SEC. 910. [21 USC 399a] Office of the Chief Scientist

(a) Establishment; appointment. The Secretary shall establish within the Office of the Commissioner an office to be known as the Office of the Chief Scientist. The Secretary shall appoint a Chief Scientist to lead such Office.

 

(b) Duties of the Office. The Office of the Chief Scientist shall--

(1) oversee, coordinate, and ensure quality and regulatory focus of the intramural research programs of the Food and Drug Administration;

(2) track and, to the extent necessary, coordinate intramural research awards made by each center of the Administration or science-based office within the Office of the Commissioner, and ensure that there is no duplication of research efforts supported by the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the Food and Drug Administration;

(3) develop and advocate for a budget to support intramural research;

(4) develop a peer review process by which intramural research can be evaluated;

(5) identify and solicit intramural research proposals from across the Food and Drug Administration through an advisory board composed of employees of the Administration that shall include--

(A) representatives of each of the centers and the science-based offices within the Office of the Commissioner; and

(B) experts on trial design, epidemiology, demographics, pharmacovigilance, basic science, and public health; and

(6) develop postmarket safety performance measures that are as measurable and rigorous as the ones already developed for premarket review.