FDA adds peptide-focused physicians to advisory panel, raising conflict-of-interest concerns

The FDA announced eight new members for a committee that will advise on whether compounding pharmacies can produce certain peptides.

Most of the appointees are physicians or pharmacists who run businesses that promote and prescribe these peptides, creating potential conflicts of interest.

Among the new members is Tennessee state senator Bobby Harshbarger, a pharmacist whose mother, Rep. Diana Harshbarger, has publicly urged the agency to loosen peptide regulations.

The panel’s upcoming deliberations could lead to relaxed rules that would benefit the panelists’ own businesses, prompting ethics concerns among observers.