FDA to review advisory panel system

The Food and Drug Administration has been getting some heat (some examples here and here) over potential conflicts of interest. Today it announced that it was going to review its advisory panel system. From the article:

With pressure mounting on the agency to revise its drug-review practices to ensure that new treatments are as safe as possible before hitting the market, the FDA announced it would look into how it chooses members for its panels and how it handles possible conflicts of interest among panelists in order to establish "best practices" for the process.





As part of its probe, the FDA said it would review the processes for nominating panel members, choosing consultants with expertise specific to the meeting topic, developing competing products lists, screening for conflict of interest and using special government employees outside of an advisory committee meeting.