Featured Issue Briefs
The Battle on the Home Front: Jonathan Gadsden's Story
Marine Lance Corporal's story reflects the growing need for new antibiotics that can treat dangerous diseases, against which most drugs are useless. Read More
Facilitating Medical Device Innovation: De Novo Reform
The de novo process -- which requests lower-risk reclassification of medical devices and entry into the marketplace -- as it exists now is not achieving its purpose and has instead added unnecessary and time-consuming requirements. Read More
Food Products Recalled by FDA
Since President Obama signed the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act into law, at least 149 FDA-regulated food products have been recalled due to potential pathogenic contamination. Read More
More Issue Briefs
| Date | Issue Briefs | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 12, 2008 |
Regulating Industry Payments to PhysiciansPhysicians write more than 2 billion prescriptions a year, an average of 7 for every American. Several states and the District of Columbia have enacted so-called “sunshine laws” setting limits on industry payments to physicians and/or requiring disclosure of the payments. Proposed legislation in both the U.S House and Senate would require industry to disclose “transfers of value” to physicians. More info |
Conflicts of Interest |
| Feb 22, 2012 |
Recommendations to the FDA Regarding the Use of Antibiotics in Food Animal ProductionIt is estimated that up to 70 percent of antibiotics sold in the U.S. are used on industrial farms in healthy food animals, to promote growth and to compensate for the effects of overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. This practice promotes the development of deadly strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can spread to humans. More info |
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| Nov 19, 2012 |
Public Health and Consumer Groups Call for Participation in Antibiotic Use MeetingsOn Nov. 2, 15 public health and consumer organizations sent a joint letter to the FDA requesting to join in discussions to consider how the misuse and overuse of antibiotics in livestock and poultry are significant contributing factors to antibiotic resistance in humans. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Jan 6, 2012 |
Project on Emerging NanotechnologiesMomentous change can come in tiny packages. Nanotechnologies have been hailed by many as the next industrial revolution, likely to affect everything from clothing and medical treatments to engineering. Although focused on the very small, nanotechnology—the ability to measure, manipulate and manufacture objects that are 1/100th to 1/100,000th the circumference of a human hair—offers immense promise. Whether used in cancer therapies, pollution-eating compounds or stain-resistant apparel, these atomic marvels are radically and rapidly changing the way we live. The National Science Foundation predicts that the global marketplace for goods and services using nanotechnologies will grow to $1 trillion by 2015 and employ 2 million workers. More info |
Health Topics |
| Nov 19, 2008 |
Produce-Related Foodborne-Illness OutbreaksFrom 1990 through 2005, at least 713 produce-related outbreaks have occurred. This issue brief summarizes 15 years of produce-related illness outbreaks in the U.S. More info |
Food Safety |
| Feb 19, 2010 |
Produce Safety Project: Stakeholders' Discussion Series MeetingsThe Food and Drug Administration announced in December 2009, that it was going to establish a nationwide produce safety standard for the growing, harvesting and packing of fresh fruits and vegetables and opened an official docket for comments in February 2010. More info |
Food Safety |
| Mar 23, 2010 |
Physician Payments Sunshine Provisions in Health Care ReformThe Physician Payments Sunshine provisions in health care reform legislation require drug and medical device manufacturers to publicly report gifts and payments made to physicians and teaching hospitals. More info |
Conflicts of Interest |
| Jan 28, 2009 |
Pharmaceutical Industry MarketingReports of pharmaceutical and medical device industry marketing expenditures vary - pharmaceutical manufacturers spend billions annually on marketing - detailing, journal advertising, pharmaceutical samples and direct-to-consumer advertising. What can be done to protect patients, control health care costs, and bolster professionalism among physicians? The Prescription Project promotes a range of solutions for consumers, physicians, state and federal policy makers, and public and private payers. More info |
Conflicts of Interest |
| Oct 22, 2012 |
Pew's Comment Letter on FDA’s Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Regarding Data CollectionOn behalf of The Pew Charitable Trusts (Pew), we are writing to urge the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to strengthen regulations pertaining to record-keeping and public reporting of antibiotic use in food animal production. More info |
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| May 23, 2013 |
Pew Testimony: Examining Drug CompoundingOn Thursday, May 23, the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health held a hearing, entitled "Examining Drug Compounding." Gabrielle Cosel, a drug safety expert, testified on the need to clarify oversight of compounding pharmacies on the state and federal level. More info |
Drug Manufacturing and Distribution, Drug Safety |
