President Barack Obama acknowledged last week that the current FDA infrastructure is not capable of assessing recent advances in medicine and biotechnology. He calls for a modernization of the FDA that balances safety with economic interests in the creation of drug and medical device regulations:
“While the ‘proof will be in the pudding,’ this is at least a step in the right direction of acknowledging the deficiencies that exists in this regulatory branch,” notes ACSH’s Cheryl Martin.
“Given the hyper-precautionary approach generally taken when considering new drug applications, any modernization to increase efficiency and drag the FDA into the 21st century would be welcome,” said ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross. “I just wish the president had made more specific suggestions. Hopefully, he has done so privately with Dr. Hamburg, the Commissioner.”