By: Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D.

The beginning of a New Year is a wonderful time to reflect on the past year and to think about what lies ahead. While 2011 had its share of challenges for us at FDA, it was also a time of significant accomplishment. We are excited about the many opportunities that 2012 will bring to the Agency.

2011 began with the most sweeping reform of our food laws in more than 70 years. FSMA promises an even safer food supply than we enjoy today and a wonderful opportunity to help promote public health.  We also continued the hard work of implementing the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.

On the medical product front, there were a multitude of outstanding activities and advances.  Importantly, we renewed our focus on the importance of innovation, in our own work and in the products we are tasked to review.  This was also a remarkable year for innovative drug approvals.  During Fiscal Year 2011, the FDA approved 35 novel drugs, targeting diseases such as late-stage lung cancer, metastatic breast cancer, and hepatitis C.

We also worked to continually strengthen the science that guides our policies, including many important collaborations with key partners and stakeholders.  Even with all of our ongoing work, when crises came in 2011, we acted swiftly to protect the American people.  We also continued to strengthen our capacity to address one of the greatest challenges in this new century – our increasingly globalized world.  “Pathway to Global Product Safety and Quality”

In 2012, FDA will meet new and complex challenges and continue our work in implementing FSMA and the Tobacco Act, promoting advancements and innovation in medical products, and broadening our strategic globalization and regulatory science initiatives. We will be working closely with Congress and stakeholders to support the reauthorization of user fees for pharmaceutical products (PDUFA), and medical devices (MDUFA), as well as to authorize new user fees for generic drugs (GDUFA) and biosimilars.

I am confident, thanks to the dedication of the employees of the FDA, that we will continue to make invaluable contributions to the lives of you, the American people.

I wish you and your family a healthy and happy 2012.

Margaret Hamburg, M.D., is Commissioner of the U. S. Food and Drug Administration.