GAO: FDA Needed Broader Pool
FDA officials might have avoided some conflicts of interest on their scientific advisory committees by expanding recruitment efforts beyond word-of-mouth nominations, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office. The report, released last month, analyzed the recruitment and screening of FDA advisory committee members before the agency changed those processes in 2007. The FDA could have reached out beyond its usual source of experts to retired professionals, university professors, and experts in epidemiology and statistics, the GAO concluded. The evaluation was requested by members of the Senate.