May 5, 2003

Dear Colleague:

The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act) authorizes the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to collect annual user fees for certain products and establishments.1 We plan to issue the fiscal year (FY) 20042 product and establishment invoices in August 2003,3 and the fees will be due on October 1, 2003. To prepare for the FY 2004 invoices, we are asking for your assistance in updating our records by providing the following information for your company: (1) contact for user fee invoices (Attachment A) and (2) products and establishments subject to user fees (Attachment B).

I. What Is Attached to This Letter?

Attachment A shows the name, address, telephone number, and facsimile number of the person designated by your company to receive all correspondence, invoices, and inquiries concerning user fees. Attachment B is a list of the products and establishments for which you were assessed fees in FY 2003. This list contains all products and establishments that appeared on your FY 2003 invoice issued in August 2002.

II. What Information Does FDA Need to Ensure an Accurate Invoice for FY 2004?

To ensure that the FY 2004 product and establishment fees are accurately assessed under the Act, we ask that you provide the information described in the following subsections.

Review the contact information that we have on Attachment A and make any necessary corrections, or confirm that the information is correct as shown. Then sign the attachment. Include your title and date.

Please review Attachment B and note the following items:

If we were to issue your FY 2004 invoice today, we would use the same establishments that we used for your FY 2003 invoice. Please review the list and revise it as follows:

III. How and When Does FDA Want the Requested Information?

To allow time for us to process the information you provide, the User Fee Staff requests you to return Attachments A and B as soon as possible, and no later than close of business Wednesday, June 18, 2003. If you have any questions, please call Michael Jones, Beverly Friedman, or Tawni Schwemer at 301-594-2041. Please return Attachments A and B by facsimile to Michael Jones, at 301-827-5562. If you wish to send a paper copy confirming the faxed information, you can mail it to:

If you wish to send it using an overnight courier service (e.g., FedEx, DHL), you can send it to:

CBER's Regulatory Information Staff works with the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research's (CDER's) User Fee Staff in processing the information that you provide to the User Fee Staff (i.e., Attachments A and B). Because the Regulatory Information Staff and User Fee Staff work together to accurately assess user fees to your licensed biological products, you do not need to send any separate updates to the Regulatory Information Staff. However, if you have any questions regarding your biological products, please call the Regulatory Information Staff at 301-827-3503.

The Orange Book Staff requests you to return to them any changes to the current list of your company's products located on the Internet at http://www.fda.gov/cder/ob/. For the Orange Book Staff to receive your changes in a consistent format, please print your company's list of products from the Internet and note any changes directly on the printed list. To allow time for us to process the information you provide and factor it into our billing, the Orange Book Staff requests that you send your changes to them as soon as possible but no later than Tuesday, July 1, 2003. Please send your changes by facsimile at 301-827-5911. If you wish to send a paper copy confirming the faxed information, you can mail it (by regular mail or by overnight courier service) to:

If you have any questions about your company's current list, please call the Orange Book Staff at 301-827-5846 or send an e-mail to drugproducts@cder.fda.gov. To ensure changes made are reflected in your invoices, please send a courtesy copy of any information sent to the Orange Book Staff to the User Fee Staff.

Your assistance is greatly appreciated. FDA is committed to continue working jointly with industry to ensure the continued success of this program.

Attachments:

Attachment A - User Fee Contact Information

Attachment B - Product and Establishment Invoice of FY 2003 Sent in August 2002


1 See sections 735 and 736 of the Act (21 U.S.C. 379g and h). The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 amended the Act and authorized FDA to collect fees through September 30, 2007. We described the technical amendments to the Act in our letter to you on June 12, 2002. If you did not receive our Dear Colleague letter last June or if you wish to view the letter again, go to www.fda.gov/cder/pdufa/default.htm.

2 October 1, 2003 to September 30, 2004.

3 The invoices will be issued after a notice announcing the FY 2004 fees publishes in the Federal Register. We do not have an exact date for this publication.

4 There are Orange Book data files at www.fda.gov/cder/orange/obreadme.htm that may assist you in viewing and identifying your firm's drug products.


FDA/Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
Last Updated: May 6, 2003
Originator: ORP
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