News Tagged ‘Government Accountability Office’

Obama’s pick for FDA commissioner wants to restore trust in agency

President Barack Obama’s top pick for Food and Drug Administration () commissioner, Bioterrorsim expert and former New York City health commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg, says that she wants to restore public confidence in the , according to Boston.com.

She already has Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s support. “Her expertise is valuable for problems we now face, such as combating food-borne illness, cooperating with other agencies to address the new flu outbreak and drug-resistant diseases, and protecting our food and drug supplies,” Sen. Kennedy said in a statement for the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing.

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FDA knew of tainted syringes two years before inspecting plant

The received reports of about debris in syringes filled with heparin and saline distributed by AM2PAT as early as 2005, yet the agency didn’t follow up on those complaints until 2007, after five deaths and hundreds of illnesses were linked to the contaminated syringes, according to the Associated Press.

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FDA commissioner announces plans to resign next month

The Associated Press reported today that Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach will resign from his post effective Jan. 20, the same day president-elect Barack Obama takes office.

Von Eschenbach was appointed by President Bush in 2005 after the agency’s previous commissioner resigned due to ethical issues, the AP reports. While under von Eschenbach’s helm, the has undergone scrutiny by Congress and consumer groups over issues such as the tainted heparin scandal earlier this year.

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Congressman questions FDA’s slow action on heparin seizure

A Texas congressman is questioning why the waited six months to seize lots of contaminated heparin from an Ohio company, according to CNN Money.

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FDA inspections of foreign drug facilities could take years

This year’s contaminated heparin scare that seriously harmed hundreds of Americans has taught us one thing – we need a better system of ensuring that drugs manufactured in foreign markets are safe for Americans.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced that it will place more than 60 food and drug regulators worldwide over the next year to inspect foreign drug manufacturing plants.

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