FDA said to need more resources
In an op-ed in The Hill (10/8), former FDA commissioner Andrew C. von Eschenbach, now a senior adviser at the Center for Health Transformation, and Wayne W. Oliver, a CHT vice president, write that despite A plan to spend $5 billion of stimulus funds on government grants to increase medical research, “not one dollar of stimulus money will be used to enhance the capacity and capability of the FDA.” Despite “decades of neglect” the agency continues to have “a diminished capacity to embrace new scientific technologies and meet the demands needed to protect the public health.” Von Eschenbach and Oliver call for new resources and “the design and implementation of a 21st century regulatory framework” that will help the FDA “drive innovation, dramatically shorten the time between discovery and delivery, and allow Americans everywhere to have access to safe, effective and miraculous discoveries” Comment: In previous Blogs I have said the FDA was severely restricted by funds yet Congress keeps adding duties, including the most recent tobacco responsibilities.
