Regulations last checked for updates: Oct 31, 2024

Title 21 - Food and Drugs last revised: Oct 28, 2024
§ 14.80 - Qualifications for members of standing policy and technical advisory committees.

(a) Members of a policy advisory committee—

(1) Shall have diverse interests, education, training, and experience; specific technical expertise is not a requirement;

(2) Are subject to the conflict of interest laws and regulations either as special Government employees or as members of the uniformed services, including the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service (the Commissioner has determined that, because members representing particular interests, e.g., a representative of labor, industry, consumers, or agriculture, are included on advisory committees specifically for the purpose of representing these interests, any financial interest covered by 18 U.S.C. 208(a) in the class which the member represents is irrelevant to the services which the Government expects from them and thus is hereby exempted under 18 U.S.C. 208(b) as too remote and inconsequential to affect the integrity of their services); and

(3) Shall be voting members.

(b) Technical advisory committee. (1) Voting members of technical advisory committees—

(i) Shall have expertise in the subject matter with which the committee is concerned and have diverse professional education, training, and experience so that the committee will reflect a balanced composition of sufficient scientific expertise to handle the problems that come before it; and

(ii) Except for members of the Technical Electronic Product Radiation Safety Standards Committee (TEPRSSC), are subject to the conflict of interest laws and regulations either as special Government employees or as members of the uniformed services, including the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service.

(2) The Commissioner shall, when required by statute, and may when not required by statute, provide for nonvoting members of a technical advisory committee to serve as representatives of and liaison with interested organizations. Nonvoting members—

(i) Shall be selected by the interested organizations, as provided in § 14.84; technical expertise in the subject matter with which the committee is involved is not a requirement; and

(ii) May be special Government employees subject to the conflict of interest laws and regulations, except as provided in § 14.84(e).

(c) A person may serve as a voting or nonvoting member on only one FDA advisory committee unless the Commissioner determines in writing that dual membership will aid the work of the committees involved and is in the public interest.

(d) Members of FDA advisory committees, and the Chairperson, are appointed from among those nominated under §§ 14.82 and 14.84 and from any other sources by the Secretary, or, by delegation of authority, by the Assistant Secretary for Health, or the Commissioner.

(e) Members appointed to an advisory committee serve for the duration of the committee, or until their terms of appointment expire, they resign, or they are removed from membership by the Commissioner.

(f) A committee member may be removed from membership for good cause. Good cause includes excessive absenteeism from committee meetings, a demonstrated bias that interferes with the ability to render objective advice, failure to abide by the procedures established in this subpart, or violation of other applicable rules and regulations, e.g., for nonvoting members, the provisions of § 14.86(c).

(g) Consultants appointed under § 14.31(e) are not members of advisory committees.

[44 FR 22351, Apr. 13, 1979, as amended at 53 FR 50949, Dec. 19, 1988; 54 FR 9035, Mar. 3, 1989]
§ 14.82 - Nominations of voting members of standing advisory committees.

(a) The Commissioner will publish one or more notices in the Federal Register each year requesting nominations for voting members of all existing standing advisory committees. The notice will invite the submission of nominations for voting members from both individuals and organizations.

(b) The notice announcing the establishment of a new committee under § 14.40(b) will invite the submission of nominations for voting members.

(c) A person may nominate one or more qualified persons to an advisory committee. Nominations will specify the advisory committee for which the nominee is recommended and will include a complete curriculum vitae of the nominee. Nominations are to state that the nominee is aware of the nomination, is willing to serve as a member of the advisory committee, and appears to have no conflict of interest that would preclude membership.

(d) Voting members serve as individuals and not as representatives of any group or organization which nominated them or with which they may be affiliated.

§ 14.84 - Nominations and selection of nonvoting members of standing technical advisory committees.

(a) This section applies when the Commissioner concludes that a technical advisory committee should include nonvoting members to represent and serve as a liaison with interested individuals and organizations.

(b) Except when the Commissioner concludes otherwise, nonvoting members of a technical advisory committee are selected in accordance with paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section and are normally limited to one person selected by consumer groups and organizations and one person selected by industry groups and organizations.

(c) To select a nonvoting member to represent consumer interests, except as provided in paragraph (c)(5) of this section, the Commissioner publishes a notice in the Federal Register requesting nominations for each specific committee, or subcommittee, for which nonvoting members are to be appointed.

(1) A period of 30 days will be permitted for submission of nominations for that committee or subcommittee. Interested persons may nominate one or more qualified persons to represent consumer interests. Although nominations from individuals will be accepted, individuals are encouraged to submit their nominations through consumer organizations as defined in paragraph (c)(3) of this section. Nominations of qualified persons for general consideration as nonvoting members of unspecified advisory committees or subcommittees may be made at any time. All nominations are to be submitted in writing to Advisory Committee Oversight and Management Staff, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 32, rm. 1503, Silver Spring, MD 20993.

(2) A complete curriculum vitae of any nominee is to be included. Nominations must state that the nominee is aware of the nomination, is willing to serve as a member of an advisory committee, and appears to have no conflict of interest. The nomination must state whether a nominee is interested only in a particular advisory committee or subcommittee, or whether the nominee is interested in becoming a member of any advisory committee or subcommittee. Nominations that do not comply with the requirements of this paragraph will not be considered.

(3) The Advisory Committee Oversight and Management Staff will compile a list of organizations whose objectives are to promote, encourage, and contribute to the advancement of consumer education and to the resolution of consumer problems. All organizations listed are entitled to vote upon the nominees. The list will include organizations representing the public interest, consumer advocacy groups, and consumer/health branches of Federal, State, and local governments. Any organization that meets the criteria may be included on such list on request.

(4) The executive secretary, or other designated agency employee, will review the list of nominees and select three to five qualified nominees to be placed on a ballot. Names not selected will remain on a list of eligible nominees and be reviewed periodically by the Advisory Committee Oversight and Management Staff to determine continued interest. Upon selection of the nominees to be placed on the ballot, the curriculum vitae for each of the nominees will be sent to each of the organizations on the list complied under paragraph (c)(3) of this section, together with a ballot to be filled out and returned within 30 days. After the time for return of the ballots has expired, the ballots will be counted and the nominee who has received the highest number of votes will be selected as the nonvoting member representing consumer interests for that particular advisory committee or subcommittee. In the event of a tie, the Commissioner will select the winner by lot from among those tied for the highest number of votes

(5) If a member representing consumer interests resigns or is removed before termination of the committee on which the member is serving, the following procedures will be used to appoint a replacement to serve out the term of the former member:

(i) The Commissioner will appoint the runner-up, in order of number of ballots received, on the original ballot submitted under paragraph (c)(4) of this section to fill the vacancy. If the runner-up is no longer willing to serve as a member, then the next runner-up will be appointed.

(ii) If none of the nominees on the original ballot is willing to serve, or if there was only one nominee on the original ballot, the Advisory Committee Oversight and Management Staff will contact by telephone eligible individuals whose names have been submitted in the past as candidates for membership as representatives of consumer interests. A list of persons who are interested in serving on an advisory committee will then be prepared. The curricula vitae of these persons, together with a ballot, will be sent to a representative number of consumer organizations that have been determined to be eligible to vote for consumer representatives in accordance with paragraph (c)(3) of this section. After 4 days have elapsed, the Advisory Committee Oversight and Management Staff will contact the consumer organizations by telephone and elicit their votes. The candidate who has received the highest number of votes will be selected. In the event of a tie, the Commissioner will select the winner by lot from among those tied for the highest number of votes.

(d) To select a nonvoting member to represent industry interests, the Commissioner will publish, for each committee for which the Commissioner has determined to appoint a nonvoting member, a notice requesting that, within 30 days, any industry organization interested in participating in the selection of an appropriate nonvoting member to represent industry interests send a letter stating that interest to the FDA employee designated in the notice. After 30 days, a letter will be sent to each organization that has expressed an interest, attaching a complete list of all such organizations, and stating that it is their responsibility to consult with each other in selecting, within 60 days after receipt of the letter, a single nonvoting member to represent industry interests for that committee. If no individual is selected within 60 days, the Commissioner will select the nonvoting member representing industry interests.

(e) The Commissioner has determined that, because nonvoting members representing consumer and industry interests are included on advisory committees specifically for the purpose of representing such interests and have no vote, any financial interest covered by 18 U.S.C. 208(a) in the class which the member represents is irrelevant to the services the Government expects from them and thus is hereby exempted under 18 U.S.C. 208(b) as too remote and inconsequential to affect the integrity of their services.

[44 FR 22351, Apr. 13, 1979, as amended at 54 FR 9035, Mar. 3, 1989; 75 FR 15342, Mar. 29, 2010]
§ 14.86 - Rights and responsibilities of nonvoting members of advisory committees.

(a) A nonvoting member of an advisory committee selected to represent and serve as a liaison with interested individuals, associations, and organizations has the same rights as any other committee member except that—

(1) A nonvoting member may vote only on procedural matters such as additional rules adopted under § 14.39(a), approval of minutes under § 14.60(a), decisions on transcripts under § 14.61(b), and future meeting dates;

(2) A nonvoting member who is a representative of industry interest may have access to data and information that constitute a trade secret or confidential commercial or financial information as defined in § 20.61 only if the person has been appointed as a special Government employee under § 14.80(b).

(b) A nonvoting member of an advisory committee is subject to, and shall abide by, all rules and regulations adopted by FDA and the committee.

(c) It is the responsibility of the nonvoting consumer and industry members of an advisory committee to represent the consumer and industry interests in all deliberations.

(1) A nonvoting member does not represent any particular organization or group, but rather represents all interested persons within the class which the member is selected to represent. Accordingly, an interested person within the class represented by that nonvoting member may, upon request, have access to all written statements or oral briefings concerning the committee prepared by the nonvoting member for distribution to any person outside the committee. When documents are prepared with non-Government funds, persons desiring copies may be required to pay a reasonable fee to cover printing and similar costs.

(2) The nonvoting member reviews all official committee minutes to assure their completeness and accuracy.

(3) The nonvoting member acts as a liaison between the committee and the interested persons whom that member represents, and transmits requests for information from the committee and relevant information and views to the committee. The nonvoting member takes the initiative in contacting interested persons whom the member represents to seek out relevant information and views and to relate the progress of the advisory committee.

(4) A nonvoting industry member represents all members of the industry, and not any particular association, company, product, or ingredient. If a matter comes before the committee that directly or indirectly affects the company employing the nonvoting industry member, the member shall so inform the committee but need not be absent during the discussion or decline to participate in the discussion. a nonvoting industry member may not discuss the company's position as such, but may discuss any matter in general terms. All presentations and discussions of scientific data and their interpretation on behalf of a company will occur in open session, except as provided in § 14.25(c).

(5) A nonvoting member of an advisory committee may not make any presentation to that advisory committee during a hearing conducted by that committee.

(6) Although a nonvoting member serves in a representative capacity, the nonvoting member shall exercise restraint in performing such functions and may not engage in unseemly advocacy or attempt to exert undue influence over the other members of the committee.

(d) A nonvoting member of an advisory committee may be removed by the Commissioner for failure to comply with this section as well as § 14.80(f).

§ 14.90 - Ad hoc advisory committee members.

In selecting members of an ad hoc advisory committee, the Commissioner may use the procedures in §§ 14.82 and 14.84 or any other procedure deemed appropriate.

§ 14.95 - Compensation of advisory committee members.

(a)(1) Except as provided in paragraphs (a) (2) and (3) of this section, all voting advisory committee members shall, and nonvoting members may, be appointed as special Government employees and receive a consultant fee and be reimbursed for travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, unless such compensation and reimbursement are waived.

(2) Members of the Technical Electronic Product Radiation Safety Standards Committee (TEPRSSC) are not appointed as special Government employees. Any member of TEPRSSC who is not a Federal employee or member of the uniformed services, including the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service, shall receive a consultant fee and be reimbursed for travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, unless such compensation and reimbursement are waived.

(3) Voting and nonvoting advisory committee members who are members of the uniformed services, including the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service, provide service on Food and Drug Administration advisory committees as part of their assigned functions, are not appointed as special government employees, but are reimbursed by the Food and Drug Administration for travel expenses.

(b) Notwithstanding the member's primary residence, an advisory committee member, while attending meetings of the full committee or a subcommittee, will be paid whether the meetings are held in the Washington, DC, area or elsewhere.

(c) A committee member who participates in any agency-directed assignment will be paid at an hourly rate when doing assigned work at home, a place of business, or in an FDA facility located within the member's commuting area, and at a daily rate when required to travel outside of that commuting area to perform the assignment. A committee member will not be paid for time spent on normal preparation for a committee meeting.

(1) An agency-directed assignment is an assignment that meets the following criteria:

(i) An activity that requires undertaking a definitive study. The activity must produce a tangible end product, usually a written report. Examples are:

(a) An analysis of the risks and benefits of the use of a class of drugs or a report on a specific problem generated by an IND or NDA;

(b) The performance of similar investigations or analysis of complex industry submissions to support advisory committee deliberations other than normal meeting preparation;

(c) The preparation of a statistical analysis leading to an estimate of toxicologically safe dose levels; and

(d) The design or analysis of animal studies of toxicity, mutagenicity, teratogenicity, or carcinogenicity.

(ii) The performance of an IND or NDA review or similar review.

(2) A committee member who undertakes a special assignment, the end product of which does not represent the end product of the advisory committee, but rather of the committee member's own assignment, can be compensated. Should this preparatory work by members collectively result in an end product of the committee, this is to be considered normal meeting preparation and committee members are not to be compensated for this work.

(d) Salary while in travel status is authorized when a committee member's ordinary pursuits are interrupted for the substantial portion of an additional day beyond the day or days spent in performing those services, and as a consequence the committee member loses some regular compensation. This applies on weekends and holidays if the special Government employee loses income that would otherwise be earned on that day. For travel purposes, a substantial portion of a day is defined as 50 percent of the working day, and the traveler will be paid at a daily rate.

[44 FR 22351, Apr. 13, 1979, as amended at 53 FR 50949, Dec. 19, 1988]
authority: 5 U.S.C. 1001
source: 44 FR 22351, Apr. 13, 1979, unless otherwise noted.
cite as: 21 CFR 14.95