Notice2026-11112

M15 General Principles for Model-Informed Drug Development; International Council for Harmonisation; Guidance for Industry; Availability

Primary source

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Published
June 3, 2026

Issuing agencies

Health and Human Services DepartmentFood and Drug Administration

Abstract

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing the availability of a final guidance for industry entitled "M15 General Principles for Model-Informed Drug Development." The guidance was prepared under the auspices of the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH). The guidance provides general recommendations for the planning, model evaluation, and documentation of evidence derived from model-informed drug development (MIDD). It establishes a harmonized assessment framework (including the associated terminology) for the MIDD evidence. It also provides recommendations for related regulatory interactions, reporting, and submission. This guideline is intended to facilitate a multidisciplinary understanding of MIDD and associated evidence generation. The guidance finalizes the draft guidance of the same title issued on December 30, 2024.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 106 (Wednesday, June 3, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 3, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33179-33181]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-11112]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2024-D-5580]


M15 General Principles for Model-Informed Drug Development; 
International Council for Harmonisation; Guidance for Industry; 
Availability

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing 
the availability of a final guidance for industry entitled ``M15 
General Principles for Model-Informed Drug Development.'' The guidance 
was prepared under the auspices of the International Council for 
Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human 
Use (ICH). The guidance provides general recommendations for the 
planning, model evaluation, and documentation of evidence derived from 
model-informed drug development (MIDD). It establishes a harmonized 
assessment framework (including the associated terminology) for the 
MIDD evidence. It also provides recommendations for related regulatory 
interactions, reporting, and submission. This guideline is intended to 
facilitate a multidisciplinary understanding of MIDD and associated 
evidence generation. The guidance finalizes the draft guidance of the 
same title issued on December 30, 2024.

DATES: The announcement of the guidance is published in the Federal 
Register on June 3, 2026.

ADDRESSES: You may submit either electronic or written comments on

[[Page 33180]]

Agency guidances at any time as follows:

Electronic Submissions

    Submit electronic comments in the following way:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Comments submitted 
electronically, including attachments, to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> 
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 <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>.
    <bullet> 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:
    <bullet> 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.
    <bullet> 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-2024-D-5580 for ``M15 General Principles for Model-Informed Drug 
Development.'' Received comments will be placed in the docket and, 
except for those submitted as ``Confidential Submissions,'' publicly 
viewable at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> or at the Dockets Management 
Staff between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, 240-402-7500.
    <bullet> 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 <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. 
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: <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2015-09-18/pdf/2015-23389.pdf">https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2015-09-18/pdf/2015-23389.pdf</a>.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
the electronic and written/paper comments received, go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> 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, 240-402-7500.
    You may submit comments on any guidance at any time (see 21 CFR 
10.115(g)(5)).
    Submit written requests for single copies of this guidance to the 
Division of Drug Information, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, 
Food and Drug Administration, 10001 New Hampshire Ave., Hillandale 
Building, 4th Floor, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002. Send one self-
addressed adhesive label to assist that office in processing your 
requests. See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for electronic 
access to the guidance document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    Regarding the guidance: Hao Zhu, Center for Drug Evaluation and 
Research, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 
51, Rm. 3134, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, 301-796-2772; or Phillip 
Kurs, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug 
Administration, 240-402-7911.
    Regarding the ICH: Brooke Dal Santo, Center for Drug Evaluation and 
Research, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 
51, Rm. 6304, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, 301-348-1967, 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#185a6a7777737d365c79744b79766c77587e7c793670706b367f776e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d597a7bababeb0fb91b4b986b4bba1ba95b3b1b4fbbdbda6fbb2baa3">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    FDA is announcing the availability of a guidance for industry 
entitled ``M15 General Principles for Model-Informed Drug 
Development.'' The guidance was prepared under the auspices of ICH. ICH 
seeks to achieve greater regulatory harmonization worldwide to ensure 
that safe, effective, high-quality medicines are developed, registered, 
and maintained in the most resource-efficient manner.
    By harmonizing the regulatory requirements in regions around the 
world, ICH guidelines enhance global drug development, improve 
manufacturing standards, and increase the availability of medications. 
For example, ICH guidelines have substantially reduced duplicative 
clinical studies, prevented unnecessary animal studies, standardized 
the reporting of important safety information, and standardized 
marketing application submissions.
    The six Founding Members of the ICH are the FDA; the Pharmaceutical 
Research and Manufacturers of America; the European Commission; the 
European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries Associations; the 
Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare; and the Japanese 
Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association. The Standing Members of the 
ICH Association include Health Canada and Swissmedic. ICH membership 
continues to expand to include other regulatory authorities and 
industry associations from around the world (refer to <a href="https://www.ich.org/">https://www.ich.org/</a>).
    ICH works by engaging global regulatory and industry experts in a 
detailed, science-based, and consensus-driven process that results in 
the development of ICH guidelines. The regulators around the world are 
committed to consistently adopting these consensus-based guidelines, 
realizing the benefits for patients and for industry.
    As a Founding Regulatory Member of ICH, FDA plays a major role in 
the development of each of the ICH guidelines, which FDA then adopts 
and issues as guidance for industry. FDA's guidance documents do not 
establish legally enforceable responsibilities. Instead, they describe 
the Agency's current thinking on a topic and should be viewed only as 
recommendations, unless specific regulatory or statutory requirements 
are cited.

[[Page 33181]]

    In the Federal Register of December 30, 2024 (89 FR 106504), FDA 
published a notice announcing the availability of a draft guidance 
entitled ``M15 General Principles for Model-Informed Drug 
Development.'' The notice gave interested persons an opportunity to 
submit comments by February 28, 2025.
    After consideration of the comments received and revisions to the 
guideline, a final draft of the guideline was submitted to the ICH 
Assembly and endorsed by the regulatory agencies in February 2026.
    This guidance finalizes the draft guidance of the same title issued 
on December 30, 2024. The guidance provides general recommendations for 
the planning, model evaluation, and documentation of evidence derived 
from MIDD. In response to public comments, the guidance updates 
definitions of key terms and clarifies concepts introduced in the 
framework for assessment of MIDD evidence. It revises the general 
considerations for model evaluation. The guidance also updates 
recommendations on interactions between drug developers and regulatory 
agencies.
    This guidance is being issued consistent with FDA's good guidance 
practices regulation (21 CFR 10.115). The guidance represents the 
current thinking of FDA on ``M15 General Principles for Model-Informed 
Drug Development.'' It does not establish any rights for any person and 
is not binding on FDA or the public. You can use an alternative 
approach if it satisfies the requirements of the applicable statutes 
and regulations.

II. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    While this guidance contains no collection of information, it does 
refer to previously approved FDA collections of information. The 
previously approved collections of information are subject to review by 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521). The collections of information 
in 21 CFR parts 312 have been approved under OMB control number 0910-
0014. The collections of information in 21 CFR parts 314 have been 
approved under OMB control number 0910-0001. The collections of 
information in 21 CFR part 601 have been approved under OMB control 
numbers 0910-0338.

III. Electronic Access

    Persons with access to the internet may obtain the guidance at 
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, <a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/guidance-compliance-regulatory-information/guidances-drugs">https://www.fda.gov/drugs/guidance-compliance-regulatory-information/guidances-drugs</a>, <a href="https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/guidance-compliance-regulatory-information-biologics/biologics-guidances">https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/guidance-compliance-regulatory-information-biologics/biologics-guidances</a>, or <a href="https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents">https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents</a>.

Grace R. Graham,
Deputy Commissioner for Policy, Legislation, and International Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2026-11112 Filed 6-2-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4164-01-P


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Indexed from Federal Register on June 3, 2026.

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