The role of academia and the research community in assisting the food and drug administration to ensure U.S. drug safety

PURPOSE: Academia can play a prominent role in the drug safety arena, unique from that of industry, and a clearer articulation of how it could positively influence the current system is needed. We sought to examine ways that academia could expand its role in U.S. drug safety. METHODS: An ad hoc meeting of academic experts in drug safety and risk management was convened at the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in Washington, D.C. RESULTS: Academia should develop a stronger partnership with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to increase research on regulatory issues and public health questions and facilitate the prioritization of critical issues on drug safety. Such a collaboration could also facilitate the development of a network of academic centers of excellence in pharmacoepidemiology to address drug safety and risk management questions from a public health standpoint in a timely fashion. The development and testing of methodologic innovations on drug safety should also be encouraged. CONCLUSIONS: Greater partnership between academia and the FDA could facilitate the prioritization of important issues on drug safety, allow more research questions on drug safety to be answered in a timely fashion, promote the development of networks for answering these questions, and help generate additional research ideas, ultimately providing enormous benefit to the public health.