FDA hires industry critic, House veterans

FDA announced the appointment of an industry critic, Peter Lurie, deputy director of Public Citizen's health research group, to serve in the agency's Office of Policy. Lurie will help "develop strategies to facilitate medical product availability to meet critical public health needs," according to an FDA memo. At Public Citizen, Lurie has called for elimination of PDUFA, calling it a "clear conflict of interest that favors drug approval at the expense of public safety," and advocated instituting a comparative safety or efficacy requirement for new drugs. ...