Cuts at the FDA are slowing inspections of overseas drug manufacturers, prompting concerns from former and current employees that medication safety could be at risk, ProPublica reported July 7.
Dozens of individuals who help coordinate the travel for complex inspections of foreign drugmaking factories have been let go, and though some have been rehired, inspectors told the news outlet the strain has exhausted staff and could compromise the safety of medications used by millions.
“It’s difficult to get inspections done,” one investigator who wanted to remain anonymous told ProPublica. “The pace has slowed down. You can’t inspect as many sites.”
In April, more than FDA 3,500 employees were fired under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; that figure equates to a 15% reduction in staff.
During this time, the agency said staff reductions would not impact inspectors. “To be clear, FDA inspectors were not impacted, and this critical work continues,” the agency stated.
Between 2022 and 2024, the agency hired 105 inspectors, but about the same number of inspectors left, leaving the FDA inspection pool with around 230 employees, according to the Government Accountability Office. Two inspectors said the FDA needs up to 200 additional inspectors to properly conduct required inspections.
Before the layoffs, the FDA’s investigative force struggled to monitor drugmaking factories in countries including India and China, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Things will be missed,” former FDA inspector Patrick Stone told the news outlet regarding the layoffs. “We are going to have a lot less safe drugs.”
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