About 20 people working on medicine devices at Food and Drug Administration dismissed amid government purgeUS Food and Drug Administration employees reviewing Elon Musk’s brain implant company Neuralink were fired over the weekend as part of a broader purge of the federal workforce, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter.The cuts included about 20 people in the FDA’s office of neurological and physical medicine devices, several of whom worked on Neuralink, according to the two sources, who asked not to be identified because of fear of professional repercussions. That division includes reviewers overseeing clinical-trial applications by Neuralink and other companies making so-called brain-computer interface devices, the sources said. Continue reading...
FDA staff reviewing Elon Musk's Neuralink, a brain implant company, were among those fired as part of a broader federal workforce reduction under the Trump administration. Approximately 20 employees from the FDA's office of neurological and physical medicine devices, including those involved with Neuralink, were dismissed. The firings were not specifically targeting Neuralink-related work, though they may hinder the FDA's ability to process medical device applications, including Neuralink's. The dismissals cited performance issues despite prior positive evaluations, and supervisors were not consulted beforehand. Neuralink is testing a device enabling paralyzed individuals to control digital devices with their thoughts, with the FDA providing a designation to expedite its development. The FDA, White House, and Musk have not responded to the matter.
