[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 241 (Friday, December 13, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65580-65581]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-31745]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Investigational Biological Product Trials; Procedure to Monitor
Clinical Hold Process; Meeting of Review Committee and Request for
Submissions
AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing a meeting
of its clinical hold review committee, which reviews the clinical hold
orders that the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) has
placed on certain investigational biological product trials. FDA is
inviting any interested biological product company to use this
confidential mechanism to submit to the committee for its review the
name and number of any investigational biological product trial placed
on clinical hold during the past 12 months that the company wants the
committee to review.
DATES: The meeting will be held on February 11, 1997. Biological
product companies may submit review requests for the February meeting
by January 9, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Submit clinical hold review requests to Amanda Bryce Norton,
FDA Chief Mediator and Ombudsman, Office of the Commissioner (HF-7),
Food and Drug Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, rm. 14-105, Rockville,
MD 20857, 301-827-3390.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joy A. Cavagnaro, Center for Biologics
Evaluation and Research (HFM-2), Food and Drug Administration, 1401
Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852-1448, 301-827-0379.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FDA regulations in part 312 (21 CFR part
312) provide procedures that govern the use of investigational new
drugs and biologics in human subjects. If FDA
[[Page 65581]]
determines that a proposed or ongoing study may pose significant risks
for human subjects or is otherwise seriously deficient, as discussed in
the investigational new drug regulations, it may order a clinical hold
on the study. The clinical hold is one of FDA's primary mechanisms for
protecting subjects who are involved in investigational new drug or
biologic trials. Section 312.42 describes the grounds for ordering a
clinical hold.
A clinical hold is an order that FDA issues to a sponsor to delay a
proposed investigation or to suspend an ongoing investigation. The
clinical hold may be ordered on one or more of the investigations
covered by an investigational new drug application (IND). When a
proposed study is placed on clinical hold, subjects may not be given
the investigational drug or biologic as part of that study. When an
ongoing study is placed on clinical hold, no new subjects may be
recruited to the study and placed on the investigational drug or
biologic, and patients already in the study should stop receiving
therapy involving the investigational drug or biologic unless FDA
specifically permits it.
When FDA concludes that there is a deficiency in a proposed or
ongoing clinical trial that may be grounds for ordering a clinical
hold, ordinarily FDA will attempt to resolve the matter through
informal discussions with the sponsor. If that attempt is unsuccessful,
a clinical hold may be ordered by or on behalf of the director of the
division that is responsible for the review of the IND.
FDA regulations in Sec. 312.48 provide dispute resolution
mechanisms through which sponsors may request reconsideration of
clinical hold orders. The regulations encourage the sponsor to attempt
to resolve disputes directly with the review staff responsible for the
review of the IND. If necessary, the sponsor may request a meeting with
the review staff and management to discuss the clinical hold.
CBER began a process to evaluate the consistency and fairness of
practices in ordering clinical holds by instituting a review committee
to review clinical holds (see 61 FR 1033, January 11, 1996). CBER held
its first clinical hold review committee meeting on May 17, 1995, and
plans to conduct further quality assurance oversight of the IND
process. The committee last met in November 1996. The review procedure
of the committee is designed to afford an opportunity for a sponsor who
does not wish to seek formal reconsideration of a pending clinical hold
to have that clinical hold considered ``anonymously.'' The committee
consists of senior managers of CBER, a senior official from the Center
for Drug Evaluation and Research, and the FDA Chief Mediator and
Ombudsman.
Clinical holds to be reviewed will be chosen randomly. In addition,
the committee will review some of the clinical holds proposed for
review by biological product sponsors. In general, a biological product
sponsor should consider requesting review when it disagrees with FDA's
scientific or procedural basis for the decision.
Requests for committee review of a clinical hold should be
submitted to the FDA Chief Mediator and Ombudsman, who is responsible
for selecting clinical holds for review. The committee and CBER staff,
with the exception of the FDA Chief Mediator and Ombudsman, are never
advised, either in the review process or thereafter, which of the
clinical holds were randomly chosen and which were submitted by
sponsors. The committee will evaluate the selected clinical holds for
scientific content and consistency with FDA regulations and CBER
policy.
The meetings of the review committee are closed to the public
because committee discussions deal with confidential commercial
information. Summaries of the committee deliberations, excluding
confidential commercial information, 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. If the status of a clinical hold changes following the
committee's review, the appropriate division will notify the sponsor.
FDA invites biological product companies to submit to the FDA Chief
Mediator and Ombudsman the name and IND number of any investigational
biological product trial that was placed on clinical hold during the
past 12 months that they want the committee to review at its February
11, 1997, meeting. Submissions should be made by January 9, 1997, to
Amanda Bryce Norton, FDA Chief Mediator and Ombudsman (address above).
Dated: December 9, 1996.
William K. Hubbard,
Associate Commissioner for Policy Coordination.
[FR Doc. 96-31745 Filed 12-12-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-01-F
