The laboratory infrastructure within FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition has minimal administrative support and little flexibility, according to an interim report on research review presented by an FDA Science Board subcommittee. "There's not as much of a support system within CFSAN," said subcommittee member Rhona Applebaum during the Feb. 22 Science Board meeting in Bethesda, Md. "Oftentimes what we saw and what we heard is, we're asking our chefs to be also the chief cooks and bottle washers." Applebaum, VP and chief scientific and regulatory officer for Coca-Cola, added that the food center is stretched thin performing crucial tasks to protect public health. The subcommittee will continue reviewing CFSAN activities and present its final report at a May 17 Science Board meeting. The Obama administration proposed a 32.9 percent increase to $1.04 billion in FDA food program funding for fiscal 2011 (1"The Tan Sheet" Feb. 8, 2010)

In Germany, a draft reguation circulated to industry associations proposes the sale of COVID-19 antigen tests directly to the public. If the amendment to Germany's medical devices regulations is approved, the onus will be on manufacturers to submit viable tests for approval, with the country's in-vitro testing industry association suggesting that this could be achieved in a matter of weeks. 

Three years after rebranding from Concordia, Advanz Pharma is to be swallowed up by European-focused private equity Nordic Capital.