83890 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 202 / Friday, October 18, 2024 / Notices 

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. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric 

Franca, Center for Devices and 

Radiological Health, Food and Drug 

Administration, 10903 New Hampshire 

Ave., Bldg. 66, Rm. 5500, Silver Spring, 

MD 20993–0002, 301–796–4505, 

ASCA@fda.hhs.gov; or James Myers, 

Center for Biologics Evaluation and 

Research, Food and Drug 

Administration, 10903 New Hampshire 

Ave., Bldg. 71, Rm. 7301, Silver Spring, 

MD 20993, 240–402–7911. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the 

Federal Register of September 23, 2024, 

FDA published a notice of availability 

with a 60-day comment period to 

request comments on draft guidances for 

industry and FDA staff entitled ‘‘The 

Accreditation Scheme for Conformity 

Assessment (ASCA) Program; Guidance 

for Industry, Accreditation Bodies, 

Testing Laboratories, and FDA Staff’’; 

‘‘Basic Safety and Essential Performance 

of Medical Electrical Equipment, 

Medical Electrical Systems, and 

Laboratory Medical Equipment— 

Standards Specific Information for the 

ASCA Program; Guidance for Industry, 

Accreditation Bodies, Testing 

Laboratories, and FDA Staff’’; and 

‘‘Biocompatibility Testing of Medical 

Devices—Standards Specific 

Information for the ASCA Program; 

Guidance for Industry, Accreditation 

Bodies, Testing Laboratories, and FDA 

Staff.’’ 

The Agency has received a request for 

an extension of the comment period. 

The request conveyed concern that the 

current 60-day comment period does 

not allow sufficient time to develop a 

meaningful or thoughtful response. 

FDA has considered the request and 

is extending the comment period for the 

notice of availability for 30 days, until 

December 23, 2024. The Agency 

believes that a 30-day extension allows 

adequate time for interested persons to 

submit comments without significantly 

delaying guidance on these important 

issues. 

Dated: October 10, 2024. 

Eric Flamm, 

Acting Associate Commissioner for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2024–24096 Filed 10–17–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4164–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Food and Drug Administration 

[Docket No. FDA–2024–E–0128] 

Determination of Regulatory Review 

Period for Purposes of Patent 

Extension; Wavewriter Alpha Spinal 

Cord Stimulator System 

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, 

HHS. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Food and Drug 

Administration (FDA or the Agency) has 

determined the regulatory review period 

for WAVEWRITER ALPHA SPINAL 

CORD STIMULATOR SYSTEM and is 

publishing this notice of that 

determination as required by law. FDA 

has made the determination because of 

the submission of an application to the 

Director of the U.S. Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO), Department 

of Commerce, for the extension of a 

patent which claims that medical 

device. 

DATES: Anyone with knowledge that any 

of the dates as published (see 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION) are 

incorrect may submit either electronic 

or written comments and ask for a 

redetermination by December 17, 2024. 

Furthermore, any interested person may 

petition FDA for a determination 

regarding whether the applicant for 

extension acted with due diligence 

during the regulatory review period by 

April 16, 2025. See ‘‘Petitions’’ in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for 

more information. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

as follows. Please note that late, 

untimely filed comments will not be 

considered. The https://

www.regulations.gov electronic filing 

system will accept comments until 

11:59 p.m. Eastern Time at the end of 

December 17, 2024]. Comments received 

by mail/hand delivery/courier (for 

written/paper submissions) will be 

considered timely if they are received 

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.’’ 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 202 / Friday, October 18, 2024 / Notices 83891 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the Docket No. FDA– 

2024–E–0128 for ‘‘Determination of 

Regulatory Review Period for Purposes 

of Patent Extension; WAVEWRITER 

ALPHA SPINAL CORD STIMULATOR 

SYSTEM.’’ 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, 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 § 10.20 (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. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Beverly Friedman, Office of Regulatory 

Policy, Food and Drug Administration, 

10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 51, 

Rm. 6200, Silver Spring, MD 20993, 

301–796–3600. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Drug Price Competition and 

Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 

(Pub. L. 98–417) and the Generic 

Animal Drug and Patent Term 

Restoration Act (Pub. L. 100–670) 

generally provide that a patent may be 

extended for a period of up to 5 years 

so long as the patented item (human 

drug or biological product, animal drug 

product, medical device, food additive, 

or color additive) was subject to 

regulatory review by FDA before the 

item was marketed. Under these acts, a 

product’s regulatory review period 

forms the basis for determining the 

amount of extension an applicant may 

receive. 

A regulatory review period consists of 

two periods of time: a testing phase and 

an approval phase. For medical devices, 

the testing phase begins with a clinical 

investigation of the device and runs 

until the approval phase begins. The 

approval phase starts with the initial 

submission of an application to market 

the device and continues until 

permission to market the device is 

granted. Although only a portion of a 

regulatory review period may count 

toward the actual amount of extension 

that the Director of USPTO may award 

(half the testing phase must be 

subtracted as well as any time that may 

have occurred before the patent was 

issued), FDA’s determination of the 

length of a regulatory review period for 

a medical device will include all of the 

testing phase and approval phase as 

specified in 35 U.S.C. 156(g)(3)(B). 

FDA has approved for marketing the 

medical device WAVEWRITER ALPHA 

SPINAL CORD STIMULATOR SYSTEM. 

WAVEWRITER ALPHA SPINAL CORD 

STIMULATOR SYSTEM is indicated as 

an aid in the management of chronic 

intractable pain of the trunk and/or 

limbs including unilateral or bilateral 

pain associated with the following: 

failed back surgery syndrome, Complex 

Regional Pain Syndrome Types I and II, 

intractable low back pain and leg pain. 

Subsequent to this approval, the USPTO 

received a patent term restoration 

application for WAVEWRITER ALPHA 

SPINAL CORD STIMULATOR SYSTEM 

(U.S. Patent No. 7,437,193) from Boston 

Scientific Neuromodulation Corp., and 

the USPTO requested FDA’s assistance 

in determining this patent’s eligibility 

for patent term restoration. In a letter 

dated January 30, 2024, FDA advised 

the USPTO that this medical device had 

undergone a regulatory review period 

and that the approval of WAVEWRITER 

ALPHA SPINAL CORD STIMULATOR 

SYSTEM represented the first permitted 

commercial marketing or use of the 

product. Thereafter, the USPTO 

requested that FDA determine the 

product’s regulatory review period. 

II. Determination of Regulatory Review 

Period 

FDA has determined that the 

applicable regulatory review period for 

WAVEWRITER ALPHA SPINAL CORD 

STIMULATOR SYSTEM is 223 days. Of 

this time, 0 days occurred during the 

testing phase of the regulatory review 

period, while 223 days occurred during 

the approval phase. These periods of 

time were derived from the following 

dates: 

1. The date an exemption under 

section 520(g) of the Federal Food, Drug, 

and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) (21 U.S.C. 

360j(g)) involving this device became 

effective: Not Applicable. FDA has 

verified the applicant’s claim that the 

length of the testing phase of the 

regulatory review period is 0 days. 

2. The date an application was 

initially submitted with respect to the 

device under section 515 of the FD&C 

Act (21 U.S.C. 360e): April 23, 2020. 

FDA has verified the applicant’s claim 

that the premarket approval application 

(PMA) for WAVEWRITER ALPHA 

SPINAL CORD STIMULATOR SYSTEM 

(PMA P030017/S338) was initially 

submitted April 23, 2020. 

3. The date the application was 

approved: December 1, 2020. FDA has 

verified the applicant’s claim that PMA 

P030017/Supplement 338 was approved 

on December 1, 2020. 

This determination of the regulatory 

review period establishes the maximum 

potential length of a patent extension. 

However, the USPTO applies several 

statutory limitations in its calculations 

of the actual period for patent extension. 

In its application for patent extension, 

this applicant seeks 222 days of patent 

term extension. 

III. Petitions 

Anyone with knowledge that any of 

the dates as published are incorrect may 

submit either electronic or written 

comments and, under 21 CFR 60.24, ask 

for a redetermination (see DATES). 

Furthermore, as specified in § 60.30 (21 

CFR 60.30), any interested person may 

petition FDA for a determination 

regarding whether the applicant for 

extension acted with due diligence 

during the regulatory review period. To 

meet its burden, the petition must 

comply with all the requirements of 

§ 60.30, including but not limited to: 

must be timely (see DATES), must be 

filed in accordance with § 10.20, must 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
83892 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 202 / Friday, October 18, 2024 / Notices 

contain sufficient facts to merit an FDA 

investigation, and must certify that a 

true and complete copy of the petition 

has been served upon the patent 

applicant. (See H. Rept. 857, part 1, 98th 

Cong., 2d sess., pp. 41–42, 1984.) 

Petitions should be in the format 

specified in 21 CFR 10.30. 

Submit petitions electronically to 

https://www.regulations.gov at Docket 

No. FDA–2013–S–0610. Submit written 

petitions (two copies are required) to the 

Dockets Management Staff (HFA–305), 

Food and Drug Administration, 5630 

Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 

20852. 

Dated: October 10, 2024. 

Eric Flamm, 

Acting Associate Commissioner for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2024–24095 Filed 10–17–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4164–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Food and Drug Administration 

[Docket No. FDA–2022–D–0112] 

Considerations for Long-Term Clinical 

Neurodevelopmental Safety Studies in 

Neonatal Product Development; 

Guidance for Industry; Availability 

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, 

HHS. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: The Food and Drug 

Administration (FDA or Agency) is 

announcing the availability of a final 

guidance for industry entitled 

‘‘Considerations for Long-Term Clinical 

Neurodevelopmental Safety Studies in 

Neonatal Product Development; 

Guidance for Industry.’’ This guidance 

is intended to provide a framework for 

considering whether and what type of 

long-term neurologic, sensory, and 

developmental evaluations could be 

useful in supporting a determination of 

safety of an FDA-regulated ‘‘medical 

product’’ (i.e., drug, biological product, 

or medical device) for use in neonates. 

Although short-term safety evaluations 

may be appropriate for adults or other 

populations, such evaluations may not 

identify important adverse events in the 

neonatal population, as medical 

treatment during the neonatal period 

coincides with a time of critical growth 

and physiologic development and latent 

effects may not be evident until later in 

life following early-life exposures. 

Consideration of the potential for longterm neurologic, sensory, and 

developmental effects in the neonatal 

population early in a development 

program is important for establishing 

safety of a medical product intended for 

use in neonates. This guidance finalizes 

the draft guidance of the same title 

issued on February 13, 2023. 

DATES: The announcement of the 

guidance is published in the Federal 

Register on October 18, 2024. 

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– 

2022–D–0112 for ‘‘Considerations for 

Long-Term Clinical 

Neurodevelopmental Safety Studies in 

Neonatal Product Development; 

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, 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)). 

Submit written requests for single 

copies of this 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; 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; or 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES