[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 139 (Thursday, July 19, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34142-34143]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-15389]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2018-D-2326]


Field Alert Report Submission: Questions and Answers; Draft 
Guidance for Industry; Availability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the availability of a draft guidance for industry entitled ``Field 
Alert Report Submission: Questions and Answers.'' This draft guidance, 
when finalized, will provide the Agency's current thinking regarding 
the requirements for submission of field alert reports (FARs) by 
applicants of new drug applications (NDAs) and abbreviated new drug 
applications (ANDAs) and will outline FDA's recommendations for FAR 
submissions to help increase their consistency and relevancy. The draft 
guidance also addresses certain frequently asked questions about FARs.

DATES: Submit either electronic or written comments on the draft 
guidance by September 17, 2018 to ensure that the Agency considers your 
comment on this draft guidance before it begins work on the final 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:
    <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

[[Page 34143]]

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-2018-D-2326 for ``Field Alert Report Submission: Questions and 
Answers; Draft Guidance for Industry.'' 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.
    <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.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.
    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, 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: Mamta Gautam-Basak, Center for Drug 
Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New 
Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 21, Rm. 2508, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, 301-
796-0712; 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; or Rachel Harrington, 
Office of Regulatory Affairs, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New 
Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 32, Rm. 4339, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, 410-
779-5441.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    FDA is announcing the availability of a draft guidance for industry 
entitled ``Field Alert Report Submission: Questions and Answers.'' The 
FAR regulations found in 21 CFR 314.81(b)(1) and 314.98(b) establish an 
early warning system to help protect patient health. Under these 
regulations, NDA and ANDA applicants must submit certain information to 
FDA about distributed drug products regulated by the Center for Drug 
Evaluation and Research or the Center for Biologics Evaluation and 
Research.
    The draft guidance addresses the FAR submission requirements and 
focuses on topics such as the incidents and possible/actual quality 
issues that require submission of a FAR, the contents of the FAR, who 
submits the FAR, and when, where, and how they should submit it. The 
draft guidance also addresses followup and final FARs, which are not 
required under Sec.  314.81(b), and recommends their submission to 
inform FDA of the status of root cause investigations and corrective 
actions taken, if any.
    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 field alert 
report submissions. 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. This guidance is not subject to Executive Order 12866.

II. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    The draft guidance refers to previously approved collections of 
information that are subject to review by the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-
3520). The collections of information in 21 CFR part 314 have been 
approved under OMB control number 0910-0001.

III. Electronic Access

    Persons with access to the internet may obtain the draft guidance 
at https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Guidances/default.htm, https://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/default.htm, or https://www.regulations.gov.

    Dated: July 13, 2018.
Leslie Kux,
Associate Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2018-15389 Filed 7-18-18; 8:45 am]
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