“The designation of who’s an independent contractor can change state by state,” Ebner, who heads Staff Care, said in an interview. “[The bill] removes ambiguity, which would be positive.”
Influence with the FDA
Ad Statistics
Times Displayed: 57652
Times Visited: 1710 Ampronix, a Top Master Distributor for Sony Medical, provides Sales, Service & Exchanges for Sony Surgical Displays, Printers, & More. Rely on Us for Expert Support Tailored to Your Needs. Email info@ampronix.com or Call 949-273-8000 for Premier Pricing.
If confirmed as HHS secretary, Price would oversee many of the rules and regulations and bottlenecks that regularly draw howls from the medical industry. He would also have authority over the FDA, which regulates pharmaceuticals. The agency may soon have purview over a company that Price has personally invested in.
The Australian firm Innate Immunotherapeutics reported in an annual report that it plans to bring its key Multiple Sclerosis drug to the FDA for approval. Several months ago, Price purchased between $50,000 and $100,000 worth of stock in the company, according to a routine
financial disclosure required of Congress members.
The FDA is also currently mulling another regulatory issue that could make or break the company of a top contributor. Parker H. “Pete” Petit, along with his family, has contributed $35,900 to Price’s campaign and leadership PAC since 2010. Petit also was finance chair for Trump in Georgia and, with his family, contributed $125,000 to the president-elect’s PAC.
Petit is the CEO of MiMedx, a Georgia biotech firm in Price’s district, which has contested a decision from the FDA on some products to aid wound healing.
In August 2013, the FDA concluded in a
letter that the products, which consist of discarded placentas and amniotic fluid, should be regulated since their manufacturing constituted manipulating human tissue. The FDA letter sent MiMedx stock tumbling and spurred a securities lawsuit filed in federal court in Georgia. The case accused MiMedx of misleading investors by downplaying the gravity of the FDA’s scrutiny. A nearly $3 million settlement was reached in April.
Petit has acknowledged seeking congressional help on the issue, without being specific. The FDA said it couldn’t comment on the matter. MiMedx did not return calls.
Elizabeth Lucas contributed to this report.
Kaiser Health News, a nonprofit health newsroom whose stories appear in news outlets nationwide, is an editorially independent part of the Kaiser Family Foundation. Their Repeal and Replace blog is on Twitter @Repeal_Replace.Back to HCB News
