FDA Announces Advisory Panel Reform

FDA announced it is taking steps to improve how its advisory panels are conducted, in accordance with recommendations from the Institute of Medicine.One guidance document lays out how conflicts of interest will be disclosed from now on.

November 16, 2007

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Transforming FDA LogoFDA announced it is taking steps to improve how its advisory panels are conducted, in accordance with recommendations from the Institute of Medicine.One guidance document lays out how conflicts of interest will be disclosed from now on. All panelists must now publicly disclose any interests for which FDA has granted them a waiver. Another guidance recommends that panels adopt simultaneous voting, announce voting results immediately, and record how each member voted in the public record. Operating procedures for the panels have also been formalized. And the agency's advisory panel Web site has been reworked to make it more understandable to the public.Also of interest, the agency posted a report from a consultant that outlines how difficult it is to find experts who are totally free from conflicts, and proves that panelists who have received conflict waivers are usually more qualified than panelists without them. This is a long-overdue response to the mainstream media belief that all conflicts are by definition wrong. Let us hope it gets the coverage it deserves.

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