Governor Asa Hutchinson recently hosted a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony with officials from the National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The National Center for Toxicological Research, in partnership with researchers in government, industry and academia, develops, refines and applies current and emerging technologies to improve safety evaluation of FDA-regulated products.
Under the preceding MOU agreement between the NCTR and the FDA signed in August 2011, the State of Arkansas established a virtual Arkansas Center of Excellence in Regulatory Science (ACERS) coordinated through the Governor's Office. The new agreement will extend the partnership between the state, the FDA and the NCTR to operate the ACERS for an additional five years. The MOU will give scientists and regulators from around the world access to additional training and resources through the newly established Center of Excellence for Regulatory Science.
“I am pleased that the FDA and the state of Arkansas’s shared interests in scientific progress have resulted in the extension of our partnership for the National Center for Toxicological research to operate for an additional five years,” said the Governor’s statement. “This agreement will allow us to continue to combine our strengths, resources and proximity for research and innovation in regulatory science, education and training. I am excited to see the NCTR continue to benefit the State and the nation in areas of health and medicine.”
FDA Commissioner Rob Califf, MD, stated, “This MOU builds on the already strong collaboration between the FDA, the State of Arkansas and the research universities here. With rapid advances in science and medicine, the FDA must stay ahead of the curve on how to appropriately regulate and lead in areas like nanotechnology and bioinformatics.”
The contributions from the State will continue and will be organized and administered by the Arkansas Research Alliance (ARA) in association with the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC), a State agency under the Governor’s direction. The support and work of the ACERS are derived primarily from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), which will be working in collaboration with the State's other universities and institutions in these endeavors.