2019-17999. Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Patent Term Restoration; Due Diligence Petitions; Filing, Format, and Content of Petitions  

  • Start Preamble

    AGENCY:

    Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

    ACTION:

    Notice.

    SUMMARY:

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the Agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), Federal Agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension of an existing collection of information, and to allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This notice solicits comments on information collection provisions found in our Patent Term Restoration regulations.

    DATES:

    Submit either electronic or written comments on the collection of information by October 21, 2019.

    ADDRESSES:

    You may submit comments as follows. Please note that late, untimely filed comments will not be considered. Electronic comments must be submitted on or before October 21, 2019. The https://www.regulations.gov electronic filing system will accept comments until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time at the end of October 21, 2019. Comments received by mail/hand delivery/courier (for written/paper submissions) will be considered timely if they are postmarked or the delivery service acceptance receipt is on or before that date.

    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-2013-N-1393 for “Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Patent Term Restoration; Due Diligence Petitions; Filing, Format, and Content of Petitions.” Received comments, those filed in a timely manner (see ADDRESSES), 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.

    • 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 Start Printed Page 43607available, 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.gpo.gov/​fdsys/​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.

    Start Further Info

    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

    Domini Bean, Office of Operations, Food and Drug Administration, Three White Flint North, 10A-12M, 11601 Landsdown St., North Bethesda, MD 20852, 301-796-5733, PRAStaff@fda.hhs.gov.

    End Further Info End Preamble Start Supplemental Information

    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

    Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal Agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. “Collection of information” is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) and includes Agency requests or requirements that members of the public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)) requires Federal Agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension of an existing collection of information, before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, FDA is publishing notice of the proposed collection of information set forth in this document.

    With respect to the following collection of information, FDA invites comments on these topics: (1) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of FDA's functions, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of FDA's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques, when appropriate, and other forms of information technology.

    Patent Term Restoration; Due Diligence Petitions; Filing, Format, and Content of Petitions 21 CFR part 60

    OMB Control Number 0910-0233—Extension

    This information collection supports Agency regulations. FDA's patent extension activities are conducted under the authority of the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 (21 U.S.C. 355(j)) and the Generic Animal Drug and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1988 (35 U.S.C. 156). New human drug, animal drug, human biological, medical device, food additive, or color additive products regulated by the FDA must undergo FDA safety, or safety and effectiveness review before marketing is permitted. If the product is covered by a patent, part of the patent's term may be consumed during this review, which diminishes the value of the patent. In enacting the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 and the Generic Animal Drug and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1988, Congress sought to encourage development of new, safer, and more effective medical and food additive products. It did so by authorizing the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to extend the patent term by a portion of the time during which FDA's safety and effectiveness review prevented marketing of the product. The length of the patent term extension is generally limited to a maximum of 5 years and is calculated by USPTO based on a statutory formula. When a patent holder submits an application for patent term extension to USPTO, USPTO requests information from FDA, including the length of the regulatory review period for the patented product. If USPTO concludes that the product is eligible for patent term extension, FDA publishes a notice that describes the length of the regulatory review period and the dates used to calculate that period. Interested parties may request, under § 60.24 (21 CFR 60.24), revision of the length of the regulatory review period, or may petition under § 60.30 (21 CFR 60.30) to reduce the regulatory review period by any time where marketing approval was not pursued with “due diligence.”

    The statute defines due diligence as “that degree of attention, continuous directed effort, and timeliness” as may reasonably be expected from, and are ordinarily exercised by, a person during a regulatory review period. As provided in § 60.30(c), a due diligence petition “shall set forth sufficient facts, including dates if possible, to merit an investigation by FDA of whether the applicant acted with due diligence.” Upon receipt of a due diligence petition, FDA reviews the petition and evaluates whether any change in the regulatory review period is necessary. If so, the corrected regulatory review period is published in the Federal Register. A due diligence petition not satisfied with FDA's decision regarding the petition may, under § 60.40 (21 CFR 60.40), request an informal hearing for reconsideration of the due diligence determination. Petitioners are likely to include persons or organizations having knowledge that FDA's marketing permission for that product was not actively pursued throughout the regulatory review period. The information collection for which an extension of approval is being sought is the use of the statutorily created due diligence petition.

    During the calendar years 2016 through 2018, 16 requests for revision of the regulatory review period were submitted under § 60.24(a). In addition, a total of three due diligence petitions were submitted under § 60.30. There have been no requests for hearings under § 60.40; however, for purposes of this information collection approval, we estimate that we may receive one submission annually.

    We estimate the burden of this collection of information as follows:Start Printed Page 43608

    Table 1—Estimated Annual Reporting Burden 1

    21 CFR part 60— Patent Term RestorationNumber of respondentsNumber of responses per respondentTotal responses (2016-2018)Average burden per responseTotal hours (2016-2018)Average annual burden hours
    60.24; revision of regulatory review period determinations121.333161001,600533.33
    60.30; due diligence petitions1135015050
    60.40; due diligence hearings11110103.3
    Total586.63
    1 There are no capital costs or operating and maintenance costs associated with this collection of information.

    Our estimated burden for the information collection reflects a small increase (+7 responses) associated with submissions received under § 60.24 in previous years.

    Start Signature

    Dated: August 15, 2019.

    Lowell J. Schiller,

    Principal Associate Commissioner for Policy.

    End Signature End Supplemental Information

    [FR Doc. 2019-17999 Filed 8-20-19; 8:45 am]

    BILLING CODE 4164-01-P

Document Information

Published:
08/21/2019
Department:
Food and Drug Administration
Entry Type:
Notice
Action:
Notice.
Document Number:
2019-17999
Dates:
Submit either electronic or written comments on the collection of information by October 21, 2019.
Pages:
43606-43608 (3 pages)
Docket Numbers:
Docket No. FDA-2013-N-1393
PDF File:
2019-17999.Pdf
Supporting Documents:
» Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Patent Term Restoration; Due Diligence Petitions; Filing, Format, and Content of Petitions
» Agency Information Collection Activities; Announcement of Office of Management and Budget Approvals
» Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review; Comment Request; Patent Term Restoration; Due Diligence Petitions; Filing, Format , and Content of Petitions
» Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Patent Term Restoration; Due Diligence Petitions; Filing, Format, and Content of Petitions
» Agency Information Collection Activities; Announcement of Office of Management and Budget Approvals
» Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review; Comment Request; Patent Term Restoration, Due Diligence Petitions, Filing, Format, and Content of Petitions
» Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Patent Term Restoration, Due Diligence Petitions, Filing, Format, and Content of Petitions
» Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review; Comment Request; Patent Term Restoration, Due Diligence Petitions, Filing, Format, and Content of Petitions
» Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Patent Term Restoration, Due Diligence Petitions, Filing, Format, and Content of Petitions