(a) The Food and Drug Administration, on its own initiative or in response to a petition by an interested person, may propose and promulgate a regulation to establish a bioequivalence requirement for a product not subject to section 505(j) of the act if it finds there is well-documented evidence that specific pharmaceutical equivalents or pharmaceutical alternatives intended to be used interchangeably for the same therapeutic effect:

(1) Are not bioequivalent drug products; or

(2) May not be bioequivalent drug products based on the criteria set forth in § 320.33; or

(3) May not be bioequivalent drug products because they are members of a class of drug products that have close structural similarity and similar physicochemical or pharmacokinetic properties to other drug products in the same class that FDA finds are not bioequivalent drug products.

(b) FDA shall include in a proposed rule to establish a bioequivalence requirement the evidence and criteria set forth in § 320.33 that are to be considered in determining whether to issue the proposal. If the rulemaking is proposed in response to a petition, FDA shall include in the proposal a summary and analysis of the relevant information that was submitted in the petition as well as other available information to support the establishment of a bioequivalence requirement.

(c) FDA, on its own initiative or in response to a petition by an interested person, may propose and promulgate an amendment to a bioequivalence requirement established under this subpart.