Ex-FDA Commissioners discuss agency needs

Four former US Food and Drug Administration Commissioners have presented their views on improvements to make at the federal agency, in a panel discussion organized by the George Washington University's School of Public Health and Health Services, in Washington DC.

Two of the former agency chiefs, Frank Young (1984-1989) and Jane Henney (1999-2001) argued that the FDA needs to be a higher priority for funding and there should be less "political meddling." They highlighted the lack of monitoring of drugs after approval by the FDA and the lack of authority to order, rather than negotiate, drug labelling changes.

David Kessler, the FDA's Commissioner from 1990 to 1997, called for restrictions on direct-to-consumer advertising, claiming that "the notion that you can come up with a new drug and millions and millions of people take it safely - the blockbuster - that is what got us in trouble." Donald Kennedy (1977-1979) also participated in the panel discussion, according to a report in the Newark Star-Ledger newspaper.