Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick Questions FDA about Essure Reporting Changes

There have been some unique and inexplicable changes in adverse event reporting regarding Bayer’s “permanent” birth control device, Essure. The changes began July 17, 2015 after the agency announced its review of Essure’s safety and efficacy. In a recent letter, Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick questions FDA about Essure reporting changes.

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There have been some unique and inexplicable changes in adverse event reporting regarding Bayer’s “permanent” birth control device, Essure. The changes began July 17, 2015 after the agency announced its review of Essure’s safety and efficacy. In a recent letter, Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick questions FDA about Essure reporting changes.

Rep. Fitzpatrick (R-PA) has been a staunch opponent of the Essure device for some time now. He’s even introduced legislation, the E-Free Act, which would revoke the pre-market approval the FDA granted Bayer (the PMA status prevents injured patients from suing for damages) and remove the product from the market. His motivation is clear: the device is unsafe and has already caused injury to well over 27,000 women in the U.S. alone.

The letter is reproduced in its entirety below. One certainly hopes the FDA takes it seriously and answers the questions.

Rep. Fitzpatrick’s Letter

“Dear Dr. Shuren,

Information has been brought to my attention that shows a dramatic change in how Adverse Event Reports relating to the permanent sterilization device Essure were submitted to the FDA coinciding with the agency’s announcement that it was reviewing the safety of the device.

As you know, when a manufacturer submits an Adverse Event Report to the FDA one of the data fields to be filled is “Reporter Occupation.” Examples of how that field can be coded by the manufacturer include “Physician,” “Health Professional,” “Nurse,” “Pharmacist,” “Paramedic,” “Risk Manager,” and “Other.”

As it relates to Essure, from January 2002 through June 2015, the manufacturer of the device submitted nearly 600 Adverse Event Reports in which the “Reporter Occupation” field was coded as “Physician.” This corresponds to the narrative information included in the report in which it clearly states the information in the report came from a medical doctor, a Gynecologist/ Obstetrician, a physician, or other similar term.

However, this coding changed dramatically in July 2015. I find this extremely concerning given the fact that on July 17, 2015, the FDA announced it was reviewing the safety and effectiveness of the Essure device.

After the FDA’s public announcement, Adverse Event Reports received by the agency from the manufacturer of Essure no longer coded reports from medical doctors as Physician reports.

Instead, almost every report received from a physician between August 2015 and February 2016 listed the Reporter Occupation field as “Other.” This is a clear change from how the manufacturer coded prior to FDA’s announcement despite the same keywords, like medical doctor or Ob/Gyn, being found in the narrative portion of the reports. A similar change was noted in reports received from nurses.

I respectfully request the FDA to review the Adverse Event Reports from physicians and provide answers the following questions:

1. Did the FDA request the manufacturer to change how it was coding physician reports?
2. If the FDA did not request this change, is there a legitimate basis by which a manufacturer would suddenly change how they code reports from medical doctors and Ob/Gyns and code the occupation as “Other” instead of as “Physician”?
3. Was the FDA aware of this change?
4. Did the manufacturer of Essure notify the FDA it was changing how it reported the Report Occupation field within the Adverse Event Reports?
5. Was the FDA aware of this change prior to the September 24, 2015 Advisory Committee meeting related to Essure?
6. Does the FDA review Adverse Event Reports with the Reporter Occupation field coded as “Physician” differently than reports coded as “Other?” Are “Physician” reports given more weight when FDA is reviewing Adverse Event Reports than reports coded as “Other?” If so, please describe the differences in how the FDA reviews a report received from a physician compared to other types of reports.
7. If the FDA were to generate a list of Adverse Event Reports received from “Physicians” about Essure, would reports coded as “Other” be included? If the Reporter Occupation is listed as “Other,” does the FDA conduct additional analysis of the narrative portion of the report to determine if the report came from a medical doctor?
8. Is it illegal for a manufacturer to knowingly manipulate data listed on an Adverse Event Report?
9. What are the penalties for knowingly submitting false information to the FDA in an Adverse Event Report?
10. Has the FDA ever held a manufacturer accountable for falsifying or intentionally miscoding information submitted in an Adverse Event Report?

I appreciate your prompt attention to this request. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Justin Rusk on my staff.

Sincerely,

Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick”

Source:

Fitzpatrick Questions FDA About Essure Reporting