Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) sent the letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The letter requests an update to a 2011 GAO report entitled “Medical Devices: FDA Should Enhance Its Oversight of Recalls.”
Durbin and Blumenthal’s scrutiny of FDA oversight comes in the wake of several developments in Philips’ respiratory device recall.
Since mid-2021, more than 5 million Philips Respironics devices have been recalled due to dangerous degradation of sound abatement foam. At least 385 deaths have been reported in connection with the foam-related recall.
While the company continues to work though its remediation process, mor…