[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 207 (Thursday, October 25, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53880-53882]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-23306]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2018-D-3462]


Verification Systems Under the Drug Supply Chain Security Act for 
Certain Prescription Drugs; Draft Guidance for Industry; Availability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the availability of a draft guidance for industry entitled 
``Verification Systems Under the Drug Supply Chain Security Act for 
Certain Prescription Drugs.'' The draft guidance addresses the 
verification systems that manufacturers, repackagers, wholesale 
distributors, and dispensers must have in place to comply with the 
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), as amended by the Drug 
Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA). Specifically, this draft guidance 
covers the statutory verification system requirements that include 
quarantine and investigation of a product determined to be suspect and 
quarantine and disposition of a product determined to be illegitimate. 
The draft guidance also addresses the statutory requirement for 
notification to the Agency of a product that has been cleared by a 
manufacturer, repackager, wholesale distributor, or dispenser after a 
suspect product investigation because it is determined that the product 
is not an illegitimate product.

DATES: Submit either electronic or written comments on the draft 
guidance by December 24, 2018 to ensure that the Agency considers your 
comment on this draft guidance before it begins work on the final 
version of the guidance.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on any guidance 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

[[Page 53881]]

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-2018-D-3462 for ``Verification Systems Under the Drug Supply Chain 
Security Act for Certain Prescription Drugs; Draft Guidance for 
Industry; Availability.'' 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.
     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.
    You may submit comments on any guidance at any time (see 21 CFR 
10.115(g)(5)).
    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; or the 
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. 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: Sarah Venti, Office of Compliance, 
Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, 
10903 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, 301-796-3130, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    FDA is announcing the availability of a draft guidance for industry 
entitled ``Verification Systems Under the Drug Supply Chain Security 
Act for Certain Prescription Drugs.'' The DSCSA (Title II of Pub. L. 
113-54) was signed into law on November 27, 2013. Section 202 of the 
DSCSA added section 582 to the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. 360eee-1), which 
established the requirement that trading partners have systems in place 
to enable them to comply with certain verification obligations.
    The draft guidance provides recommendations for robust verification 
systems for the determination, quarantine, and investigation of suspect 
products as well as quarantine and disposition of illegitimate 
products. As explained in the draft guidance, verification systems may 
include existing standard operating procedures or other processes or 
procedures provided that the verification systems ensure that the 
trading partner meets its obligations under section 582 of the FD&C 
Act. This draft guidance also addresses the manner in which FDA 
recommends that trading partners submit cleared product notifications 
(i.e., notifications that a suspect product is not an illegitimate 
product). Finally, the draft guidance also addresses the statutory 
requirements for verification, including verification of saleable 
returns, at the package level for product identifiers on packages and 
homogenous cases intended to be introduced in a transaction into 
commerce. While DSCSA also requires trading partners to notify the 
Agency of illegitimate products or products with high risk of 
illegitimacy, this requirement was previously discussed in a separate 
guidance document, and is therefore not addressed in this draft 
guidance.
    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 Agency's current thinking on verification 
systems for certain human, finished, prescription drugs under section 
582 of the FD&C Act. 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. This draft guidance is not subject to Executive Order 
12866.

II. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    This draft guidance includes information collection provisions that 
are subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520) 
(PRA). In accordance with the PRA, prior to publication of any final 
guidance document, FDA intends to solicit public comment and obtain OMB 
approval for any information collections recommended in this guidance 
that are new or that would represent material modifications to those 
previously approved collections of information found in FDA regulations 
or guidance.

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III. Electronic Access

    Persons with access to the internet may obtain the draft guidance 
at https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Guidances/default.htm, https://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Guidances/default.htm, or 
https://www.regulations.gov.

    Dated: October 19, 2018.
Leslie Kux,
Associate Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2018-23306 Filed 10-24-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4164-01-P


