Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Class II Special Controls: Automated Blood Cell Separator Device Operating by Centrifugal or Filtration Principle

AGENCY:

Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA, Agency, or we) 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 collection of information concerning class II special controls for an automated blood cell separator device operating by centrifugal or filtration separation principle.

DATES:

Either electronic or written comments on the collection of information must be submitted by July 22, 2024.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments as follows. Please note that late, untimely filed comments will not be considered. The https://www.regulations.gov electronic filing system will accept comments until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time at the end of July 22, 2024. Comments received by mail/hand delivery/courier (for written/paper submissions) will be considered timely if they are received on or before that date.

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-2024-N-2019 for “Class II Special Controls: Automated Blood Cell Separator Device Operating by Centrifugal or Filtration Separation Principle.” 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, 240-402-7500.

• 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.govinfo.gov/content/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, 240-402-7500.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

JonnaLynn Capezzuto, Office of Operations, Food and Drug Administration, Three White Flint North, 10A-12M, 11601 Landsdown St., North Bethesda, MD 20852, 301-796-3794, PRAStaff@fda.hhs.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521), 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 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.

Class II Special Controls: Automated Blood Cell Separator Device Operating by Centrifugal or Filtration Separation Principle

OMB Control Number 0910-0594—Extension

This information collection helps to support Agency regulations and guidance. Under Section 513(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act (FD&C Act) (21 U.S.C. 360c(a)(1)(B)), FDA may establish special controls, including performance standards, postmarket surveillance, patient registries, guidelines, and other appropriate actions it believes necessary to provide reasonable assurance of the safety and effectiveness of the device. The special control guidance serves as the special control for the automated blood cell separator device operating by centrifugal or filtration separation principle intended for the routine collection of blood and blood components (§ 864.9245 (21 CFR 864.9245)). The guidance entitled “Guidance for Industry and FDA Staff—Class II Special Controls Guidance Document: Automated Blood Cell Separator Device Operating by Centrifugal or Filtration Separation Principle” (March 2011) is available at https://www.fda.gov/media/124263/download.

For currently marketed products not approved under the premarket approval process, the manufacturer should file with FDA for 3 consecutive years an annual report on the anniversary date of the device reclassification from class III to class II or on the anniversary date of the 510(k) of the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. 360(k)) clearance. These annual reports are submitted as supplements to the original 510(k) via the electronic submission gateway at https://www.fda.gov/electronic-submissions-gateway. The reports can also be submitted in paper format and sent to the CBER Document Control Center at https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/center-biologics-evaluation-and-research-cber/regulatory-submissions-electronic-and-paper.

Any subsequent change to the device requiring the submission of a premarket notification in accordance with section 510(k) of the FD&C Act should be included in the annual report. Also, a manufacturer of a device determined to be substantially equivalent to the centrifugal or filtration-based automated cell separator device intended for the routine collection of blood and blood components should comply with the same general and special controls.

Reclassification of this device from class III to class II relieves manufacturers of the burden of complying with the premarket approval requirements of section 515 of the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. 360e) and may permit small potential competitors to enter the marketplace by reducing the burden. Although the special control guidance recommends that manufacturers of these devices file with FDA an annual report for 3 consecutive years, this would be less burdensome than the current postapproval requirements under 21 CFR part 814, subpart E, including the submission of periodic reports under 21 CFR 814.84.

In the special control guidance document, FDA recommends that manufacturers include in their annual reports a summary of adverse reactions maintained by the blood collection establishment or transfusion service or similar reports of adverse events collected.

FDA estimates the burden of this collection of information as follows:

Based on submissions to FDA over the last few years, there are three manufactures of automated blood cell separator devices. We estimate that the manufacturers will spend approximately 5 hours preparing and submitting the annual report.

The annual report should include, at a minimum, a summary of anticipated and unanticipated adverse events that have occurred and that are not required to be reported by manufacturers under Medical Device Reporting (MDR) (part 803 (21 CFR part 803)). The reporting of adverse device events summarized in an annual report will alert FDA to trends or clusters of events that might be a safety issue otherwise unreported under the MDR regulation. The report should also include any subsequent change to the preamendments class III device requiring a 30-day notice in accordance with 21 CFR 814.39(f).

Blood collection establishments and transfusion services, the intended users of the device, and the device manufacturers have certain responsibilities under the Federal regulations. For example, collection establishments and or transfusion services are required to maintain records of any reports of complaints of adverse reactions (21 CFR 606.170), while the device manufacturer is responsible for conducting an investigation of each event that is reasonably known to the manufacturer and evaluating the cause of the event (§ 803.50(b) (21 CFR 803.50(b))). In addition, manufacturers of medical devices are required to submit to FDA individual adverse event reports of death, serious injury, and malfunctions (§ 803.50).

Other burden hours required for § 864.9245 are reported and approved under OMB control number 0910-0120 (premarket notification submission 510(k), 21 CFR part 807, subpart E), and OMB control number 0910-0437 (MDR, part 803).

Based on a review of the information collection from our last request for OMB approval, we estimate that the number of manufacturers of automated blood cell separator devices remains unchanged. As a result, we have made no adjustments to our burden estimates.