SCIENCE BOARD TO DISCUSS DRUG SAFETY, SCIENCE PRIORITIES IN WOMEN'S HEALTH OFFICE

The FDA's Science Board has scheduled a meeting to continue its discussion from last fall on drug-safety issues, and to consider the FDA's request for a review of the agency's science programs.

The Science Board also will discuss plans for its peer review of the Center for Veterinary Medicine's intramural portion of the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System and the science priorities of the FDA's Office of Women's Health, the agency said in a recent advisory committee meeting notice.

The board also will conclude a discussion of drug safety from its November 2005 meeting. At that meeting, Acting FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach proposed a multi-pronged strategy to enhance the agency's response to public health threats, including cancer and pandemic flu. Eschenbach's four-part plan would ensure the agency will be organized enough and have the resources to address these issues.