
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 248 (Friday, December 28, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67289-67290]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-28219]



[[Page 67289]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2018-D-4662]


International Cooperation on Harmonisation of Technical 
Requirements for Registration of Veterinary Medicinal Products; 
Stability Testing of New Veterinary Drug Substances and Medicinal 
Products in Climatic Zones III and IV; Draft Guidance for Industry; 
Availability

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing 
the availability of a draft guidance for industry (GFI) #259 entitled 
``Stability Testing of New Veterinary Drug Substances and Medicinal 
Products in Climatic Zones III and IV'' (VICH GL58). This draft 
guidance has been developed for veterinary use by the International 
Cooperation on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration 
of Veterinary Medicinal Products (VICH). This VICH draft guidance 
document is an annex to the VICH parent stability guidance, GFI #73/
VICH GL3(R), ``Stability Testing of New Veterinary Drug Substances and 
Medicinal Products (Revision),'' and provides guidance regarding the 
stability data package for a new veterinary drug substance and 
medicinal product to be included in a registration or application 
submitted within the regions in climatic zones III and IV.

DATES: Submit either electronic or written comments on the draft 
guidance by February 26, 2019 to ensure that the Agency considers your 
comment on this draft guidance before it begins work on the final 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 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-4662 for ``Stability Testing of New Veterinary Drug 
Substances and Medicinal Products in Climatic Zones III and IV.'' 
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 guidance to the 
Policy and Regulations Staff (HFV-6), Center for Veterinary Medicine, 
Food and Drug Administration, 7500 Standish Pl., Rockville, MD 20855. 
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: Mai Huynh, Center for Veterinary 
Medicine (HFV-140), Food and Drug Administration, 7500 Standish Pl., 
Rockville, MD 20855, 240-402-0669, Mai.Huynh@fda.hhs.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    FDA is announcing the availability of a draft GFI #259 entitled 
``Stability Testing of New Veterinary Drug Substances and Medicinal 
Products in Climatic Zones III and IV'' (VICH GL58). In recent years, 
many important initiatives have been undertaken by regulatory 
authorities and industry associations to promote the international 
harmonization of regulatory requirements. FDA has participated in 
efforts to enhance harmonization and has expressed its commitment to 
seek scientifically based, harmonized technical procedures for the 
development of pharmaceutical products. One of the goals of 
harmonization is to identify, and then reduce, differences in technical 
requirements for drug development among regulatory agencies in 
different

[[Page 67290]]

countries. FDA has actively participated in the International Council 
for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for 
Human Use to develop harmonized technical requirements for the approval 
of human pharmaceutical and biological products among the European 
Union, Japan, and the United States. The VICH is a parallel initiative 
for veterinary medicinal products. The VICH is concerned with 
developing harmonized technical requirements for the approval of 
veterinary medicinal products in the European Union, Japan, and the 
United States, and includes input from both regulatory and industry 
representatives.
    The VICH Steering Committee is composed of member representatives 
from the European Commission and European Medicines Agency, 
International Federation for Animal Health--Europe; FDA; the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture; the U.S. Animal Health Institute; the 
Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries; and the 
Japanese Veterinary Products Association. Six observers are eligible to 
participate in the VICH Steering Committee: One representative from the 
government of Australia/New Zealand, one representative from the 
industry in Australia/New Zealand, one representative from the 
government of Canada, one representative from the industry in Canada, 
one representative from the government of South Africa, and one 
representative from the industry in South Africa. The VICH Secretariat, 
which coordinates the preparation of documentation, is provided by the 
International Federation for Animal Health.

II. Draft Guidance for Industry on Stability Testing of New Veterinary 
Drug Substances and Medicinal Products in Climatic Zones III and IV

    The VICH Steering Committee held a meeting in June 2018 and agreed 
that the draft guidance document entitled ``Stability Testing of New 
Veterinary Drug Substances and Medicinal Products in Climatic Zones III 
and IV'' (VICH GL58) should be made available for public comment. This 
draft guidance document is an annex to the VICH parent stability 
guidance, GFI #73/VICH GL3(R), ``Stability Testing of New Veterinary 
Drug Substances and Medicinal Products (Revision),'' \1\ and provides 
guidance regarding the stability data package for a new veterinary drug 
substance and medicinal product to be included in a registration or 
application submitted within the regions in climatic zones III and IV. 
This guidance provides additional guidance on the storage conditions 
for stability testing in countries located in Climatic Zones III (hot 
and dry) and IVB (hot and very humid), which are not covered by GFI 
#73/VICH GL3(R). This draft guidance document seeks to exemplify the 
core stability data package for new veterinary drug substances and 
medicinal products, but leaves flexibility to encompass the variety of 
different practical situations that may be encountered due to specific 
scientific considerations and characteristics of the materials being 
evaluated.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ https://www.fda.gov/downloads/AnimalVeterinary/GuidanceComplianceEnforcement/GuidanceforIndustry/UCM052387.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    FDA and the VICH Expert Working Group will consider comments about 
the draft guidance document.

III. Significance of Guidance

    This level 1 draft guidance, developed under the VICH process, is 
being issued consistent with FDA's good guidance practices regulation 
(21 CFR 10.115). For example, the document has been designated 
``guidance'' rather than ``guideline.'' In addition, guidance documents 
do not include mandatory language such as ``shall,'' ``must,'' 
``require,'' or ``requirement,'' unless FDA is using these words to 
describe a statutory or regulatory requirement.
    The draft guidance, when finalized, will represent the current 
thinking of FDA on this topic. 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 guidance is not subject to Executive 
Order 12866.

IV. 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 
collections of information in 21 CFR part 514 have been approved under 
OMB control number 0910-0032.

V. Electronic Access

    Persons with access to the internet may obtain the draft guidance 
at either https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/GuidanceComplianceEnforcement/GuidanceforIndustry/default.htm or 
https://www.regulations.gov.

    Dated: December 20, 2018.
Leslie Kux,
Associate Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2018-28219 Filed 12-27-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4164-01-P


