
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 7 (Wednesday, January 11, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Page 1697]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-326]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2012-N-0001]


Arthritis Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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    This notice announces a forthcoming meeting of a public advisory 
committee of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The meeting will 
be open to the public.
    Name of Committee: Arthritis Advisory Committee.
    General Function of the Committee: To provide advice and 
recommendations to the Agency on FDA's regulatory issues.
    Date and Time: The meeting will be held on March 12, 2012, from 8 
a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
    Location: FDA White Oak Campus, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Building 
31 Conference Center, the Great Room, (rm. 1503), Silver Spring, MD 
20993-0002. Information regarding special accommodations due to a 
disability, visitor parking, and transportation may be accessed at: 
http://www.fda.gov/AdvisoryCommittees/default.htm; under the heading 
``Resources for You,'' click on ``Public Meetings at the FDA White Oak 
Campus.'' Please note that visitors to the White Oak Campus must enter 
through Building 1.
    Contact Person: Philip A. Bautista, Center for Drug Evaluation and 
Research, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 
31, rm. 2417, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, (301) 796-9001, FAX: (301) 
847-8533, email: AAC@fda.hhs.gov, or FDA Advisory Committee Information 
Line, 1-(800) 741-8138 ((301) 443-0572 in the Washington, DC area), and 
follow the prompts to the desired center or product area. Please call 
the Information Line for up-to-date information on this meeting. A 
notice in the Federal Register about last minute modifications that 
impact a previously announced advisory committee meeting cannot always 
be published quickly enough to provide timely notice. Therefore, you 
should always check the Agency's Web site and call the appropriate 
advisory committee hot line/phone line to learn about possible 
modifications before coming to the meeting.
    Agenda: The committee will discuss the anti-nerve growth factor 
(Anti-NGF) drug class that is currently under development and the 
safety issues possibly related to these drugs. These drugs are being 
developed for the treatment of a variety of chronic painful conditions 
including osteoarthritis, chronic lower back pain, diabetic peripheral 
neuropathy, post-herpetic neuralgia, chronic pancreatitis, 
endometriosis, interstitial cystitis, vertebral fracture, thermal 
injury, and cancer pain. The committee will be asked to determine 
whether reports of joint destruction represent a safety signal related 
to the Anti-NGF class of drugs, and whether the risk benefit balance 
for these drugs favors continued development of the drugs as 
analgesics.
    FDA intends to make background material available to the public no 
later than 2 business days before the meeting. If FDA is unable to post 
the background material on its Web site prior to the meeting, the 
background material will be made publicly available at the location of 
the advisory committee meeting, and the background material will be 
posted on FDA's Web site after the meeting. Background material is 
available at http://www.fda.gov/AdvisoryCommittees/Calendar/default.htm. Scroll down to the appropriate advisory committee link.
    Procedure: Interested persons may present data, information, or 
views, orally or in writing, on issues pending before the committee. 
Written submissions may be made to the contact person on or before 
February 27, 2012. Oral presentations from the public will be scheduled 
between approximately 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Those individuals 
interested in making formal oral presentations should notify the 
contact person and submit a brief statement of the general nature of 
the evidence or arguments they wish to present, the names and addresses 
of proposed participants, and an indication of the approximate time 
requested to make their presentation on or before February 16, 2012. 
Time allotted for each presentation may be limited. If the number of 
registrants requesting to speak is greater than can be reasonably 
accommodated during the scheduled open public hearing session, FDA may 
conduct a lottery to determine the speakers for the scheduled open 
public hearing session. The contact person will notify interested 
persons regarding their request to speak by February 17, 2012.
    Persons attending FDA's advisory committee meetings are advised 
that the Agency is not responsible for providing access to electrical 
outlets.
    FDA welcomes the attendance of the public at its advisory committee 
meetings and will make every effort to accommodate persons with 
physical disabilities or special needs. If you require special 
accommodations due to a disability, please contact Philip A. Bautista 
at least 7 days in advance of the meeting.
    FDA is committed to the orderly conduct of its advisory committee 
meetings. Please visit our Web site at http://www.fda.gov/AdvisoryCommittees/AboutAdvisoryCommittees/ucm111462.htm for procedures 
on public conduct during advisory committee meetings.
    Notice of this meeting is given under the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. app. 2).

    Dated: January 5, 2012.
Leslie Kux,
Acting Assistant Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2012-326 Filed 1-10-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-01-P


