FDA's Drug Shortages Team: Why Are They Smiling?

"Hope on the Horizon," is the title of today's FDAVoice blog post by Margaret Hamburg, M.D., FDA Commissioner. The post (here) highlighted a presentation made by a patient at an FDA drug shortage briefing on Tuesday. The "FDA Drug Shortages" team -- pictured below -- "has been working day and night to address this problem," said Hamburg.

"While there is no simple solution to resolving drug shortages," said hamburg, "we are doing all that we can to make sure patients have access to the critical medicines they need when they need them. I’d like to give a special thanks to the FDA Drug Shortages team and all the other staff throughout our agency for their hard work and leadership on this topic."

Here's the "FDA Drug Shortages" team:

Why are they smiling? Also, what's with the uniforms? Is it to give FDA agents an "aura" of authority -- as opposed to REAL authority -- when they meet with pharma execs to address this problem?