Sen. DeMint pledges to hold Von Eschenbach's FDA Commissioner nomination unless steps taken to take Mifeprex off market

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) plans to place a hold on President Bush's nomination of acting FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach to permanently head the agency unless "immediate steps" are taken to remove Danco Laboratories' medical abortion drug Mifeprex from the market, DeMint press secretary Wesley Denton said recently, the New York Times reports (Harris, New York Times, 9/15).

FDA in 2000 approved the sale of Mifeprex -- known generically as mifepristone -- to be used with misoprostol to induce a medical abortion, and more than 575,000 women have taken the drug since its approval, according to the National Abortion Federation. Experts in May called for more research into the causes of infection from the rare and potentially fatal bacterium Clostridium sordellii and other bacteria in women who were pregnant, some of whom took medical abortion drugs(Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 5/12).

Senators Promise Holds

"Sen. DeMint believes that a qualified FDA nominee would publicly discourage [Mifeprex's] use and take immediate steps to remove it from the market," Denton said, adding, "We've reached a breaking point here, and the senator's not going to budge until they wake up over at FDA." The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on Wednesday is expected to approve von Eschenbach's nomination, but any senator can place a hold on full Senate consideration of such nominations. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) also has said he would place a hold on the nomination until the Bush administration allows U.S. residents to purchase U.S.- made prescription drugs from abroad. According to the Times, FDA is unlikely to make any "substantive moves" in regard to either DeMint's or Vitter's requests. Susan Bro, senior communications adviser at FDA, said, "We're certain both the Senate and FDA are in mutual agreement that what's critical to ensuring the best interest of all Americans is permanent leadership at the FDA" (New York Times, 9/15).