FDA Seeks Staff Volunteers to Replace Recently Laid-Off Workers

The FDA’s drug center is asking its staff for volunteers to help out with contract and acquisition requests after the health department laid off employees responsible for those tasks, according to an email obtained by Bloomberg Law.

The email was sent to certain drug reviewers in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, looking to identify employees that are active contracting officer representatives. The assistance would help “triage contracting and acquisition requests,” the email said.

The FDA’s contracts and acquisitions staff helps oversee relationships with vendors and partners and ensure cost-effective procurement.

Contracting officer representatives are responsible for the timely review and setup of services for drug reviewers to ensure they have the resources to do their job. They also invoice for services provided and check deliverables from contracts.

The call for help comes after the US Department of Health and Human Services executed massive layoffs April 1 across federal health agencies, aiming to drastically reduce the size of its workforce.

The cuts targeted 3,500 employees at the FDA and broadly hit staff working in program management, human resources, technology, policy, communications, and other administrative areas.

Other cuts at CDER included its ombuds office, which investigates complaints and disputes between reviewers and the drug industry.

Employees willing to help out with contracts and acquisitions were asked to respond to the email by the end of Thursday.

The HHS did not immediately respond to request for comment.