GRASSLEY: FDA MUST ELABORATE ON INDUSTRY INVESTIGATION OF SCIENTIST
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is calling on the FDA to provide more details about its decision to remove an agency scientist as a presenter at an advisory committee meeting after what he claims is industry intervention.
The senator is following up on his earlier requests that the agency explain its decision to remove one of its scientists after a company presented evidence of possible conflicts of interest. Grassley had alleged that the FDA decision served as an example of an agency that was too close to industry, using the incident to call for changes in FDA leadership.
Then-acting FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford met with Wyeth CEO Robert Essner in 2004 to address the company's concerns that an agency reviewer that had criticized one of its veterinary medicines had personal and financial conflicts of interest, according to Grassley. The senator had alleged that Wyeth conducted its own investigation to discredit the staffer.
After the meeting, Crawford reassigned the staffer, Victoria Hampshire, and launched a criminal investigation against her. That investigation turned up no evidence of wrongdoing, according to Grassley.
The senator had asked the FDA for details about the meeting, but found the agency's response to be incomplete. "While some of my requests have been met, others remain outstanding or were addressed in a manner that requires further clarification," Grassley said in an Oct. 25 letter to the agency.