Bradley Merrill Thompson, a Member of the Firm in the Health Care and Life Sciences practice, in the firm’s Washington, DC, office, was quoted in the Bloomberg BNA Health Care Daily Report, in “Hiring Freeze May Hurt FDA User Fee Programs, Democrats Say,” by Bronwyn Mixter. (Read the full version – subscription required.)

Following is an excerpt:

Bradley Merrill Thompson, a Washington-based attorney with Epstein Becker & Green PC, told Bloomberg BNA in a Jan. 31 e-mail “the president has a legitimate concern about the size of the federal government.” Thompson counsels medical device, drug, and combination product companies on a wide range of FDA issues.

“Issuing an order saying that there will be no additional hiring for a period of 90 days, to give OMB a chance to come up with a more permanent plan seems like a reasonable approach. It is unlikely that a 90 day freeze, in and of itself, will destroy the ability of the FDA to do what it needs to do,” Thompson said.

Thompson said he assumes that during the 90 days “FDA leadership will work with OMB to identify areas where the agency needs to grow to meet growing demand; in particular, places authorized for hiring based on recent legislation or the anticipated user fees. And I suspect OMB will have no problem authorizing that required growth.”

“But at the same time, FDA will need to take a careful look at itself to make sure that it is being as efficient as possible,” Thompson said. “That's a healthy process for any institution to go through. Companies do that all the time. So while the questions that the congressional letter asks are legitimate questions, these issues don't cause me to panic. It will all get worked out over time.”

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