Regulating The Products Of Nanotechnology: Does FDA Have The Tools It Needs?

Main Category: Nutrition / Diet
Article Date: 29 Sep 2006 - 0:00 PDT

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Former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Deputy Commissioner for Policy Michael R. Taylor analyzes FDA's ability to properly protect the American public from the potential hazards associated with nanotechnology in a new report, Regulating the Products of Nanotechnology: Does FDA Have the Tools It Needs? The report was commissioned by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies in advance of FDA's first major public meeting on regulating products containing nanotechnology materials scheduled for October 10th. Release of Taylor's report will occur on Thursday, October 5th at 12 noon at a program in the Woodrow Wilson Center's 5th floor conference room.

Taylor finds there are gaps in legal authority and fundamental inadequacies in resources that FDA faces as it attempts to better understand and manage the potential risks from hundreds of new products utilizing nanotechnology entering the marketplace in areas such as cosmetics, dietary supplements, food, and drugs. Taylor sets out a necessary course of action for the FDA, Congress, and industry to address these gaps. He also examines whether FDA should classify some nanoscale materials as "new" for legal, regulatory, and safety purposes.

More than $32 billion in nanotechnology products were sold globally last year and, by 2014, Lux Research projects $2.6 trillion in manufactured goods will incorporate nanotechnology. Nanotechnology refers to the emerging science of manufacturing materials that are measured in nanometers, usually at the 1-100 nanometers scale. The head of a pin is 1 million nanometers wide.

What:

Release of new report, Regulating the Products of Nanotechnology: Does FDA Have the Tools It Needs?

Who:

Michael R. Taylor, former FDA deputy commissioner for policy and author of new report on nanotechnology; David Rejeski, director, Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies.

When:

Thursday, October 5, 12 noon - 1 p.m. (Lunch available at 11:30 a.m.)

Where:

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 5th Floor Conference Room. Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies was launched in 2005 by the Woodrow Wilson Center and The Pew Charitable Trusts. It is dedicated to helping businesses, governments, and the public anticipate and manage the possible health and environmental implications of nanotechnology. For more information about the project, log on to: http://www.nanotechproject.org.

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
http://www.wilsoncenter.org

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