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

###### Food and Drug Administration

          - [Docket No. FDA-2009-N-0178]

# 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 Yokohama, Japan” to provide information and receive comments on the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) as well as the upcoming meetings in Yokohama, Japan. The topics to be discussed are the topics for discussion at the forthcoming ICH Steering Committee Meeting. The purpose of the meeting is to solicit public input prior to the next Steering Committee and Expert Working Groups meetings in Yokohama, Japan, scheduled for June 6 through 11, 2009, at which discussion of the topics underway and the future of ICH will continue, as well as provide comprehensive updates of the various ICH topics.

*Date and Time*: The meeting will be held on May 6, 2009, from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.                    

*Location*: The meeting will be held in the Washington Room at the Hilton Washington DC/Rockville Hotel & Executive Meeting Center, 1750 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. For security reasons, all attendees are asked to arrive no later than 2:15 p.m.                    

*Contact Person*: All participants must register with Tammie Jo Bell, Office of the Commissioner (HFG-1), Food and Drug Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857, e-mail:                         *Tammie.Bell2@fda.hhs.gov*, or FAX: 301-827-0003.                    

*Registration and Requests for Oral Presentations*: Send registration information (including name, title, firm name, address, telephone, and fax number), written material and requests to make oral presentation, to the contact person by April 29, 2009.                    

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

*Transcripts*: Please be advised that as soon as a transcript is available, it will be accessible at                         *http://www.fda.gov/​ohrms/​dockets/​ac/​acmenu.htm*. It may be viewed at the Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, rm. 1061, Rockville, MD. A transcript will also be available 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.                    

# 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 Association; 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                           ( print page 17501)                        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. Time allotted for oral presentations may be limited to 10 minutes. Those desiring to make oral presentations should notify the contact person by April 29, 2009, and submit a brief statement of the general nature of the evidence or arguments they wish to present, the names and addresses, 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/​cder/​meeting/​ICH_​20090506.htm*.                

Dated: April 9, 2009.

Jeffrey Shuren,

Associate Commissioner for Policy and Planning.

[FR Doc. E9-8679 Filed 4-14-09; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160-01-S