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This year marks the 250th anniversary of the United States—a fitting time to reaffirm the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s enduring mission and our responsibility in shaping the future of public health.
Today, America stands on the precipice of an ‘innovation renaissance’ that will transform medicine, food, and public health in ways previously unimaginable. Life changing medical products, breakthrough diagnostics, safer food technology, and novel manufacturing platforms have the potential to deliver profound benefits for patients, consumers, and public health. Realizing these opportunities will require a regulatory environment that safely and effectively accelerates these innovations to the American people.
Back when Congress enacted the Food and Drugs Act in 1906, establishing the precursor to the modern FDA, antibiotics did not exist. Polio still terrified families. There were no organ transplants or CT scans. Cheap fillers were used to imitate pure foods. The life expectancy in the United States was barely 50 years of age. The FDA’s history is full of stories of how the agency helped translate scientific discovery into real world benefits for the American people. Few institutions have had to keep pace with scientific change and innovation on this scale.
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