FDA, CDC, and CMS Launch Task Force to Facilitate Rapid Availability of Diagnostic Tests During Public Health Emergencies

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the launch of the Tri-Agency Task Force for Emergency Diagnostics. This task force has been created to help leverage the expertise of each agency to advance rapid development and deployment of diagnostic tests in clinical and public health laboratories during public health emergencies.

“Public health emergencies, like Ebola outbreaks, remind us that we’re a global community when it comes to public health protection. Bacteria and viruses don’t respect territorial boundaries. It takes a sustained, robust and globally coordinated effort to protect our nation and the global community from various infectious disease threats. We’re all in this together. To that end, the FDA knows that collaborating with our federal partners to employ our collective expertise, experiences from previous incidents, and resources will better assist in a global response. We also believe that this task force could lead to more innovation for diagnostic tests as developers will see a more predictable federal regulatory response through the agencies’ coordination,” said Jeffrey Shuren, M.D., J.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “This task force will help our agencies better collaborate to prepare for, and respond to, public health threats, including identifying threats and ensuring the appropriate diagnostics are in place to support efforts in the field.”

The FDA, CDC and CMS each play a critical role in responding to public health emergencies, including identifying threats, regulating medical products, and providing oversight for laboratories. The agencies have robust teams of scientists, researchers and policy experts that are dedicated to preparing the U.S. for rapid disaster response.

Diagnostic tests—such as those that can detect pathogens like the Ebola and Zika viruses—can be quickly made available to meet response needs during a crisis through the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) process. The FDA has authority to issue an EUA for the use of diagnostic tests during public health emergencies, provided criteria are met. The CDC is responsible for providing agent-specific subject matter expertise in epidemiology, laboratory expertise and guidance to clinicians and laboratories responding to the emergency. The CDC and other federal laboratories are often the ones developing new tests to respond to emergency needs. CMS has authority to ensure quality testing at laboratories through the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA). CMS provides guidance, even during public health emergencies, to laboratories on meeting CLIA requirements to ensure laboratories produce accurate, reliable and timely results.

Prior to this partnership, feedback from the clinical laboratory community indicated that there was uncertainty about how to implement the diagnostic tests once they received an EUA; particularly, the community was uncertain about meeting CLIA regulations under an EUA to allow labs to start testing specimens.

“During public health emergencies, ensuring the health and safety of patients through quality laboratory testing will remain the focus of CMS,” said Kate Goodrich, director of the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality and CMS Chief Medical Officer. “Timely implementation of EUA diagnostic assays in the US healthcare system is dependent upon laboratories understanding the instructions for use and applying them to the patient samples received for testing. As part of this taskforce, it is our goal to provide clear and consistent guidance to laboratories on the application of CLIA requirements for these emergency assays.”

By standardizing collaboration efforts, the federal partners hope to address issues related to implementation of diagnostic tests authorized for emergency use under an EUA, as well as other unmet needs and gaps in preparing and responding to global health threats. The task force will provide a forum for each agency to coordinate, provide consultation, and improve the availability of diagnostic tests during public health emergencies. In addition, to assist in public health preparedness, the task force will work to define, refine and streamline interagency approaches for the implementation of EUA diagnostic tests. The hope is that the task force will enable an even more efficient federal government response for making diagnostic tests available in the event of a public health emergency.

“Time and time again, we’re reminded that disease knows no borders. While our globalized world and modern transportation help promote economic prosperity, these features also facilitate the spread of emerging infectious diseases,” said Chesley Richards, CDC’s Deputy Director for Public Health Science and Surveillance. “In the past 15 years alone, we’ve faced serious global outbreaks of deadly pathogens. During public health emergencies, it is critical for diagnostic tests to be made available and adopted quickly into clinical and public health laboratories for rapid patient care.”

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.