An eight-month government panel investigation into Australia’s
Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) concludes that the agency lacks
transparency and calls on TGA to publish results of all its safety
investigations, and improve its process for gathering adverse event
reports. “The Panel considers that the TGA should adopt a pro-active
stance to the many issues relating to therapeutic goods that are of
concern to the public that it serves. It should move away from the
conservative approach that has characterised its actions in the past and
recognise that it has a duty to collaborate with stakeholders to create
a culture in which the community has confidence in the therapeutic
goods the TGA regulates.” The report notes the global trend toward
greater government transparency and makes 21 specific recommendations to
the agency. It is not clear how this report may impact the pending plan
to create a joint Australia-New Zealand regulatory agency.
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