ADVAMED SUPPORTING MORE FDA FUNDING AS PART OF NEW GROUP

AdvaMed announced Sept. 25 it had joined an alliance of patient groups, consumer advocates, public health organizations and companies focused on building public support for the FDA.

The group, the Coalition for a Stronger FDA, plans to work to make sure the agency has the resources it needs to fulfill its public health mandate, AdvaMed said.

"The complexity and speed of medical technology innovation continues to increase, but unfortunately FDA funding levels have not kept pace," said AdvaMed President and CEO Stephen Ubl.

The coalition is co-chaired by the most recent former HHS secretaries, Tommy Thompson, Donna Shalala and Louis Sullivan.

The group's aim is to cooperate with the FDA and Congress in a multiyear effort to reverse the trend in which the FDA has been forced to take on a greater number of responsibilities without a corresponding increase in resources, AdvaMed said.