Margaret Hamburg

6 Stories

FDA Cracks Down on Arsenic in Apple Juice

Must meet standards for drinking water

(Newser) - Warnings of low levels of arsenic in apple juice have parents worried, but the FDA is taking action. Though the agency has insisted the amounts found in the juice aren't hazardous, it will now require that arsenic levels in apple juice be no higher than those allowed in drinking...

Pharmacy Chief in Meningitis Outbreak Takes the Fifth

Barry Cadden sheds no light on what happened

(Newser) - The co-owner and chief pharmacist of the company linked to the meningitis outbreak arrived on Capitol Hill today for a grilling armed with lawyers and an index card. And when House lawmakers asked Barry Cadden of the New England Compounding Center things like what happened or what he might say...

Feds: No Morning-After Pill for Young Teens Without Rx

Health chief overrules FDA, forbids over-the-counter sales to girls

(Newser) - The federal government is split on the "morning after pill," with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today overruling the FDA's decision to make Plan B available to even young teenagers without a prescription. The drug's maker requested the change in February, and though FDA...

FDA Drops Approval of Avastin for Breast Cancer

Drug lacks benefits, but side effects are 'life-threatening': commissioner

(Newser) - The Food and Drug Administration has reversed its approval of Avastin as a treatment for breast cancer, long the subject of controversy. The agency’s commissioner said the drug didn't help patients but could hurt them, the New York Times reports. “This was a difficult decision,” says...

Obama Promises Food-Safety Overhaul

Cites 'public health hazard,' names FDA picks

(Newser) - President Obama announced a food-safety overhaul in his weekly radio address today, describing a new panel that will review the issue and naming his choices for FDA heads, the New York Times reports. “In the end, food safety is something I take seriously, not just as your president, but...

Ex-NYC Health Chief Picked to Head FDA

Bioterror expert tapped for tough task of reforming agency

(Newser) - Bioterror expert and former New York City health commissioner Margaret Hamburg has been picked to head the FDA, insiders tell the Washington Post. Hamburg—who still must be confirmed by Congress—will be taking charge of an agency shaken by a series of high-profile failures that many lawmakers say is...

6 Stories
Most Read on Newser