor and, as needed, to the
Commissioner and other appropriate officials on specific complex and
technical issues as well as emerging issues within the scientific
community in industry and academia. Additionally, the board will
provide advice to the agency on keeping pace with technical and
scientific evolutions in the fields of regulatory science; on
formulating an appropriate research agenda; and on upgrading its
scientific and research facilities to keep pace with these changes. It
will also provide the means for critical review of agency-sponsored
intramural and extramural scientific research programs.
Agenda--Open public hearing. Interested persons may present data,
information, or views, orally or in writing, on issues pending before
the board. Those desiring to make formal presentations must notify the
contact person before October 31, 1996, and submit a brief statement of
the general nature of the evidence or arguments they wish to present,
and the names and addresses of proposed participants. Each presenter
will be limited in time and not all requests to speak may be able to be
accommodated. All written statements submitted in a timely fashion will
be provided to the board.
Open board discussion. The board will receive an update on the FDA
Information Retrieval System developed within FDA's Office of Science,
and an update on the creation of a Biomaterials Forum designed to
foster information exchange on issues related to safety testing of
biomaterials and new developments in biomaterials science.
Additionally, the board will discuss the formation of a subcommittee on
toxicology, which will address issues related to the research and
development of toxicological methods and mechanisms that better predict
adverse health effects. A complete agenda will be available in advance
of the meeting.
Closed board deliberations. The board will discuss information
concerning nominations for the FDA award for scientific achievement; if
these nominations are discussed in public, information of a personal
nature would be disclosed which would constitute a clearly unwarranted
invasion of
[[Page 55309]]
personal privacy (5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(6)). The board will also hear an
interim status report from its subcommittee on FDA research. FDA
believes that premature disclosure of the subcommittee's work is likely
to significantly impede discussion of the issues being reviewed by the
subcommittee and potential agency action on future recommendations (5
U.S.C. 552b(c)(9)(B)). Thus, the interim status report from the
subcommittee will be presented in a closed session. However, the issues
related to FDA science and research being reviewed by the subcommittee
will be presented to the board for public discussion at a later date.
FDA regrets that it was unable to publish this notice 15 days prior
to the Science Board to the Food and Drug Administration meeting.
Because the agency believes there is some urgency to bring these issues
to public discussion and qualified members of the Science Board to the
Food and Drug Administration were available at this time, the
Commissioner concluded that it was in the public interest to hold this
meeting even if there was not sufficient time for the customary 15-day
public notice.
Each public advisory committee meeting listed above may have as
many as four separable portions: (1) An open public hearing, (2) an
open committee discussion, (3) a closed presentation of data, and (4) a
closed committee deliberation. Every advisory committee meeting shall
have an open public hearing portion. Whether or not it also includes
any of the other three portions will depend upon the specific meeting
involved. The dates and times reserved for the separate portions of
each committee meeting are listed above.
The open public hearing portion of the meeting(s) shall be at least
1 hour long unless public participation does not last that long. It is
emphasized, however, that the 1 hour time limit for an open public
hearing represents a minimum rather than a maximum time for public
participation, and an open public hearing may last for whatever longer
period the committee chairperson determines will facilitate the
committee's work.
Public hearings are subject to FDA's guideline (subpart C of 21 CFR
part 10) concerning the policy and procedures for electronic media
coverage of FDA's public administrative proceedings, including hearings
before public advisory committees under 21 CFR part 14. Under 21 CFR
10.205, representatives of the electronic media may be permitted,
subject to certain limitations, to videotape, film, or otherwise record
FDA's public administrative proceedings, including presentations by
participants.
Meetings of advisory committees shall be conducted, insofar as is
practical, in accordance with the agenda published in this Federal
Register notice. Changes in the agenda will be announced at the
beginning of the open portion of a meeting.
Any interested person who wishes to be assured of the right to make
an oral presentation at the open public hearing portion of a meeting
shall inform the contact person listed above, either orally or in
writing, prior to the meeting. Any person attending the hearing who
does not in advance of the meeting request an opportunity to speak will
be allowed to make an oral presentation at the hearing's conclusion, if
time permits, at the chairperson's discretion.
The agenda, the questions to be addressed by the committee, and a
current list of committee members will be available at the meeting
location on the day of the meeting.
Transcripts of the open portion of the meeting may be requested in
writing from the Freedom of Information Office (HFI-35), Food and Drug
Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, rm. 12A-16, Rockville, MD 20857,
approximately 15 working days after the meeting, at a cost of 10 cents
per page. The transcript may be viewed at the Dockets Management Branch
(HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 12420 Parklawn Dr., rm. 1-23,
Rockville, MD 20857, approximately 15 working days after the meeting,
between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Summary
minutes of the open portion of the meeting may be requested in writing
from the Freedom of Information Office (address above) beginning
approximately 90 days after the meeting.
The Commissioner has determined for the reasons stated that those
portions of the advisory committee meetings so designated in this
notice shall be closed. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) (5
U.S.C. app. 2, 10(d)), permits such closed advisory committee meetings
in certain circumstances. Those portions of a meeting designated as
closed, however, shall be closed for the shortest possible time,
consistent with the intent of the cited statutes.
The FACA, as amended, provides that a portion of a meeting may be
closed where the matter for discussion involves a trade secret;
commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential;
information of a personal nature, disclosure of which would be a
clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; investigatory files
compiled for law enforcement purposes; information the premature
disclosure of which would be likely to significantly frustrate
implementation of a proposed agency action; and information in certain
other instances not generally relevant to FDA matters.
Examples of portions of FDA advisory committee meetings that
ordinarily may be closed, where necessary and in accordance with FACA
criteria, include the review, discussion, and evaluation of drafts of
regulations or guidelines or similar preexisting internal agency
documents, but only if their premature disclosure is likely to
significantly frustrate implementation of proposed agency action;
review of trade secrets and confidential commercial or financial
information submitted to the agency; consideration of matters involving
investigatory files compiled for law enforcement purposes; and review
of matters, such as personnel records or individual patient records,
where disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy.
Examples of portions of FDA advisory committee meetings that
ordinarily shall not be closed include the review, discussion, and
evaluation of general preclinical and clinical test protocols and
procedures for a class of drugs or devices; consideration of labeling
requirements for a class of marketed drugs or devices; review of data
and information on specific investigational or marketed drugs and
devices that have previously been made public; presentation of any
other data or information that is not exempt from public disclosure
pursuant to the FACA, as amended; and, deliberation to formulate advice
and recommendations to the agency on matters that do not independently
justify closing.
This notice is issued under section 10(a)(1) and (a)(2) of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. app. 2), and FDA's regulations
(21 CFR part 14) on advisory committees.
Dated: October 21, 1996.
Michael A. Friedman,
Deputy Commissioner for Operations.
[FR Doc. 96-27490 Filed 10-24-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-01-F
