[Federal Register: March 19, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 53)] [Notices] [Page 13314-13315] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr19mr03-94] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. 01E-0419] Determination of Regulatory Review Period for Purposes of Patent Extension; PRECEDEX AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS. ACTION: Notice. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined the regulatory review period for PRECEDEX and is publishing this notice of that determination as required by law. FDA has made the determination because of the submission of an application to the Director of Patents and Trademarks, Department of Commerce, for the extension of a patent that claims that human drug product. ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and petitions to the Dockets Management Branch (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852. Submit electronic comments to http://www.fda.gov/dockets/ecomments. http://www.fda.gov/dockets/ecomments. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Claudia Grillo, Office of Regulatory Policy (HFD-013), Food and Drug Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857, 301-827-3460. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-417) and the Generic Animal Drug and Patent Term Restoration Act (Public Law 100-670) generally provide that a patent may be extended for a period of up to 5 years so long as the patented item (human drug product, animal drug product, medical device, food additive, or color additive) was subject to regulatory review by FDA before the item was marketed. Under these acts, a product's regulatory review period forms the basis for determining the amount of extension an applicant may receive. A regulatory review period consists of two periods of time: A testing phase and an approval phase. For human drug products, the testing phase begins when the exemption to permit the clinical investigations of the drug becomes effective and runs until the approval phase begins. The approval phase starts with the initial submission of an application to market the human drug product and continues until FDA grants permission to market the drug product. Although only a portion of a regulatory review period may count toward the actual amount of extension that the Director of Patents and Trademarks may award (for example, half the testing phase must be subtracted, as well as any time that may have occurred before the patent was issued), FDA's determination of the length of a regulatory review period for a human drug product will include all of the testing phase and approval phase as specified in 35 U.S.C. 156(g)(1)(B). FDA recently approved for marketing the human drug product PRECEDEX (dexemedetomidine). PRECEDEX is indicated for sedation of adult patients in the intensive care unit setting. Subsequent to this approval, the Patent and Trademark Office received a patent term restoration application for PRECEDEX (U.S. Patent No. 4,910,214) from Orion Corp., and the Patent and Trademark Office requested FDA's assistance in determining this patent's eligibility for patent term restoration. In a letter dated April 26, 2002, FDA advised the Patent and Trademark Office that this human drug product had undergone a regulatory review period and that the approval of PRECEDEX represented the first permitted commercial marketing or use of the product. Thereafter, the Patent and Trademark Office requested that FDA determine the product's regulatory review period. FDA has determined that the applicable regulatory review period for PRECEDEX is 3,894 days. Of this time, 3,529 days occurred during the testing phase of the regulatory review period, while 365 days occurred during the approval phase. These periods of time were derived from the following dates: 1. The date an exemption under section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the act) (21 U.S.C. 355(i)) became effective: April 21, 1989. The applicant claims March 27, 1989, as the date the investigational new drug application (IND) became effective. However, FDA records indicate that the IND effective date was April 21, 1989, which was 30 days after FDA receipt of the IND. 2. The date the application was initially submitted with respect to the human drug product under section 505 of the act: December 18, 1998. FDA has verified the applicant's claim that the new drug application (NDA) for PRECEDEX (NDA 21-038) was initially submitted on December 18, 1998. 3. The date the application was approved: December 17, 1999. FDA has verified the applicant's claim that NDA 21-038 was approved on December 17, 1999. This determination of the regulatory review period establishes the maximum potential length of a patent extension. However, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office applies several statutory limitations in its calculations of the actual period for patent extension. In its application for patent extension, this applicant seeks 3,919 days of patent term extension. Anyone with knowledge that any of the dates as published are incorrect may submit to the Dockets Management Branch (see ADDRESSES) written or electronic comments and ask for a redetermination by May 19, 2003. Furthermore, any interested person may petition FDA for a determination regarding whether the applicant for [[Page 13315]] extension acted with due diligence during the regulatory review period by September 15, 2003. To meet its burden, the petition must contain sufficient facts to merit an FDA investigation. (See H. Rept. 857, part 1, 98th Cong., 2d sess., pp. 41-42, 1984.) Petitions should be in the format specified in 21 CFR 10.30. Comments and petitions should be submitted to the Dockets Management Branch. Three copies of any information are to be submitted, except that individuals may submit one copy, identified with the docket number found in brackets in the heading of this document. Comments and petitions may be seen in the Dockets Management Branch between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Dated: February 7, 2003. Jane A. Axelrad, Associate Director for Policy, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. [FR Doc. 03-6490 Filed 3-18-03; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4160-01-S