A key lab that oversees US pharmaceutical safety is in limbo due to cuts from the Department of Government Efficiency this week, raising questions about the fate of the lab and the new administration’s approach to expensive but crucial research that aims to keep America’s product supply safe.
The lab’s workers said they were notified Wednesday that the facility wouldn’t be closed, but the lab remains on the government’s target list. Scientists said higher-ups with knowledge of the lab’s work have advocated to keep the lab open, people familiar with the situation said.
Elon Musk’s DOGE had planned to end the lease on the US Food and Drug Administration’s key testing lab in St. Louis, Missouri, according to a list of targeted leases on DOGE’s savings website. The lab employs about 70 researchers who both respond to public health emergencies and monitor the quality of the nation’s drug supply, according to FDA scientists who asked to remain anonymous because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. The lab also does research that helps bring affordable generic drugs to market.
Aiming to eliminate wasteful spending and backed by President Donald Trump, DOGE has fired thousands of workers across numerous federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Some of these workers have subsequently gotten their jobs back. Critics say that the cuts have induced chaos throughout the government, putting the welfare of Americans at risk.
With assistance from Gregory Korte and Rachel Cohrs Zhang.
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