[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 207 (Friday, October 27, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49836-49837]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-23445]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2017-N-6145]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Dispute Resolution Procedures for Science-Based 
Decisions on Products Regulated by the Center for Veterinary Medicine

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing 
an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain 
information by the Agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA), Federal Agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal 
Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including 
each proposed extension of an existing collection of information, and 
to allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This 
notice solicits comments on the information collection provisions of 
the dispute resolution procedures for science-based decisions on 
products regulated by the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM).

DATES: Submit either electronic or written comments on the collection 
of information by December 26, 2017.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments as follows. Please note that late, 
untimely filed comments will not be considered. Electronic comments 
must be submitted on or before December 26, 2017. The https://www.regulations.gov electronic filing system will accept comments until 
midnight Eastern Time at the end of December 26, 2017. Comments 
received by mail/hand delivery/courier (for written/paper submissions) 
will be considered timely if they are postmarked or the delivery 
service acceptance receipt is on or before that date.

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-2017-N-6145 for ``Dispute Resolution Procedures for Science-Based 
Decisions on Products Regulated by the Center for Veterinary 
Medicine.'' 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.
    <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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ila S. Mizrachi, Office of Operations, 
Food and Drug Administration, Three White Flint North, 10A-12M, 11601 
Landsdown St., North Bethesda, MD 20852, 301-796-7726, 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5b0b091a082f3a3d3d1b3d3f3a75333328753c342d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b1e1e3f0e2c5d0d7d7f1d7d5d09fd9d9c29fd6dec7">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal 
Agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. 
``Collection of information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 
1320.3(c) and includes Agency requests or requirements that members of 
the public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a 
third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)) 
requires Federal Agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal 
Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including 
each proposed extension of an existing collection of information, 
before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with 
this requirement, FDA is publishing notice of the proposed collection 
of information set forth in this document.
    With respect to the following collection of information, FDA 
invites comments on these topics: (1) Whether

[[Page 49837]]

the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of FDA's functions, including whether the information will 
have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of FDA's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance 
the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; 
and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques, when appropriate, and other forms of information 
technology.

Dispute Resolution Procedures for Science-Based Decisions on Products 
Regulated by CVM--21 CFR Section 10.75

OMB Control Number 0910-0566--Extension

    CVM's Guidance for Industry (GIF) #79, ``Dispute Resolution 
Procedures for Science-Based Decisions on Products Regulated by the 
Center for Veterinary Medicine'' (https://www.fda.gov/downloads/AnimalVeterinary/GuidanceComplianceEnforcement/GuidanceforIndustry/UCM052393.pdf), describes the process by which CVM formally resolves 
disputes relating to scientific controversies. A scientific controversy 
involves issues concerning a specific product regulated by CVM related 
to matters of technical expertise and requires specialized education, 
training, or experience to be understood and resolved. The guidance 
details information on how CVM intends to apply provisions of existing 
regulations regarding internal review of Agency decisions. In addition, 
the guidance outlines the established procedures for persons who are 
sponsors, applicants, or manufacturers of animal drugs or other 
products regulated by CVM that wish to submit a request for review of a 
scientific dispute. When a sponsor, applicant, or manufacturer has a 
scientific disagreement with a written decision by CVM, they may submit 
a request for a review of that decision by following the established 
procedures discussed in the guidance.
    CVM encourages applicants to begin the resolution of science-based 
disputes with discussions with the review team/group, including the 
Team Leader or Division Director. The Center prefers that differences 
of opinion regarding science or science-based policy be resolved 
between the review team/group and the applicant. If the matter is not 
resolved by this preferred method then CVM recommends that the 
applicant follow the procedures in GFI #79.
    FDA estimates the burden of this collection of information as 
follows:

                                                     Table 1--Estimated Annual Reporting Burden \1\
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                                                                                         Number of
                           21 CFR section                               Number of      responses per     Total annual   Average  burden    Total hours
                                                                       respondents       respondent       responses      per  response
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10.75, Request for review of a scientific dispute..................               1                4                4               10               40
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\1\ There are no capital costs or operating and maintenance costs associated with this collection of information.

    In the next 3 years, CVM anticipates receiving one or fewer 
requests for review of a scientific dispute per year, on average. We 
base our estimate on CVM's experience over the past 6 years in handling 
formal appeals for scientific disputes. The burden of this collection 
has changed. The number of respondents decreased from two to one 
annually, the number of responses per respondent remained at four 
annually, the hours per response remained at 10 annually, and the total 
number of hours decreased from 80 to 40. This decrease in the total 
hours is the result of a natural fluctuation in the number of 
respondents taking advantage of this dispute resolution process.

    Dated: October 24, 2017.
Anna K. Abram,
Deputy Commissioner for Policy, Planning, Legislation, and Analysis.
[FR Doc. 2017-23445 Filed 10-26-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4164-01-P


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