AP Wire
  • Updated

The Food and Drug Administration is reviewing a request for new warnings on antidepressant drugs, and that's presenting an unusual conflict of interest at the agency. The researcher asking for the warning is a close friend of the FDA’s top drug official. The Associated Press has learned that Dr. Tracy Beth Hoeg is overseeing the FDA's review of the petition by Dr. Adam Urato while also seeking to hire Urato at the agency. Under normal FDA standards, Hoeg would step aside from any work on the petition. But instead she's told FDA workers that they need to speed up their review of Urato's request.