US Food and Drug Administration offers 1,300 vacant jobs

The agency responsible for the safety regulation announced its plans to hire more than 1,300 employees by the end of September.

Photo: US Food and Drug Administration offers 1,300 vacant jobs

US Food and Drug Administration offers 1,300 vacant jobs

The Food and Drug Administration will offer 600 new jobs and fill more than 700 open positions.

About 500 jobs will be paid by user fees submitted with New Drug Applications under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) in which the industry pays a fee for the review of the new product. A similar process is used for medical devices under the Medical Device User Fee and Modernization Act (MDUFMA).

The FDA has experienced lately some delays in bringing critical staff on board that impairs the agency's ability to fulfill the mission of promoting and protecting health.

The FDA regulates the production and circulation of most types of foods, dietary supplements, drugs, vaccines, biological medical products, blood products, medical devices, radiation-emitting devices, veterinary products, and cosmetics. The FDA also enforces section 361 of the Public Health Service Act and the associated regulations, including sanitation requirements on interstate travel as well as specific rules for control of disease on products ranging from pet turtles to semen donations for assisted reproductive medicine techniques.

The FDA's federal budget request for 2008 totaled $2.1 billion, a $105.8 million increase from what they received in 2007.

Photo: dms.dartmouth.edu