FDA Policy/General

Grassley Wants Presidential Ceremony for Whistleblowers

Sen. Chuck Grassley(R-IA) is calling on President Donald Trump to stage a Rose Garden ceremony at the White House to honor whistleblowers. In a 2/8 letter, Grassley says that whistleblowers have been trying to “drain the swamp” in Washington since the nation’s founding.

“Whistleblowers are brave, patriotic people who tell the truth about what is going on in our government,” Grassley writes. “They help us identify waste, fraud, and abuse in the vast and unwieldy federal bureaucracy.”

He says the Obama administration prosecuted more whistleblowers than any previous administration and operated what the media described as the least transparent administration in history. “The time is ripe to finally recognize the immeasurable value that whistleblowers bring to our democracy,” Grassley says. “I have asked every president since Ronald Reagan to hold a Rose Garden ceremony honoring whistleblowers. No president has yet done so. I hope you will be the first.”

Grassley writes that holding such a ceremony “would send a loud and clear signal from the very top of government through the very bowels of the unelected bureaucracy that your administration will not tolerate waste, fraud, and abuse. It would give confidence to those with knowledge of serious problems to step up and help you make change.”

Gupta Raises Concerns About Overton’s Independence, Ideology

FDA commissioner nominee Heidi Overton’s responses on vaccines, contraception and abortion medication during her 9/24 Senate confirmation hearing raise concerns that ideology could influence her decision-making if she takes over the agency, MSNBC senior medical analyst Dr. Vin Gupta said Friday. Gupta was particularly critical of Overton’

Overton Confirmation Remains Uncertain After Senate Hearing

FDA commissioner nominee Heidi Overton emerged from her Senate confirmation hearing Thursday (see earlier story) without resolving questions about whether she has enough Republican support to advance — and with a rapidly narrowing window for confirmation before the midterm elections. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing provided few

FDA Classifies Boston Scientific Imager II Catheter Recall as Class I

FDA has classified Boston Scientific's recall of its Imager II Angiographic Catheters as Class I because a manufacturing problem could cause catheter tips to degrade and detach, potentially resulting in life-threatening complications. The agency announced the Class I classification 9/25, updating an Early Alert it issued

FDA Approves Gazyva for Childhood-Onset Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome

FDA has approved Roche’s Gazyva (obinutuzumab) for reducing the risk of relapse in adults and children aged 2 and older with frequently relapsing or steroid-dependent, childhood-onset idiopathic nephrotic syndrome who are in remission. The expanded approval covers the use of the CD20-directed antibody beyond its existing

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Gupta Raises Concerns About Overton’s Independence, Ideology

Overton Confirmation Remains Uncertain After Senate Hearing

FDA Classifies Boston Scientific Imager II Catheter Recall as Class I

FDA Approves Gazyva for Childhood-Onset Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome