AdvaMed Supports Increased Fundi...( WASHINGTON Jan. 29 -- Stephen J....),Health

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Stephen J. Ubl, president and CEO of AdvaMed, issued the following statement today following the House Energy & Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing on the recent report from the FDA Science Board, "Science and Mission at Risk: FDA's Self-Assessment":

"The Food and Drug Administration has long been considered the world's standard bearer for safety, but critical steps must be taken to ensure that continues in this period of limited resources and additional responsibilities.

"AdvaMed has long advocated that FDA must be given adequate resources to continue its vital work of protecting and promoting the public health. To that end, AdvaMed has joined with patient groups, consumer advocates, public health organizations and innovative companies to form the "Alliance for a Stronger FDA." The alliance is committed to working proactively with the Administration and Congress to ensure that FDA has the resources it needs to meet its public health mandate.

"We also believe that FDA needs to undertake a concerted review of its many activities to make sure it is focusing its time and resources on those areas that are likely to have the most significant impact in improving patient care. Conversely, FDA should determine which of its activities have little or no impact on its mission and could be scaled back without adversely affecting the public health and safety. We are committed to working with FDA to identify ways the agency can use its available resources as effectively and efficiently as possible.

"Finally, given its limited resources, FDA should promote improvements to programs, such as those that were included in the FDA Amendments Act of 2007, that rely on FDA trained and accredited outside third parties to perform specific agency functions. This is a way for FDA to further concentrate its expertise on areas that have the greatest benefit to patients without in any
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