FDA Retreats From Earlier Advocacy of COI Rule Changes
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg retreated from her earlier advocacy of changing conflict-of-interest (COI) rules at a House Appropriations Committee hearing 1 February, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN).
"We don't, at the moment, see major areas where a legislative fix is required," said Hamburg.
The remarks were seemingly in contrast to remarks made July 2011 before the public advocacy group Public Citizen, when Hamburg said that "we have to be sure that FDA has subject-matter experts that we need for our important decision making."
The change in stance could be in response to decreased vacancies on Federal Advisory Committee panels. GEN reports that vacancies on the panels have fallen from 25% in January 2011 to just 19% in October 2011, though FDA has a goal of just 10%.
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GEN - FDA Backtracks on Conflict-of-Interest Rule Changes for Advisory Panel Members