Future FDA Regulatory Target
Science Progress reported this week on the potential split of the FDA into two agencies, one focused on maintaining food safety and the other on reviewing and approving new drugs. This is great news for many biotech and life sciences companies with business before the FDA – and for many patients awaiting the approval of life-saving drugs.
In the past, according to the Associated Press, the FDA has become bogged down in managing understandably more-urgent food safety issues like the recent peanut butter scare, pulling resources away from drug reviews and approvals.
From a PR point of view, it will be interesting to watch how the FDA communicates on the split with the public as well as with stakeholders in the pharmaceutical/life sciences industry and medical professionals. “FDA-approved” is an extremely powerful label. To maintain public confidence in drug safety, the government will have to carefully research and manage its communications plan surrounding any announcement of a new agency. For example, renaming the new agency the “Federal Drug Approval Administration” would allow them to maintain the “FDA” label … a good first step in what will be a very complex and important communications strategy.
With two agencies, we hope that in the near future, we’ll be able to have our cake and our “FDA-approved” diet pills too!
Posted by Erin Koch
Tags: government, issues management, news, positioning, public affairs
