( WASHINGTON DC—According to Project on...)FDA sees nanotech challenges in every product category it regulates

WASHINGTON, DC—According to Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies Director David Rejeski, “Today, FDA took a step forward in fulfilling its responsibilities for nanotechnology oversight. If nanotechnology regulation was a baseball game, FDA has scored the first run in the first inning. But the agency must act rapidly to adopt and fully implement the Nanotechnology Task Force’s recommendations. Without moving quickly and building on the recommendations in the Task Force report, FDA will not be able to keep pace with today’s rapidly developing nanotechnology market or engender consumer and investor confidence in emerging products.”

Just released, this is the first report from the Food and Drug Administration’s Nanotechnology Task Force about the agency’s regulatory approach toward nanotechnology—an exciting new field of engineering and science that is estimated to grow to $2.6 trillion in manufactured goods globally by 2014. As the Task Force report highlights, nanotechnology impacts every area of FDA responsibility—drugs, drug delivery systems, cosmetics, medical devices, and food products. Overall, the agency regulates products that are worth nearly $1.5 trillion annually and that account for almost 25 percent of US consumer spending.

“Today, there are more than 500 manufacturer-identified nanotechnology consumer products being sold. These can be found in an online inventory maintained by the Wilson Center’s Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (see: www.nanotechproject.org/consumerproducts),” said Rejeski. “The number of listed products has more than doubled in a year. It does not include nanotech consumer products which companies do not identify as such, or the hundreds of nano raw materials, intermediate components, and industrial equipment items currently used by manufacturers.”

“In light of this fast-rising commercialization, FDA needs to make certain that it has the tools,
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Source:http://www.nanotechproject.org/82