The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) have formed a partnership aimed at curbing medical device shortages. A 22 May memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two agencies was born out of troubles that cropped up at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when many essential products were in short supply.
“As part of this partnership, FDA and VHA will jointly develop emergency preparedness and response tools and protocols intended to help increase medical device manufacturing capacity and flexibility, and improve resilience of domestic supply chains during emergencies, shortages, and pandemics,” said James Coburn, the advanced manufacturing team lead in the FDA Office of Counterterrorism and Emerging Threats (OCET).
Coburn told Focus that OCET is working hand-in-glove with the FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) to put the project in motion…
