Document Headings

                    Document headings vary by document type but may contain                    the following:                  
                -                       the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document                    
                -                       the number of the CFR title and the number of each part                      the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly                      related to                    
                -                       the agency docket number / agency internal file number                    
                -                       the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in                      the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory                      Actions                    

                    See the                                          Document Drafting Handbook                                        for more details.                  

###### Department of Health and Human Services

###### Food and Drug Administration

          - [Docket No. FDA-2009-N-0431]

# AGENCY:

 Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

# ACTION:

Notice of public meeting.

# SUMMARY:

 The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing a public meeting entitled “Preparation for ICH meetings in St. Louis, Missouri” to provide information and receive comments on the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) as well as the upcoming meetings in St. Louis, MO. The topics to be discussed are the topics for discussion at the forthcoming ICH Steering Committee Meeting. The purpose of the public meeting is to solicit public input prior to the next Steering Committee and Expert Working Groups meetings in St. Louis, MO, October 24 to 29, 2009, at which discussion of the topics underway and the future of ICH will continue.

*Date and Time*: The public meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 14, 2009, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.                    

*Location*: The public meeting will be held at the Washington Room at the Hilton Rockville, 1750 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852.                    

*Contact Person*: Mary Morrison, Office of the Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857, by e-mail:                         *Mary.morrison@fda.hhs.gov*, or FAX: 301-827-0003.                    

*Registration and Requests for Oral Presentations*: Mail or fax your registration information (including name, title, firm name, address, telephone and fax numbers), written material and requests to make oral presentations, to Mary Morrison (see                         *Contact Person*) by October 9, 2009.                    

                        If you need special accommodations due to a disability, please contact Mary Morrison (see                         *Contact Person*) at least 7 days in advance.                    

# SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

 The ICH was established in 1990 as a joint regulatory/industry project to improve, through harmonization, the efficiency of the process for developing and registering new medicinal products in Europe, Japan, and the United States without compromising the regulatory obligations of safety and effectiveness.

In recent years, many important initiatives have been undertaken by regulatory authorities and industry associations to promote international harmonization of regulatory requirements. FDA has participated in many meetings designed to enhance harmonization and is committed to seeking scientifically based harmonized technical procedures for pharmaceutical development. One of the goals of harmonization is to identify and then reduce differences in technical requirements for medical product development among regulatory agencies. ICH was organized to provide an opportunity for harmonization initiatives to be developed with input from both regulatory and industry representatives. ICH is concerned with harmonization among three regions: The European Union, Japan, and the United States. The six ICH sponsors are the European Commission, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries Associations, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the Japanese Pharmaceutical Manufactures Association, the Centers for Drug Evaluation and Research and Biologics Evaluation and Research, FDA, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. The ICH Secretariat, which coordinates the preparation of documentation, is provided by the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations (IFPMA). The ICH Steering Committee includes representatives from each of the ICH sponsors and Health Canada, the European Free Trade Area and the World Health Organization. The ICH process has achieved significant harmonization of the technical requirements for the approval of pharmaceuticals for human use in the three ICH regions.

                    The current ICH process and structure can be found at the following Web site:                     *http://www.ich.org*.                

                    Interested persons may present data, information, or views orally or in writing, on issues pending at the public meeting. Public oral presentations will be scheduled between approximately 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Time allotted for oral presentations may be limited to 10 minutes. Those desiring to make oral presentations should notify the contact person by October 9, 2009, and submit a brief statement of the general nature of the evidence or arguments they wish to present, the names and addresses,                           ( print page 47949)                        telephone number, fax, and e-mail of proposed participants, and an indication of the approximate time requested to make their presentation.                

                    The agenda for the public meeting will be made available on the Internet at                     *http://www.fda.gov/​Drugs/​NewsEvents/​ucm181849.htm*.                

*Transcripts*: Please be advised that as soon as a transcript is available, it can be obtained in either hardcopy or on CD-ROM, after submission of a Freedom of Information request. Written requests are to be sent to Division of Freedom of Information (HFI-35), Office of Management Programs, Food and Drug Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, rm. 6-30, Rockville, MD 20857.                

Dated: September 11, 2009.

David Horowitz,

Assistant Commissioner for Policy.

[FR Doc. E9-22445 Filed 9-17-09; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160-01-S