FDA Emergency Use Authorizations and public trust for COVID-19 treatments

By NCL Director of Health Policy Jeanette Contreras

There has never been a more critical time for consumers to have confidence in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA is charged with ensuring the safety, efficacy, and security of the drugs, biologic products, and medical devices needed to treat and prevent the spread of COVID-19. The agency has undergone scrutiny from the scientific community for issuing Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for COVID-19 treatments and diagnostics that appeared to be politically motivated.

On August 23, the FDA issued an EUA for the use of an investigational convalescent plasma to treat patients with COVID-19, touting it as yet another achievement in the Administration’s fight against the pandemic. After just two days of backlash from the scientific community, FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn, took to Twitter to concede his mistake, admitting that the criticism was justified. Commissioner Hahn stated that the EUA is not the final FDA approval and that the agency would revoke authorization if needed. Criticism included former FDA Commissioners who stand by randomized clinical trial as the gold standard for evidence-based medicine.

This renowned round of criticism has come not long after the FDA provided EUA for hydroxychloroquine in March which it revoked in July after further review proved that it lacked efficacy.

The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act provides the FDA Commissioner with the authority to issue EUAs for unapproved medical products or unapproved uses of medical products in response to a public health emergency, such as the current pandemic. An EUA can be revoked when new evidence emerges and the risk no longer outweighs the benefit of the unapproved use of a drug or product, yet the Trump Administration claimed that it was revoked due to political reasons.

Since February, when the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) declared the pandemic a public health emergency, the FDA has exercised its authority to issue hundreds of EUAs for diagnostic tests, personal protective equipment, ventilators, and other medical devices to combat COVID-19. In August alone, the FDA revoked EUAs for over 100 diagnostic tests, including antibody and rapid tests. The FDA recognizes that EUA is not intended to replace randomized clinical trials and that clinical trials are critically important for the definitive demonstration of safety and efficacy of a drug, treatment, or product.

Throughout the pandemic, consumers have received conflicting information from the Administration on various COVID-19 treatments, testing products, and safety recommendations. After witnessing the media controversy over EUAs for hydroxychloroquine and convalescent plasma, we are concerned that consumers may believe that the FDA is hastily approving investigational tests and drugs for political gain. The FDA, now more than ever, needs to reestablish public trust as it proceeds to fast track the approval of a COVID-19 vaccine.