(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) released the following statement today following the Senate’s confirmation of Dr. Stephen Hahn to become the new U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner:
“CHPA congratulates Dr. Hahn on his confirmation today as the 24th Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Commissioner Hahn’s experience as a practicing oncologist, researcher, and former chief medical officer of the MD Anderson Cancer Center make him well-suited to his new role at the helm of FDA. We look forward to working with Commissioner Hahn on ensuring consumer access to safe, effective and affordable self-care treatment options, including over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, dietary supplements, and consumer medical devices.
“At a time when consumers are demanding different kinds of self-care products to meet their individual needs, modern regulatory systems that protect consumer health and promote responsible innovation are incredibly important. Over the last couple of years, there has been great progress made toward modernizing the OTC Monograph system, the regulatory structure that oversees the majority of OTC medicines. It is our sincere hope that the U.S. House of Representatives will soon pass OTC Monograph reform so we can see this shared FDA-CHPA priority through to fruition. We are also hopeful that under Commissioner Hahn’s leadership, FDA will issue the long-awaited proposal for increasing access to OTC medicines using innovative approaches that enable more prescription-to-OTC switches. This kind of thoughtful, creative regulatory approach could expand consumer choice and access to affordable nonprescription drugs by using digital technologies or other conditions to assure consumer safe use.
“Additionally, we look forward to working with Commissioner Hahn on ways to strengthen both regulation and enforcement of dietary supplements. This includes not only an updated dietary supplement regulatory framework, but also decisive FDA action around CBD. CHPA urges the Agency to exercise its existing statutory authority to establish a clear pathway for manufacturers to lawfully market CBD in dietary supplements, while also continuing to go after bad actors.”