October 4, 2019

Media Inquiries

  Amanda Turney
  301-796-2969

“Ensuring patients have access to safe and effective medications is at the core of the FDA’s public health mission. This includes our commitment to helping patients safely use medications available in the U.S. marketplace. We know that too many people suffer injuries and may die as a result of medications that are not used as directed. That’s why we created our Safe Use Initiative, which develops and facilitates collaborations in the health care community with the aim of reducing preventable harm from medications. This initiative works to identify specific preventable medication risks and develop, implement and evaluate cross-sector interventions with partners including other federal agencies, health care professionals, health care entities, patients, caregivers and patient advocates,” said Janet Woodcock, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “As part of this initiative, today we are announcing a funding opportunity for individuals and organizations to conduct further research about the safe use of medications in order to inform the development of innovative methods to mitigate or reduce risks related to medication use. Through these collaborative efforts, we can make significant improvements in the safe use of medications and reduce harm from medication misuse, abuse and errors.”

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is announcing the availability of funding opportunities for Safe Use Research Projects under the FDA’s Safe Use Initiative. Research proposals will be accepted between October 1, 2019, and March 27, 2020, for FY2020 funding.

Project proposals are evaluated by the FDA in two stages. The first step is to submit the research project as a White Paper, which is limited to 10 pages. If the White Paper receives a favorable rating, a full proposal is invited. Full proposals should provide additional details that provide a more comprehensive view of the project and may be up to 50 pages in length. Examples of current and past projects can be viewed on the Safe Use Initiative webpage. For details on how to apply, please visit the FDA’s Broad Agency Announcements webpage (FDABAA-19-00123).

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The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.