FDA to speed nanomedical product creation

WASHINGTON, March 10 (UPI) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it will collaborate with the Alliance for NanoHealth to speed creation of safe nanotechnology medical products.

The FDA said it and the alliance's member institutions will cooperate in a nanotechnology initiative to "expand knowledge of how nanoparticles behave and affect biologic systems, and to facilitate the development of tests and processes that might mitigate the risks associated with nanoengineered products."

"FDA's nanotechnology initiative with the Alliance for NanoHealth is an effort to engage resources and technical expertise in this rapidly advancing field and is a clear example of leveraging science and scientists to advance the public good," said the FDA's Acting Commissioner, Dr. Frank Torti. "Nanotechnology holds great promise for the advancement of novel medical products."

The alliance's eight academic institutions are the Baylor College of Medicine, the University of Texas' M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Rice University, the University of Houston, the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Texas A & M Health Science Center, the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and the Methodist Hospital Research Institute in Houston.