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# Califf Vows Advertising, Foreign Inspections Policy Revamp
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/califf-vows-advertising-foreign-inspections-policy-revamp/
- Published: 2016-01-11T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-15T02:26:28.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, Devices, #legacy-id-D5134395

> FDA commissioner-nominee **Robert Califf** says that revising advertising and promotion policies and the agency’s approach to foreign inspections will be top priorities if he is confirmed as the next commissioner. The Senate HELP Committee is scheduled to vote on his nomination 1/12.  
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> In [response to questions](http://www.fdaweb.com/download.php?file=Califf%5FQFRs.pdf) posed by HELP Committee chair **Lamar Alexander** (R-TN) following a nomination hearing late last year, Califf said the agency is currently examining its advertising and promotion rules and policies, “with the goal of harmonizing the important public health and safety interests served by FDA’s premarket review of new uses of medical products, with the value that sharing relevant scientific information regarding unapproved uses can have in certain contexts, and with First and Fifth Amendment considerations.”  
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> Alexander’s questions also asked about foreign inspections, particularly FDA’s continued focus on facilities in India and China that seem to have some high-profile GMP deficiencies. Alexander asked why the agency has not exercised its authority to request manufacturing documents in advance of a foreign inspection to better detect problems. Califf responded that the agency is planning a pilot program this year to use that authority in advance of a small number of already-planned inspections. FDA believes, according to Califf, that use of this authority “in advance of an inspection could lead to efficiencies by allowing FDA investigators to maximize the use of their time while on site. FDA is seeking to assess the best use of this authority by gathering data through this pilot effort to evaluate, for example, the appropriate scope and volume of records to request, and the burden of producing and reviewing those records.”