Quick update on ELSA, the FDA's new GenAI tool.

Quick update on ELSA, the FDA's new GenAI tool.

The Readout LOUD podcast from STAT (my go-to for sharp biotech coverage) just featured some early insights from FDA users testing ELSA: https://lnkd.in/eKx-smpD

In short, ELSA is a chatbot powered by Anthropic's Claude (they didn't specify which model), with access to a significant portion of the FDA's internal document library. So not exactly ground breaking technology any more in 2025. The podcast also points out some early hallucination issues, no surprise at this stage of LLM deployment. This is basically an internal productivity tool.

Still, it's easy to dismiss these imperfections and early challenges. What I genuinely appreciate is the FDA's decision to launch it anyway. These models are evolving at an amazing pace, and the only way to build real-world readiness is to start using them.

While this may be controversial: In healthcare, the biggest challenge with new tech isn't the technology, it's the change management. Giving FDA staff hands-on access, even while the underlying tech is still maturing, is exactly the kind of move that builds momentum for real adoption, that some other large health care organisations should embrace as well.

Brittany Trang