U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Martin Makary announced a new policy directive limiting employees of companies the agency regulates, such as pharmaceutical companies, from serving as official members of FDA advisory committees.
“While the FDA should be partnering with industry to ensure a user-friendly review process, the scientific evaluation of new products should be independent,” Makary said.
“Industry employees are welcome to attend FDA advisory committee meetings, along with the rest of the American public, but having industry employees serve as official members of FDA advisory committee members represents a cozy relationship that is concerning to many Americans,” he added.
Per FDA:
In keeping with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s promise to carry out the Department’s work with “radical transparency” and mitigate perceived industry influence and conflicts of interests, FDA Commissioner Martin A. Makary, M.D., M.P.H., announces a policy directive that limits individuals employed at companies regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, such as pharmaceutical companies, from serving as official members on FDA advisory committees, where statutorily allowed. As part of this effort, the agency will prioritize and elevate the role of patients and caregivers, strengthening the voices of their communities.
The FDA uses its advisory committees to obtain independent expert advice and recommendations on scientific, technical, and policy decisions.
“Public trust in the healthcare-industrial complex is at an all-time low. We need to restore impeccable integrity to the process and avoid potential conflicts of interest,” he added.
WATCH:
Reuters reports:
https://100percentfedup.com/243238-2/U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has previously been most vocal in his criticism of the FDA, accusing its staff of doing the bidding of Big Pharma and Big Food.
As part of the policy announced on Thursday, the FDA will prioritize the role of patients and caregivers in the decisions made by its advisory committees.
These committees provide independent expert advice, recommendations on scientific, technical and policy decisions, and have non-voting members representing the industry as a whole rather than individual companies.
For instance, Paula Annunziato, a senior vice president at Merck (NSE:PROR), served as an industry representative on FDA’s vaccines and related biological products advisory committee in 2023.
The Trump administration has recently undertaken mass firings at the FDA, removing employees critical to the review of new medicines, reversing years of progress aimed at accelerating the delivery of promising treatments to patients, Reuters reported earlier this month.
