The FDA is embracing the cloud

Gone are the days when drug companies would deliver reams of data by the truckload when seeking FDA approval for a new drug. But even the current system, requiring unwieldy PDFs and a few hand-lettered forms, is not exactly the vanguard of modern technology.

That’s why, as STAT’s Matthew Herper reports, the FDA is embarking upon a sweeping modernization project. Dr. Amy Abernethy, the agency’s principal deputy commissioner, is rolling out a plan to automate some of the FDA’s more arduous work and allow drug companies to upload data to the cloud.

“If we’re going to really change the way that we use data both within the agency but also across all biomedicine, the agency needs to fundamentally prepare the ground,” Abernethy said.

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