Strong US FDA needed to advance flow of safe/effective drugs, says Commissioner

With the understanding of science moving to a more basic level, health care is evolving to become more personal, more predictive, more pre-emptive and more participatory, according to Andrew von Eschenbach, Commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration.

He told those attending the 50th annual Food and Drug Law Institute conference in Washington DC that a strong FDA is needed to help advance the flow of new safe and effective products to consumer use, but the FDA, in its current state, is inadequately prepared and ill-equipped to meet its new challenges and the changes in science. The FDA must prepare and adapt for the future, he noted, by taking a series of actions that will:

- address its workforce, which is the intellectual capital. The agency needs to build, expand and support is workforce through actions such as changes in the Office of the Commissioner so that there is strong management and leadership as the FDA becomes not only a science-based, but also a science-led organization;