Review and Update of Device Establishment Inspection Processes and Standards; Draft Guidance for Industry; Availability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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing the availability of the draft guidance entitled “Review and Update of Device Establishment Inspection Processes and Standards.” FDA is issuing this draft guidance document to comply with changes to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) as amended by the FDA Reauthorization Act of 2017 (FDARA), which requires that FDA review and update, as needed, the processes and standards applicable to inspections (other than for-cause) of domestic and foreign medical device establishments in place as of August 18, 2017. This draft guidance describes how FDA will implement uniform inspection processes and standards. The draft guidance also describes standardized methods of communication during the inspection process and identifies practices for investigators and device establishments to facilitate the continuity of inspections of such establishments. This draft guidance is not final nor is it in effect at this time.

DATES:

Submit either electronic or written comments on the draft guidance by May 28, 2019 to ensure that the Agency considers your comment on this draft guidance before it begins work on the final version of the guidance.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-2019-D-0914 for “Review and Update of Device Establishment Inspection Processes and Standards.” 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 a single hard copy of the draft guidance entitled “Review and Update of Device Establishment Inspection Processes and Standards” to the Office of Strategic Planning and Operational Policy, Office of Regulatory Affairs, Food and Drug Administration, 12420 Parklawn Dr., Element Building, Rockville, MD 20857. Send one self-addressed adhesive label to assist that office in processing your request. See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for electronic access to the draft guidance document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Tiffany Kelley, Office of Regulatory Affairs, Division of Operational Policy, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, 301-348-1970, Tiffany.Kelley@fda.hhs.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

FDA is announcing the availability of a draft guidance for industry entitled, “Review and Update of Device Establishment Inspection Processes and Standards.” FDA is issuing this guidance document to comply with section 702(b) of FDARA (Pub. L. 115-52), which directs FDA to issue draft guidance that specifies how FDA will review processes and standards applicable to inspections of domestic and foreign device establishments in effect as of August 18, 2017, and update such processes and standards, as needed, through the adoption of uniform processes and standards that meet the criteria set forth in section 704(h)(1)(A) through (D) of the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. 374(h)(1)(A) through (D)), as added by section 702(a) of FDARA. FDARA 702(b) also requires the draft guidance to provide for standardized methods of communication when communication is required under 704(h)(1), establish a standard timeframe for inspections, and identify practices for investigators and device establishments to facilitate the continuity of inspections of such establishments.

II. Significance of Draft Guidance

FDA is issuing this draft guidance 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 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.

III. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

This draft guidance refers to currently approved collections of information. 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 803 have been approved under OMB control number 0910-0437. The collections of information in 21 CFR part 820 have been approved under OMB control number 0910-0073.

IV. Electronic Access

Persons interested in obtaining a copy of the draft guidance may do so by downloading an electronic copy from the internet at either https://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/DeviceRegulationandGuidance/GuidanceDocuments/default.htm,, https://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/default.htm,, or https://www.regulations.gov. Persons unable to download an electronic copy of “Review and Update of Device Establishment Inspection Processes and Standards; Draft Guidance for Industry” may send an email request to ORAPolicyStaffs@fda.hhs.gov to receive an electronic copy of the document.