FDA science dearth puts public health at risk

By Kim Dixon

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lives are at risk because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is woefully behind in the latest scientific advances and is under funded, a panel of advisers to the agency said at a public meeting on Monday.

Inadequate staffing, poor retention, out-of-date technology and a lack of resources mar the FDA's ability, the report by a subcommittee of the agency's Science Board said.

(A copy of the 60-page report, FDA Science and Mission at Risk, can be found here)

"FDA's inability to keep up with scientific advances means that American lives are at risk," the report said.

The panel, chaired by Gail Cassell, vice president for scientific affairs at Eli Lilly & Co., and representatives from Genentech Inc and Wyeth, among others presented their findings to FDA Commissioner Andrew Von Eschenbach and other agency officials.

Eschenbach asked the Science Board to examine the problems that have plagued the agency in recent years including recalls of drugs, contaminated food and toxic toothpaste. The agency regulates products from drugs to food and cosmetics representing about $1 trillion, or a quarter of every dollar spent in the United States, according to the report.

The U.S. Congress passed more than 100 laws expanding the FDA's authority since 1988, but has not increased the funding appropriately, the report found.

Among its recommendations, the panel suggested hiring more scientific talent, naming a chief scientific officer and reorganizing how the agency handles science issues.