Chemical Heritage Foundation and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Will Cosponsor FDA Centennial Conference at CHF on Tuesday, 16 May 2006
Full-day event will look at "The Past, Present, and Future of Regulating Food, Drugs, Medical Devices, and Nutritional Supplements."

PHILADELPHIA, PA—22 March 2006—The Center for Contemporary History and Policy at Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will host and cosponsor a full-day conference commemorating the 100-year history of the United States Food and Drug Administration. The event will take place on Tuesday, 16 May 2006 and will include speakers from the FDA, food, drug, and medical device companies, and academia. Registration is open to all, but seating is limited. Register at: www.chemheritage.org/events/fda/index.html.

President Theodore Roosevelt signed the 1906 Pure Food and Drugs Act on 30 June 1906, making the FDA the oldest consumer protection agency in the nation. The FDA regulates consumer products that make up one-quarter of the U.S. economy. From its origins FDA has grown to nearly 10,000 employees and has a $1.8 billion annual budget. Its role in overseeing our nation's food supply, cosmetics, human and veterinary drugs, and medical devices is a frequent topic of contention and debate.

Format: Presentations will begin at 9 a.m. with an opening plenary session and the day will end with a closing plenary at 4:30 p.m. There will be four panel discussions, two in the morning and two in the afternoon. Each panel will feature two 25-minute presentations, one by an FDA representative and one by an industry representative. Speakers will address how to regulate during a period of rapid change in science and technology, the relationship of regulation to competitiveness in a globalizing economy, and the role of business and government in light of changes in how consumers obtain and use health information.

CHF gratefully acknowledges the following organizations for their generous support of the FDA Centennial Conference: GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), and Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute.

About the Chemical Heritage Foundation and the Center for Contemporary History and Policy
CHF's Center for Contemporary History and Policy carries out projects at the interface of science, regulation, and governance in order to provide knowledge and advice to stakeholders from industry, academia, government, and citizen groups. CHF serves the community of the chemical and molecular sciences, and the wider public, by treasuring the past, educating the present, and inspiring the future. CHF maintains a world-class collection of materials that document the history and heritage of the chemical and molecular sciences, technologies, and industries; encourages research in CHF collections; carries out a program of outreach and interpretation in order to advance an understanding of the role of the chemical and molecular sciences, technologies, and industries in shaping societies.