The US Food and Drug Administration’s imminent action on Biogen Pharma and Eisai Co., Ltd.’s Alzheimer’s drug aducanumab is bound to be controversial, regardless of whether the agency approves the biologics license application or issues a complete response letter.
US FDA’s Most Controversial Drug Approval Decisions, From A To Z
With action imminent on Biogen’s Alzheimer’s drug aducanumab, the Pink Sheet looks back at 10 of FDA’s most controversial drug approval decisions, from Addyi to Zohydro.

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Mass FDA layoffs on 1 April were designed to spare product reviewers, but still touched many who are critical to the application review process or drug development, which could mean fewer treatments are brought to the US market first.
FDA Commissioner Martin Makary was sworn in Friday and knew of the plan that ultimately lead to CBER director Peter Marks' resignation on 28 March.
In his resignation letter, the CBER director said he was willing to work with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to address concerns about vaccine safety, but "it has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the secretary."
The April departures of Paul Kluetz and Marc Theoret follow resignations by other senior agency scientific staff and come on top of HHS’ plans to lay off 3,500 FDA employees.
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The April departures of Paul Kluetz and Marc Theoret follow resignations by other senior agency scientific staff and come on top of HHS’ plans to lay off 3,500 FDA employees.
About 3,500 full-time FDA employees are expected to be laid off as part of a restructuring of the Health and Human Services Department and experts questioned whether the cuts could be implemented without harming FDA’s core mission.
The General Services Administration’s updated list of “assets identified for accelerated disposition” does not include any buildings at the agency’s headquarters in White Oak, MD after its original list of “non-core” government properties for disposal had more than half the buildings on campus.