FDA TO CREATE NEW INTEGRITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE

FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach announced the creation of a new office that will address cultural issues within the agency.

The Office of Integrity and Accountability will oversee the FDA's organizational environment through activities such as managing conflicts of interest within advisory committees, von Eschenbach said March 15. The office's goal will be to ensure the agency remains "scientific in perspective" and that it brings "precision to regulations," he added.

Critics of the FDA say the agency discourages scientific dissent. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) recently sent a letter to von Eschenbach asking him to explain comments that seemed to discourage openness within the agency.

The new office will be located under the FDA's Office of the Commissioner and overseen by the deputy commissioner of policy, von Eschenbach said, adding that he would notify Congress of the agency's structural change soon.