(a) Review and revision of guidance documents

(1) In general

The Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to in this section as the “Secretary”) shall review and, as appropriate, revise not fewer than 3 guidance documents per year, which shall include—

(A) reviewing the guidance documents of the Food and Drug Administration for the conduct of clinical trials with respect to antibacterial and antifungal drugs; and

(B) as appropriate, revising such guidance documents to reflect developments in scientific and medical information and technology and to ensure clarity regarding the procedures and requirements for approval of antibacterial and antifungal drugs under chapter V of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 351 et seq.).

(2) Issues for review

At a minimum, the review under paragraph (1) shall address the appropriate animal models of infection, in vitro techniques, valid microbiological surrogate markers, the use of noninferiority versus superiority trials, trial enrollment, data requirements, and appropriate delta values for noninferiority trials.

(3) Rule of construction

Except to the extent to which the Secretary makes revisions under paragraph (1)(B), nothing in this section shall be construed to repeal or otherwise effect the guidance documents of the Food and Drug Administration.

(b) Recommendations for investigations

(1) Request

The sponsor of a drug intended to be designated as a qualified infectious disease product may request that the Secretary provide written recommendations for nonclinical and clinical investigations which the Secretary believes may be necessary to be conducted with the drug before such drug may be approved under section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 355) for use in treating, detecting, preventing, or identifying a qualifying pathogen, as defined in section 505E of such Act [21 U.S.C. 355f].

(2) Recommendations

If the Secretary has reason to believe that a drug for which a request is made under this subsection is a qualified infectious disease product, the Secretary shall provide the person making the request written recommendations for the nonclinical and clinical investigations which the Secretary believes, on the basis of information available to the Secretary at the time of the request, would be necessary for approval under section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 355) of such drug for the use described in paragraph (1).

(c) Qualified infectious disease product

For purposes of this section, the term “qualified infectious disease product” has the meaning given such term in section 505E(g) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act [21 U.S.C. 355f(g)], as added by section 801 of this Act.