The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has begun asking some of its recently dismissed staff responsible for pharmaceutical user fee negotiations to return to their positions, according to three sources familiar with the matter. This move comes after widespread concerns that the mass layoffs would severely disrupt the agency's drug review process and critical funding mechanisms.
Critical Funding Negotiations at Risk
The staff being invited back play a vital role in renewing the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) and Generic Drug User Fee Amendments (GDUFA) programs, which are set to expire in September 2027. These programs are fundamental to the FDA's operations, with user fees from pharmaceutical companies funding approximately 70% of the agency's drug review budget—amounting to about $1.4 billion in fiscal year 2024 for brand-name drug reviews alone.
According to sources close to the matter, at least one senior negotiator and nine additional support staff have been asked to return to their positions. The affected employees were reportedly contacted on or after Friday and given the option to return or voluntarily resign. At least one negotiator plans to return, though it remains unclear how many others will accept the offer.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which now handles media inquiries for the FDA, attributed any errors related to the layoffs to "inaccurate data collected by human resources divisions across the department."
Disruption to Drug Review Timelines
Industry experts had warned that the dismissal of most negotiators and their project managers had thrown into disarray the complex process of reauthorizing the user fee agreements. Under the current agreements, the FDA commits to completing new drug approval reviews within specific timeframes—either 10 months for standard applications or six months for priority applications.
The mass firings in April had already begun to disrupt reviews of new medicines, according to FDA sources. The dismissed staff were ordered to stop working immediately with no opportunity to transfer their knowledge or materials to colleagues, creating significant operational gaps.
Scheduled Public Meetings in Jeopardy
The fired staff were also responsible for organizing legally required public meetings that must precede formal negotiations for agreement renewals. The meeting for generic drugs was scheduled for June, with the prescription drug meeting set for July. These day-long sessions typically draw hundreds of participants from pharmaceutical companies, trade groups, patient advocates, and the public who provide input on priority topics for the reauthorized agreements.
The dismissals had also halted work on required reports to Congress, such as the annual PDUFA Performance Report, as the staff responsible for monitoring the FDA's progress on commitments under the current user fee programs were among those terminated.
Industry and Expert Concerns
Approximately 200 biotech companies expressed their concerns in a letter to Congress last month, specifically requesting the return of several staff members, including user fee negotiators.
"You can always find a warm body to get into a room with biotech and pharma, but they will get their lunch eaten," said Paul Kim, a health policy lawyer who worked at the FDA to draft the first user fee agreement in 1992 and has been involved with every subsequent renewal.
Janet Woodcock, who served as Principal Deputy FDA Commissioner before retiring last year, noted: "There are no people at the FDA now doing overall tracking and reporting on whether the agency is meeting its required comments under PDUFA and GDUFA. These programs have been hobbled by losing all of their support staff. They are what enable the system to bring safe and effective medicines to the American public."
Broader Context of FDA Restructuring
This rehiring effort marks the second time this year that the FDA has sought the return of fired employees. The agency previously rehired some scientists in February following an earlier round of layoffs.
The recent mass firings at the FDA were part of a broader restructuring of U.S. health agencies directed by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in March. Kennedy ordered the FDA to fire 3,500 employees, while HHS has reported that 20,000 employees have left the agency through layoffs, buyouts, and early retirement offers, a process reportedly spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.
While Kennedy has stated that the cuts are necessary to reduce bureaucracy and improve efficiency at the regulator, the rapid reversal on some key positions suggests the restructuring may have been implemented without fully accounting for the critical functions performed by certain staff members.
As the FDA works to rebuild its negotiation teams, questions remain about how the agency will maintain its regulatory commitments and prepare for the complex user fee reauthorization process that is essential to its continued operation and the timely review of potentially life-saving medications.
