[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 237 (Wednesday, December 9, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79187-79189]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-27057]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2020-D-0770]


Best Practices in Developing Proprietary Names for Human 
Nonprescription Drug Products; Draft Guidance for Industry; 
Availability

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing 
the availability of a draft guidance for industry entitled ``Best 
Practices in Developing Proprietary Names for Human Nonprescription 
Drug Products.'' FDA is issuing this draft guidance to help sponsors 
develop human nonprescription drug product proprietary names. This 
draft guidance describes best practices to help minimize medication 
errors and otherwise avoid adoption of proprietary names that 
contribute to violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act 
(FD&C Act) and its implementing regulations. The draft guidance also 
describes the framework FDA uses in evaluating proposed proprietary 
names for nonprescription drug products, which is available to sponsors 
to use before marketing a nonprescription drug product bearing a 
particular proprietary name. This draft guidance is issued in

[[Page 79188]]

response to industry stakeholders' requests to specifically address the 
approaches for naming of human nonprescription drug products.

DATES: Although you can comment on any guidance at any time (see 21 CFR 
10.115(g)(5)), to ensure that the Agency considers your comment on this 
draft guidance before it begins work on the final version of the 
guidance, submit either electronic or written comments on the draft 
guidance by February 8, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments as follows:

Electronic Submissions

    Submit electronic comments in the following way:
    <bullet> 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.
    <bullet> 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:
    <bullet> 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.
    <bullet> 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-2020-D-0770 for ``Best Practices in Developing Proprietary Names 
for Human Nonprescription Drug Products.'' 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.
    <bullet> 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.
    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; or to 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. 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: Danielle Harris, Center for Drug 
Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New 
Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 22, Rm. 4461, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, 301-
796-4590; or Stephen Ripley, Center for Biologics Evaluation and 
Research, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 
71, Rm. 7301, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, 240-402-7911.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    FDA is announcing the availability of a draft guidance for industry 
entitled ``Best Practices in Developing Proprietary Names for Human 
Nonprescription Drug Products.'' FDA has long recognized the importance 
of proprietary name confusion as a potential cause of medication 
errors, and has addressed this issue repeatedly in recent decades. Our 
focus has been to develop and communicate to sponsors a systematic, 
standardized, and transparent approach to proprietary name evaluation 
within the product development, review and approval process. FDA issued 
the draft guidance for industry ``Best Practices in Developing 
Proprietary Names for Drugs'' published in the Federal Register of May 
29, 2014 (79 FR 30852). The 2014 draft guidance focused on the safety 
aspects in the development and selection of proposed proprietary names 
for all prescription and nonprescription human drug products. In the 
comments we received in response to the 2014 draft guidance on 
proprietary naming, industry stakeholders urged FDA to separate the 
content pertaining to nonprescription drug product proprietary names 
from that pertaining to prescription drug product proprietary names and 
issue a separate guidance to address the name development process for 
nonprescription drugs. Thus, to provide greater clarity on the 
considerations applicable to the products regulated as nonprescription, 
this draft guidance ``Best Practices in Developing Proprietary Names 
for Human Nonprescription Drug Products'' was developed as a separate 
draft guidance.
    FDA is separately announcing the availability of a final guidance 
entitled ``Best Practices in Developing Proprietary Names for Human

[[Page 79189]]

Prescription Drug Products,'' which addresses prescription drug 
products.
    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 Agency's current thinking on ``Best 
Practices in Developing Proprietary Names for Human Nonprescription 
Drug Products.'' 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 OMB under the PRA. The collections 
of information in 21 CFR part 314 have been approved under OMB control 
number 0910-0001 and the collections of information in 21 CFR part 601 
have been approved under OMB control number 0910-0338.

III. Electronic Access

    Persons with access to the internet may obtain the draft guidance 
at either https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Guidances/default.htm, https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/guidance-compliance-regulatory-information-biologics/biologics-guidances, or https://www.regulations.gov.

    Dated: December 4, 2020.
Lauren K. Roth,
Acting Principal Associate Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2020-27057 Filed 12-8-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4164-01-P