The FDA is facing significant disruptions in its inspections and investigations office following the recent layoffs of around 170 staff members. While agency leaders insist that critical inspections will proceed, routine surveillance audits will likely be reduced in favor of more urgent inspections related to safety risks. The elimination of the travel operations division is a key factor affecting the agency's ability to carry out inspections, particularly those involving overseas operations. The FDA is now tasked with reprioritizing its workload amidst these cutbacks.
These administrative functions are being streamlined as part of HHS' transformation initiative to make the agency more efficient and responsive. FDA inspectors were not impacted and this critical work will continue.
The inspections and investigations office will now need to work with FDA's drug, device, and centers to reprioritize their workload for the rest of the year, one official said.
One of the biggest immediate impacts on the agency's inspectors stems from the elimination of the office's travel operations division, one official said.
That will mean trimming routine 'surveillance inspections' for more urgent tasks.
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