Determination of Regulatory Review Period for Purposes of Patent Extension; EffexorRegister

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

[Docket No. 94E-0098]

Determination of Regulatory Review Period for Purposes of Patent

Extension; Effexor

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined the

regulatory review period for Effexor 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

Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, Department of Commerce, for the

extension of a patent which claims that human drug product.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and petitions should be directed to the

Dockets Management Branch (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, rm.

1-23, 12420 Parklawn Dr., Rockville, MD 20857.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian J. Malkin, Office of Health

Affairs (HFY-20), Food and Drug Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane,

Rockville, MD 20857, 301-443-1382.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Drug Price Competition and Patent Term

Restoration Act of 1984 (Pub. L. 98-417) and the Generic Animal Drug

and Patent Term Restoration Act (Pub. L. 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 Commissioner 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

Effexor (venlafaxine hydrochloride). Effexor is

indicated for the treatment of depression. Subsequent to this approval,

the Patent and Trademark Office received a patent term restoration

application for Effexor (U.S. Patent No. 4,535,186) from

American Home Products 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 22, 1994, FDA advised

the Patent and Trademark Office that this human drug product had

undergone a regulatory review period and that the approval of

Effexor represented the first permitted commercial marketing

or use of the product. Shortly thereafter, the Patent and Trademark

Office requested that FDA determine the products's regulatory review

period.

FDA has determined that the applicable regulatory review period for

Effexor is 2,959 days. Of this time, 1,981 days occurred

during the testing phase of the regulatory review period, while 978

days occurred during the approval phase. These periods of time were

derived from the following dates:

1. The date an exemption under section 505(i) of the Federal Food,

Drug, and Cosmetic Act became effective: November 23, 1985. FDA has

verified the applicant's claim that November 23, 1985, was the date the

investigational new drug application (IND) became effective.

2. The date the application was initially submitted with respect to

the human drug product under section 505(b) of the Federal Food, Drug,

and Cosmetic Act: April 26, 1991. The applicant claims June 18, 1991,

as the date the new drug application (NDA) for Effexor (NDA

20-151) was initially submitted. However, FDA records indicate that NDA

20-151 was initailly submitted on April 26, 1991.

3. The date the application was approved: December 28, 1993. FDA

has verified the applicant's claim that NDA 20-151 was approved on

December 28, 1993.

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 5 years of

patent term extension.

Anyone with knowledge that any of the dates as published is

incorrect may, on or before October 31, 1994, submit to the Dockets

Management Branch (address above) written comments and ask for a

redetermination. Furthermore, any interested person may petition FDA,

on or before February 27, 1995, for a determination regarding whether

the applicant for extension acted with due diligence during the

regulatory review period. 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 (address above) in three copies (except that

individuals may submit single copies) and 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: August 16, 1994.

Stuart L. Nightingale,

Associate Commissioner for Health Affairs.

[FR Doc. 94-21287 Filed 8-29-94; 8:45 am]

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