FDA drafts five-year objectives

FDA released a draft of strategic priorities for 2011-15 that lists advancing regulatory science as the top priority for the agency as a whole. Other priorities include strengthening the safety and integrity of the global supply chain, strengthening compliance and enforcement activities, and expanding efforts to meet the needs of special populations such as children, women and ethnic minorities. Regulatory science, which the agency defines as the science, tools and standards needed to assess and evaluate the efficacy, quality, and performance of a food or medical product, could include: setting standards for products that address unmet public health needs, identifying and mitigating the spread of disease using informatics and modernizing toxicology and hazard assessments, according to the draft. The draft also sets a long-term goal of reducing the number of deaths and injuries associated with the quality and unsafe use of FDA regulated medicinal products. FDA is accepting comments on the draft until Oct. 31. ...