FDA Holds Virtual Public Meeting to Discuss Potential Approach for Ranking of Antimicrobial Drugs According to Their Importance in Human Medicine: A Risk Management Tool for Antimicrobial Animal Drugs

As part of its overall strategy for addressing antimicrobial resistance risks associated with the use of antimicrobial drugs in animals, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is announcing a potential revised process and criteria for ranking antimicrobial drugs based on their importance in human medicine. FDA is committed to ensuring that this ranking process be based on current and sound science, given the role that the ranking of antimicrobials plays in guiding FDA’s activities related to managing antimicrobial resistance risks associated with antimicrobial use in animals.

To describe these potential revisions in detail, FDA has published a concept paper, and issued a Request for Comments in the Federal Register, to obtain early public feedback on the content of the paper. FDA also plans to hold a virtual public meeting to present the details and receive additional comments.