Advisory panels need to be reformed — but not by barring industry voices: a Perspective

FDA Commissioner Marty Makary’s announcement that industry representatives will be excluded from advisory committees will have more symbolic than practical effects. That doesn’t mean the announcement is unimportant. In an era when trust in government and science are in short supply, symbols matter.

The impact of the policy, first announced in an interview with conservative journalist Megyn Kelly and later posted on FDA’s website, may be limited by legal requirements for FDA to include non-voting industry representatives on many advisory committees. ...