Despite a request by a fellow committee member to postpone a hearing into the Johnson & Johnson recall scandal, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform chair Edolphus Towns, a New York Democrat, is proceeding with plans to hold the session this coming Thursday, May 27.
You may recall earlier this week that Darrell Issa, the committee’s ranking member and a California Republican, asked Towns for a postponement because J&J ceo Bill Weldon is unable to atttend - he underwent back surgery the other day - and the FDA, meanwhile, has not yet completed its inspections of McNeil Consumer Healthcare facilities. J&J’s McNeil unit was cited for quality-control problems that affected about 40 over-the-counter meds for infants and children, and failed to properly follow up complaints that certain batches of its Tylenol Arthritis Relief Caplets had a musty smell .
In arguing for a postponement, Issa wrote Towns; “It is my opinion that Mr. Weldon’s presence at this hearing is of the utmost importance, if for no other purpose than to restore brand confidence. According to credible sources, the McNeil manufacturing facilties presently under investigation may be ‘out of control’ and not following internal standard operating procedures, mess less FDA regulations. The parent company must be held accountable for the actions of its subsidiary and the only way to achieve this is by Mr. Weldon’s appearance before our committee.”
Towns, however, appears to believe that it’s best to strike while the iron is hot. And so he accepted a substitute for Weldon - Colleen Giggins, who heads J&J’s worldwide consumer healthcare business. The other person who was invited to testify is Josh Sharfstein, the FDA deputy commish. Towns had previously invited FDA commish Margaret Hamburg, and there was no reason given for the switch.
Source: Pharmalot.com
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment