2020-15263. Clinical Investigations for Prostate Tissue Ablation Devices; Guidance for Industry and Food and Drug Administration Staff; Availability

AGENCY:

Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION:

Notice of availability.

SUMMARY:

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or the Agency) is announcing the availability of a final guidance entitled “Clinical Investigations for Prostate Tissue Ablation Devices.” This guidance provides recommendations for clinical investigations for high intensity ultrasound systems for prostate tissue ablation and new types of prostatic tissue ablation devices.

DATES:

The announcement of the guidance is published in the Federal Register on July 15, 2020.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit either electronic or written comments on Agency guidances 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-2019-D-2223 for “Clinical Investigations for Prostate Tissue Ablation Devices.” 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)).

An electronic copy of the guidance document is available for download from the internet. See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for information on electronic access to the guidance. Submit written requests for a single hard copy of the guidance document entitled “Clinical Investigations for Prostate Tissue Ablation Devices” to 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 request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

John Baxley, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 66, Rm. 2626, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, 301-796-6549.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

This guidance provides draft recommendations for: (1) Complying with the clinical testing special control under 21 CFR 876.4340(b)(8) for premarket notifications (510(k)s) for high intensity ultrasound systems for prostate tissue ablation and (2) collecting clinical data to support marketing submissions for new types of prostatic tissue ablation devices. High intensity ultrasound systems for prostate tissue ablation transmit high intensity therapeutic ultrasound energy into the prostate to thermally ablate a defined, targeted volume of tissue. Other prostate ablation devices achieve the same clinical effect of ablating targeted tissue volumes using different sources of energy.

The scope of this guidance is limited to the clinical investigations of prostate tissue ablation systems to support marketing authorization for a general indication for ablation of prostatic tissue. This guidance does not address the clinical investigations of devices that are intended to treat specific prostatic diseases (e.g., prostate cancer or benign prostatic hyperplasia). Additionally, this document does not address recommendations for non-clinical testing of prostate tissue ablation systems.

A notice of availability for the draft guidance appeared in the Federal Register of June 26, 2019 (84 FR 30125). FDA considered comments received and revised the guidance as appropriate in response to the comments, including minor edits to clarify and better explain FDA's recommendations for the clinical study design. This guidance is being issued consistent with FDA's good guidance practices regulation (21 CFR 10.115). The guidance represents the current thinking of FDA on clinical investigations for prostate tissue ablation devices. 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. Electronic Access

Persons interested in obtaining a copy of the guidance may do so by downloading an electronic copy from the internet. A search capability for all Center for Devices and Radiological Health guidance documents is available at https://www.fda.gov/​medical-devices/​device-advice-comprehensive-regulatory-assistance/​guidance-documents-medical-devices-and-radiation-emitting-products. This guidance document is also available at https://www.regulations.gov. Persons unable to download an electronic copy of “Clinical Investigations for Prostate Tissue Ablation Devices” may send an email request to [e-mail] to receive an electronic copy of the document. Please use the document number 16011 to identify the guidance you are requesting.

III. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

This guidance refers to previously approved collections of information. These collections of information are subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521). The collections of information in the following FDA regulations and guidance have been approved by OMB as listed in the following table:

—

21 CFR part or guidance	Topic	OMB control No.
807, subpart E	Premarket notification	0910-0120
812	Investigational Device Exemption	0910-0078
“De Novo Classification Process (Evaluation of Automatic Class III Designation)”	De Novo classification process	0910-0844
“Requests for Feedback and Meetings for Medical Device Submissions: The Q-Submission Program”	Q-submissions	0910-0756
50, 56	Protection of Human Subjects: Informed Consent; Institutional Review Boards	0910-0755
56	Institutional Review Boards	0910-0130

Dated: July 9, 2020.

Lowell J. Schiller,

Principal Associate Commissioner for Policy.