"WASHINGTON — When the Food and Drug Administration needs outside guidance, it normally turns to a trusted source: a large roster of expert advisers who are carefully vetted for their independence, credentials and judgment.
But increasingly, the agency isn’t calling them.
Instead, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary has launched a series of ad hoc 'expert panels' to discuss antidepressants, menopause drugs and other topics with physicians and researchers who often have contrarian views and financial interests in the subjects.
Former agency officials worry the meetings are skirting federal rules on conflicts of interests and transparency, while promoting fringe viewpoints that align with those of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“These meetings are a chance to advance RFK’s pet peeves — talc, antidepressants, fluoride — with people who have been handpicked,” said Dr. Peter Lurie, a former FDA official who is now president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. “Nobody would put forward these panels as representing the general scientific opinion on these topics.”"
Matthew Perrone reports for the Associated Press August 18, 2025.
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