Twice a year the federal government publishes the "Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions" (Unified Agenda), which provides the American public with insight into regulations under development or review throughout the federal government. For the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it gives us an opportunity to outline some of our efforts to modernize our approach to our work and improve our efficiency, while fulfilling our mandate to protect and promote the public health and uphold FDA’s gold standard for regulatory decision-making. While many of FDA’s policies are advanced through guidance documents and other proposals, this annual list of proposed regulations provides one element of our policy agenda.
Patients and consumers across our country depend on us to regulate products in a predictable, efficient, science-based manner. We also serve the public health by efficiently advancing innovations and therapies that improve patient care, enhance choice and provide competition; by aggressively taking action against serious threats to public health, such as opioid addiction and addiction to the nicotine in cigarettes; by empowering patients, consumers and healthcare providers with accurate and up-to-date information; and by recognizing when scientific innovations warrant new, more flexible regulatory approaches in order to make sure advances in care can reach patients. In addition to these goals, we must continually adapt our regulations to enhance efficiency, improve our effectiveness, and update old and out-of-date requirements.
FDA’s contributions to the Fall 2017 Unified Agenda address a number of these areas of policymaking under way at the agency, and are directly aligned with our key priorities:
Addressing the Nicotine Addiction Crisis
To reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with combusting tobacco, we are proposing meaningful actions to advance our new, comprehensive approach to nicotine and the regulation of combustible cigarettes. These efforts include an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking asking critical questions related to our pursuit of regulation that would result in a targeted reduction of the nicotine levels in combustible cigarettes to eliminate or dramatically reduce their addictive value. At the same time, FDA is taking new steps to facilitate innovation in products that can deliver satisfying levels of nicotine to adults who want or need such access without the same health risks associated with combustible tobacco.
As part of this plan, FDA will also be issuing an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to look at how to best regulate flavors in tobacco products to limit their appeal to youth, while considering the potential role that some flavors may play in helping users transition away from combustible products. Further, FDA will be issuing an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to solicit information that may inform regulatory actions FDA might take with respect to premium cigars, asking certain questions related to how we might define and regulate "premium cigars," taking into consideration the health effects of these products and their patterns of use.
Advancing Drug Safety
FDA will issue several regulations on drug compounding to help ensure the quality of medicines that patients need. We want to make sure that outsourcing facilities clearly understand which drugs they may compound and allow these firms to adopt more efficient, streamlined manufacturing standards, while ensuring they observe necessary safety and quality measures.
Focusing on the safety of prescription drugs, FDA is also pursuing a proposed rule to establish national standards for the licensing of prescription drug wholesale distributors and third-party logistics providers, as part of track-and-trace requirements. By establishing national standards for all State and Federal licenses issued to key parts of the supply chain, these regulations will allow for the effective and efficient distribution of prescription drugs throughout the U.S.
Promoting Food Safety
FDA...
(All Rights Reserved)