2021-27894. Digital Health Technologies for Remote Data Acquisition in Clinical Investigations; Draft Guidance for Industry, Investigators, and Other Stakeholders; Availability

AGENCY:

Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION:

Notice of availability.

SUMMARY:

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing the availability of a draft guidance for industry, investigators, and other stakeholders entitled “Digital Health Technologies for Remote Data Acquisition in Clinical Investigations.” This guidance provides recommendations to sponsors, investigators, and other stakeholders on the use of digital health technologies (DHTs) to acquire data remotely from participants in clinical investigations evaluating medical products. DHTs may take the form of hardware and/or software and may be used to gather health-related information from study participants and transmit that information to study investigators and/or other authorized parties to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of medical products.

DATES:

Submit either electronic or written comments on the draft guidance by March 23, 2022 to ensure that the Agency considers your comment on this draft guidance before it begins work on the final version of the guidance.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments on any guidance at any time as follows:

Electronic Submissions

Submit electronic comments in the following way:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov . Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Comments submitted electronically, including attachments, to https://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 https://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): Dockets Management Staff (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.

• For written/paper comments submitted to the Dockets Management Staff, FDA will post your comment, as well as any attachments, except for information submitted, marked and identified, as confidential, if submitted as detailed in “Instructions.”

Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket No. FDA-2021-D-1128 for “Digital Health Technologies for Remote Data Acquisition in Clinical Investigations.” Received comments will be placed in the docket and, except for those submitted as “Confidential Submissions,” publicly viewable at https://www.regulations.gov or at the Dockets Management Staff between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, 240-402-7500.

• 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 https://www.regulations.gov . Submit both copies to the Dockets Management Staff. 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: https://www.govinfo.gov/​content/​pkg/​FR-2015-09-18/​pdf/​2015-23389.pdf .

Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or the electronic and written/paper comments received, go to https://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 Dockets Management Staff, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852, 240-402-7500.

You may submit comments on any guidance at any time (see 21 CFR 10.115(g)(5)).

Submit written requests for single copies of the draft guidance to the Division of Drug Information, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, 10001 New Hampshire Ave., Hillandale Building, 4th Floor, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002; the Office of Communication, Outreach and Development, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 71, Rm. 3128, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002; or the Office of Policy, Guidance and Policy Development, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 66, Rm. 5431, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002. Send one self-addressed adhesive label to assist that office in processing your requests. See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for electronic access to the draft guidance document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Elizabeth Kunkoski, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 51, Rm. 3332, Silver Spring, MD 20993, 301-796-6439; Stephen Ripley, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 71, Rm. 7301, Silver Spring, MD 20993, 240-402-7911; or Matthew Diamond, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 66, Rm. 5540, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, 301-796-5386.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

FDA is announcing the availability of a draft guidance for industry, investigators, and other stakeholders entitled “Digital Health Technologies for Remote Data Acquisition in Clinical Investigations.” Advances in sensor technology, general-purpose computing platforms, and methods for data transmission and storage have revolutionized the ability to remotely obtain and analyze clinically relevant information from individuals. DHTs used for remote data acquisition are playing a growing role in healthcare and offer important opportunities in clinical research. DHTs provide opportunities to record data directly from trial participants ( e.g., ambulation, sleep, performance of everyday tasks) wherever the participants may be ( e.g., home, school, work, outdoors); this may provide a broader picture of how participants function in their daily lives. DHTs may also facilitate the direct collection of information from participants who are unable to report their experiences ( e.g., infants, cognitively impaired individuals).

This guidance outlines recommendations intended to facilitate the use of DHTs in a clinical investigation as appropriate for the evaluation of medical products. The guidance provides recommendations on (1) selection of DHTs that are suitable for use in a clinical investigation; (2) the description of DHTs in regulatory submissions; (3) verification and validation of DHTs for use in a clinical investigation; (4) the definition and evaluation of clinical endpoints from data collected using DHTs; (5) risk management considerations when using DHTs; (6) the protection and retention of records; and (7) additional sponsor and investigator considerations for using DHTs in a clinical investigation.

On October 29, 2015, FDA published a notice in the Federal Register (80 FR 66543) establishing a public docket (FDA-2015-N-3579) to solicit input from a broad group of stakeholders on the scope and direction of the use of technologies and innovative methods in the conduct of clinical trials. FDA considered relevant stakeholder comments received to the public docket when writing this draft guidance.

This draft guidance is being issued consistent with FDA's good guidance practices regulation (21 CFR 10.115). The draft guidance, when finalized, will represent the current thinking of FDA on “Digital Health Technologies for Remote Data Acquisition in Clinical Investigations.” It does not establish any rights for any person and is not binding on FDA or the public. You can use an alternative approach if it satisfies the requirements of the applicable statutes and regulations.

II. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

While this guidance contains no collection of information, it does refer to previously approved FDA collections of information. Therefore, clearance by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521) is not required for this guidance. The previously approved collections of information are subject to review by the OMB under the PRA. The collections of information in 21 CFR part 11 have been approved under OMB control number 0910-0303; the collections of information in 21 CFR part 312, including submissions under subpart E, and 21 CFR 312.41, 312.57, 312.58, 312.62, and 312.120 have been approved under OMB control number 0910-0014; the collections of information in 21 CFR part 801 have been approved under OMB control number 0910-0485; the collections of information under 21 CFR part 807, subpart E, have been approved under OMB control number 0910-0120; the collections of information under 21 CFR part 814, subparts A through E, have been approved under OMB control number 0910-0231; the collections of information under 21 CFR part 814, subpart H, have been approved under OMB control number 0910-0332; the collections of information in 21 CFR part 812 have been approved under OMB control number 0910-0078; the collections of information for the De Novo Classification Process (Evaluation of Automatic Class III Designation) have been approved under OMB control number 0910-0844; and the collections of information in the guidance document entitled “Requests for Feedback and Meetings for Medical Device Submissions: The Q-Submission Program” have been approved under OMB control number 0910-0756. The collections of information in 21 CFR part 314 (Applications for FDA Approval to Market a New Drug) and 21 CFR part 601 (General Licensing Provisions: Biologics License Application, Changes to an Approved Application, Labeling, Revocation and Suspension) have been approved under OMB control numbers 0910-0001 and 0910-0338, respectively. The collections of information in 21 CFR parts 50 and 56 (Protection of Human Subjects: Informed Consent; Institutional Review Boards) have been approved under OMB control number 0910-0130.

III. Electronic Access

Persons with access to the internet may obtain the draft guidance at https://www.fda.gov/​drugs/​guidance-compliance-regulatory-information/​guidances-drugs,, https://www.fda.gov/​vaccines-blood-biologics/​guidance-compliance-regulatory-information-biologics/​biologics-guidances,, https://www.fda.gov/​MedicalDevices/​DeviceRegulationandGuidance/​GuidanceDocuments/​default.htm,, https://www.fda.gov/​regulatory-information/​search-fda-guidance-documents,, or https://www.regulations.gov .

Dated: December 20, 2021.

Lauren K. Roth,

Associate Commissioner for Policy.