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Internal FDA records obtained by CNBC show 31 agency staffers traveled to Singapore in mid-November for a conference of the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use, or ICH — a trip that cost more than a quarter of a million dollars, or upward of $8,000 per person, according to the documents. The travel was approved when the agency was operating with reduced staffing and limited resources in part due to the shutdown.
The FDA attendees at the Singapore conference ranged from deputy directors to a program coordinator, records show.
The FDA said in a statement to CNBC that sending staffers to the meeting was “mission critical” and that the purpose of the conference was to “support global alignment on drug development, approval standards, and regulatory science.” A spokesperson for the agency said the conference required approval from leadership, including the FDA’s chief operating officer, Barclay Butler. Attendance by FDA delegates in the prior two years ranged from 47 to 49, the spokesperson said, noting this year the agency sent 31.