US FDA's Gottlieb Wants Safety Built Into New Medtech Products, But Budget Will Be Cut To Surveil Older Ones

Executive Summary

President Trump's proposed budget cuts to the agency's post-market surveillance programs means that more "faulty" devices, such as St. Jude defibrillators and Bayer HealthCare's Essure birth control coils, will cause harm rather than be recalled, Rep. Rosa DeLauro said at a May 25 House Ag/FDA subpanel hearing. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told DeLauro the agency needs to supply "the right tools" to firms during device development so similarly flawed devices aren't put on the market, and he noted that the lifting of a hiring freeze at the agency earlier in the day would free the agency to work harder on such issues.