
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 117 (Friday, June 17, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39673-39675]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-14354]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2016-D-1490]


Quality Attribute Considerations for Chewable Tablets; Draft 
Guidance for Industry; Availability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the availability of a draft guidance for industry entitled ``Quality 
Attribute Considerations for Chewable Tablets.'' This guidance 
describes the

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Agency's thinking on the critical quality attributes that should be 
assessed when developing a chewable tablet dosage form and recommends 
that the selected acceptance criteria be appropriate and meaningful 
indicators of product performance throughout the shelf life of the 
product.

DATES: Although you can comment on any guidance at any time (see 21 CFR 
10.115(g)(5)), to ensure that the Agency considers your comment on this 
draft guidance before it begins work on the final version of the 
guidance, submit either electronic or written comments on the draft 
guidance by August 16, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments as follows:

Electronic Submissions

    Submit electronic comments in the following way:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Comments submitted 
electronically, including attachments, to http://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 http://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): Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305), Food and Drug 
Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
     For written/paper comments submitted to the Division of 
Dockets Management, 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-2016-D-1490 for ``Quality Attribute Considerations for Chewable 
Tablets.'' Received comments will be placed in the docket and, except 
for those submitted as ``Confidential Submissions,'' publicly viewable 
at http://www.regulations.gov or at the Division of Dockets Management 
between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
     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 http://www.regulations.gov. 
Submit both copies to the Division of Dockets Management. 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: http://www.fda.gov/regulatoryinformation/dockets/default.htm.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
the electronic and written/paper comments received, go to http://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 Division of Dockets Management, 5630 Fishers 
Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
    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. 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: Nallaperumal Chidambaram, Center for 
Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New 
Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 51, Rm. 3112, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, 301-
796-1339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    FDA is announcing the availability of a draft guidance for industry 
entitled ``Quality Attribute Considerations for Chewable Tablets.'' 
Chewable tablets are an immediate release oral dosage form intended to 
be chewed and then swallowed by the patient, rather than swallowed 
whole. They should be designed to have a pleasant taste and be easily 
chewed and swallowed. Chewable tablets should be safe and easy to use 
in a diverse patient population, pediatric, adults, or elderly 
patients, who are unable or unwilling to swallow intact tablets due to 
the size of the tablet or difficulty with swallowing. In addition, 
certain tablets must be chewed before swallowing to avoid choking and 
to ensure the release of the active ingredient. The availability of 
safe, easy-to-use dosage forms is important in clinical practice, and 
chewable tablet formulations are available as both over-the-counter and 
prescription drug products.
    A review of numerous applications for chewable tablet drug products 
revealed that in certain cases, critical quality attributes such as 
hardness, disintegration, and dissolution were not given as much 
consideration as may have been warranted. This draft guidance describes 
the critical quality attributes that should be assessed when developing 
a chewable tablet dosage form. No single quality characteristic should 
be considered sufficient to control the performance of a chewable 
tablet. Instead, the goal should be to develop the proper combination 
of these attributes to ensure the performance of the chewable tablet 
for its intended use.
    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 Quality 
Attribute Considerations for Chewable Tablets. 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.

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II. The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    This draft guidance refers to previously approved collections of 
information found in FDA regulations. These collections of information 
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 
collection of information in investigational new drug applications is 
approved under OMB control number 0910-0014; the collection of 
information (including prescription drug labeling) in new drug 
applications and abbreviated new drug applications, as well as 
supplements to these applications, is approved under OMB control number 
0910-0001; the collection of biologics license applications is approved 
under OMB control number 0910-0338; and the format and content of 
prescription drug labeling is approved under OMB control number 0910-
0572.

III. Electronic Access

    Persons with access to the Internet may obtain the draft guidance 
at either http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Guidances/default.htm or http://www.regulations.gov.

    Dated: June 13, 2016.
Leslie Kux,
Associate Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2016-14354 Filed 6-16-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4164-01-P


