Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Medical Device Accessories

AGENCY:

Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) 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 information collections regarding medical device accessories requests.

DATES:

Submit either electronic or written comments on the collection of information by June 3, 2019.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments as follows. Please note that late, untimely filed comments will not be considered. Electronic comments must be submitted on or before June 3, 2019. The https://www.regulations.gov electronic filing system will accept comments until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time at the end of June 3, 2019. Comments received by mail/hand delivery/courier (for written/paper submissions) will be considered timely if they are postmarked or the delivery service acceptance receipt is 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-2016-N-1593 for “Medical Device Accessories.” 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.

• 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Amber Sanford, Office of Operations, Food and Drug Administration, Three White Flint North, 10A-12M, 11601 Landsdown St., North Bethesda, MD 20852, 301-796-8867, PRAStaff@fda.hhs.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), 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.

Medical Device Accessories

OMB Control Number 0910-0823—Extension

FDA's guidance document “Medical Device Accessories—Describing Accessories and Classification Pathways” (the Accessories guidance) is intended to provide guidance to industry and FDA staff about the regulation of accessories to medical devices, to describe FDA's policy concerning the classification of accessories, and to discuss the application of this policy to devices that are commonly used as accessories to other medical devices. In addition, the guidance explains what devices FDA generally considers an “accessory” and describes the processes under section 513(f)(6) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) (21 U.S.C. 360c(f)(6)) to allow requests for risk- and regulatory control-based classification of accessories.

We are requesting OMB approval to revise this information collection request (ICR) by adding burden estimates for two new accessory classification pathways created by the FDA Reauthorization Act of 2017 (FDARA) (Pub. L. 115-52).

FDARA changed how FDA regulates medical device accessories. Specifically, section 707 of FDARA added section 513(f)(6) to the statute and requires that FDA, upon request, classify existing and new accessories notwithstanding the classification of any other device with which such accessory is intended to be used. This means that the classification of an accessory may not be the same as its parent device, depending on the risks of the accessory when used as intended and the level of regulatory controls necessary for reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness of the accessory. Until an accessory is distinctly classified, its existing classification will continue to apply. This provision does not preclude a manufacturer from submitting a De Novo request for an accessory.

When the Accessories guidance originally issued, FDA encouraged the use of the De Novo classification process to allow manufacturers to request risk- and regulatory control-based classification of accessories of a new type. FDA's recommendations in the guidance represented a new information collection as an accessory classification De Novo request. The information collected for an accessory classification De Novo request is substantially the same as a De Novo request (since approved under OMB control number 0910-0844), is submitted in the same manner, and has the same estimated information collection burden. The burden estimate associated with “De Novo request under 21 U.S.C. 513(f)(2)(i)” and “De Novo request under 21 U.S.C. 513(f)(2)(ii),” in OMB control number 0910-0844, includes De Novo requests for accessories. We have determined that the burden estimate for “Accessory Classification De Novo Requests” in this ICR (Accessory Classification Requests; OMB control number 0910-0823) is redundant and have, therefore, removed it.

Depending on an accessory's regulatory history, there are different submission types, tracking mechanisms, and deadlines:

(1) Existing accessory types are those that have been identified in a classification regulation or granted marketing authorization as part of a 510(k), pre-market application (PMA), or De Novo request (approved under OMB control numbers 0910-0120, 0910-0231, and 0910-0844, respectively). Manufacturers with marketing authorization for an existing accessory may request appropriate classification through a new stand-alone premarket submission (Existing Accessory Request). Upon request, FDA is required to meet with a manufacturer or importer to discuss the appropriate classification of an existing accessory prior to submitting a written request. Existing Accessory Requests will be initially tracked as “Q-submissions” (approved under OMB control number 0910-0756). FDA has a statutory deadline of 85 calendar days to respond to an Existing Accessory Request.

(2) New accessory types are those that have not been granted marketing authorization as part of a 510(k), PMA, or De Novo request. Manufacturers may include new accessories into a 510(k) or PMA with the parent device (New Accessory Request). New Accessory Requests will have the same deadline as the 510(k) or PMA. Therefore, new accessory types should follow the applicable Medical Device User Fee Amendments of 2017 deadline for the parent submission. The decision for New Accessory Requests will be separate from the decision for the marketing application.

For both Existing and New Accessory Requests, manufacturers must request proper classification of their accessory in the submission and include draft special controls, if requesting classification into class II. The processes that we use to classify an accessory will be like those used for De Novo requests. If FDA grants the Accessory Request, FDA must issue an order establishing a new classification regulation for the accessory type. If FDA denies the Accessory Request, FDA must issue a letter with a detailed description and justification for our determination.

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

We expect to receive approximately 15 Existing Accessory Requests and 10 New Accessory Requests per year. Based on estimates by FDA administrative and technical staff who are familiar with the submission process for accessory classification requests, we estimate that the “Average Burden per Response” for both Existing and New Accessory Requests will be approximately 40 hours per submission.

Our estimated burden for the information collection reflects an overall decrease of 440 hours and an increase of 17 responses. Factors contributing to the revision of the burden estimate include the addition of the two new accessory classification pathways created by FDARA and the removal of redundant burden described earlier in this document.