Hinchey presses FDA
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) will use an upcoming hearing on FDA's budget request to pose questions about conflicts of interest to Acting Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach, Hinchey's office says. Von Eschenbach is scheduled to discuss FDA's budget request for fiscal 2007 at a Feb. 16 hearing held by the Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA & Related Agencies. Hinchey says his questions will center on "von Eschenbach's own conflict as NCI Director," FDA's recently restated policy of preemption and the agency's "cozy relationship" with the drug industry. The congressman has campaigned to prevent scientists and doctors with conflicts of interest from participating on FDA committees. In September, he requested that the HHS Office of the Inspector General review the resignation of former FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford (1"The Tan Sheet" Oct. 31, 2005, In Brief)...