On Tuesday, September 26, the Food and Drug Administration, which shepherds new drugs, medical devices, and the majority of the United States food supply, announced that it had chosen nine major tech companies for a regulatory pilot program. The pilot program has the potential to let them avoid certain regulations that have tied up developers working on health products and software.
“We need to modernize our regulatory framework so that it matches the kind of innovation we’re being asked to evaluate,” Scott Gottlieb, FDA Commissioner, said.
Essentially, the program is meant to let the tech companies get products pre-cleared instead of going through the agency’s standard application and approval process. Why? Because this process can take months on end.
Along with Apple (NASDAQ:$AAPL), FitBit, Inc. (NYSE:$FIT), Verily Life Sciences, Samsung Electronics Co. (OTCMKTS:$SSNLF), Roche Holding AG (OTCMKTS:$RHHBY), and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:$JNJ) will participate.
The new FDA program is supposed to help these tech companies develop new products at a faster rate while maintaining a degree of government oversight.
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