FDA's chief scientist: time to build 'science of the future'

The FDA's chief scientist, Jesse Goodman, has been doing some hard thinking about the FDA. And he's reached the conclusion that the agency is in dire need of rebuilding itself from the ground up--a task he says could take a decade.

"I think what FDA really needs is a 5- to 10-year building effort/re-building effort," Goodman told members of Congress. "And it's not just rebuilding to what it was. I think it's being a part of building the science of the future."

Goodman is talking up a complete makeover:

"It's almost like taking the current state of the agency from sort of always swimming to keep our heads just above the water to something that is a truly outstanding scientific partner and really has the power and relationships it needs," he said, in a story picked up by Pharmalot.

The GAO, meanwhile, issued a new report this week with its own critique of the FDA. The review concludes that the agency needs to do a better job understanding scientific advances, modernizing information systems and recruiting new employees.

- here's the story from Pharmalot
- and here's the Dow Jones story on the GAO report

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