ROCKVILLE, Md., June 18, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Acting Commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Stephen Ostroff, MD, will speak to attendees of the 2015 RAPS Regulatory Convergence. The signature annual event from the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS) will take place 24–28 October in Baltimore. Ostroff will speak 27 October, delivering a special keynote address. Then he will participate in a panel discussion on key agency activities and initiatives. Other expert panelists are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Ostroff stepped in as acting FDA commissioner in April following former Commissioner Margaret Hamburg's resignation after serving in the post for nearly six years. Previously, Ostroff had been FDA's chief scientist, working closely with FDA's product centers to support the use of sound regulatory science throughout FDA activities.
He joined the agency in 2013 as chief medical officer in the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and senior public health advisor to FDA's Office of Foods and Veterinary Medicine. Before FDA, Ostroff was deputy director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Ostroff has a strong track record as a committed scientist, and has pledged to build on Hamburg's work to ensure a solid scientific basis for FDA's work. Speaking to the Food and Drug Law Institute a few weeks after taking over as acting commissioner, Ostroff said: "We do our best when we go where the science leads us, and base our decisions on thorough, data-driven analyses. This assures our work will benefit patients and consumers. If we cut corners with the science, ultimately patients and consumers are shortchanged. There will be no change with [Margaret Hamburg's] departure regarding this central role of science-based decision making during my watch."
For more information on the 2015 RAPS Regulatory Convergence, including the full agenda, session information, speakers and more, visit www.RAPS.org/convergence.
Reporters, bloggers and other members of the media who wish to cover all or part of the Regulatory Convergence should contact Zachary Brousseau, senior manager, communications for RAPS at zbrousseau@raps.org or +1 301 770 2920, ext. 245.
About RAPS
The Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS) is the largest global organization of and for those involved with the regulation of healthcare and related products, including medical devices, pharmaceuticals, biologics and nutritional products. Founded in 1976, RAPS helped establish the regulatory profession and continues to actively support the professional and lead the profession as a neutral, non-lobbying nonprofit organization. RAPS offers education and training, professional standards, publications, research, knowledge sharing, networking, career development opportunities and other valuable resources, including Regulatory Affairs Certification (RAC), the only post-academic professional credential to recognize regulatory excellence. RAPS is headquartered in suburban Washington, DC, with offices in Shanghai and Singapore, and chapters and affiliates worldwide. RAPS.org