FDA Establishes Task Force to Increase Transparency; Will Hold June 24th Meeting to Gather Viewpoints

By Jamie K. Wolszon –
 
FDA has announced the establishment of a cross-agency task force to craft recommendations on how to increase transparency regarding the agency’s operations, activities, processes and decisionmaking, including product approvals, enforcement actions, and product recalls, while protecting confidential information.  The agency has set up a docket and the task force plans to convene two public meetings to gather input: FDA’s task force will hold the first public meeting on June 24th, as announced in a June 3rd Federal Register notice, with a second meeting to follow in the fall.  Additional information on FDA’s Transparency Task Force is available here, and includes, among other things, the creation of an “FDA Transparency Blog.”
 
Principal Deputy Commissioner Joshua M. Sharfstein will chair the task force.  The task force also will include the center directors, the associate commissioner for regulatory affairs, the chief counsel, and the chief scientist.  The task force will report its findings and recommendations to the commissioner approximately six months after it is convened.  The task force is part of a broader effort by the Obama administration to bolster transparency and openness across the federal executive branch.