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# Gottlieb Visits FDA Staff in Puerto Rico
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/gottlieb-visits-fda-staff-in-puerto-rico/
- Published: 2017-10-02T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T22:53:35.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: FDA Policy/General, #legacy-id-D5139758

FDA commissioner **Scott Gottlieb** flew to Puerto Rico 9/29 to see firsthand the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria. Earlier in the week, the agency deployed additional staff to Puerto Rico to work with pharmaceutical and device companies to prevent shortages of medically necessary drugs and devices, as well as assist with public health needs after the storm decimated the island. “The agency stands ready to support the federal government’s overall response in whatever way we can — be it providing support through our U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officers, or FDA’s civilians who have volunteered to support the efforts led by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA),” Gottlieb is quoted in a [release](https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm577112.htm?ref=fdaweb.com) as saying.

His trip was part of a delegation led by acting secretary of Homeland Security **Elaine Duke**. He spent time being briefed by FDA’s team in San Juan. He also delivered to staff some “critical communications supplies and other equipment,” an agency spokeswoman told ***FDA Webview***.

FDA is tracking 40 high-priority drugs that are deemed essential and could run short nationally if hurricane-caused disruptions in manufacturing and distribution continue in Puerto Rico, the commissioner told the [*Washington Post*](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=newssearch&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjWjaCQ-9LWAhUm7oMKHdf4A1cQqQIIOSgAMAI&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fnews%2Fto-your-health%2Fwp%2F2017%2F09%2F29%2Ffda-industry-step-up-efforts-to-avert-drug-shortages-after-puerto-rico-hurricane%2F&usg=AOvVaw0X7%5Fj6Gn0TEDpIyrHX%5FljG). “It’s a serious situation,” Gottlieb said in an interview before leaving. Should facilities not resume normal operations soon, “there's a potential for shortages in critical products.” The agency has declined to name the specific drugs.

Most of the pharmaceutical facilities on the island are operating at a reduced capacity, according to the *Post*. While many plants were not seriously damaged and still have the ability to refrigerate their products, their back-up power is provided by diesel-fueled generators. And many industry employees are struggling with the disaster’s effects on their families and homes, and they are having difficulties getting to work, the paper notes.