Michael Taylor is worried. Yesterday, the former deputy commissioner for policy at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned that "there are some gaps in FDA's legal authority" when it comes to nanotechnology. In a report commissioned by the Woodrow Wilson Center's Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, Taylor blamed these legal loopholes for "FDA's inability to acquire information about nanotechnology products early enough in their development to prepare properly for their regulations." The problems don't stop there, however. According to Taylor, the FDA faces severe budgetary constraints and a lack of nano-expertise.
Dave Rejeski, director of the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, is also concerned. "There are enormous amounts of investment at stake", Rejeski told UPI. The U.S. government has invested $1.3 billion in nanotech research and the private sector has spent $1.7 billion. There are now over 300 nano-products on the market and 200 drugs and medical devices that use nanotechnology in the works. "The market size for drug delivery", says Rejiski, "is almost $1 billion and is expected to grow about 50 percent over the next 5 years".
It's been said that what you don't know can't hurt you - and that ignorance is bliss. Guess how many Americans don't even know what nanotechnology is . . .
Steve Melito - The Y Files
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