The Food and Drug Administration has barred a Baltimore doctor from voting on a breast implant advisory committee on grounds he is biased.
In removing Dr. Norman Anderson's voting status, the FDA acknowledged Wednesday that he was largely responsible for getting the agency to reconsider safety of the implants.Anderson, an associate professor of medicine and surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, had been one of 11 voting members on the panel.
Anderson was quoted in Time magazine this week as telling the FDA that breast implants should be removed from the market. He also was highly critical of Dow Corning, a manufacturer of implants that has been accused of concealing data concerning safety risks.
FDA spokeswoman Susan Cruzan said pulling Anderson's vote "has been necessitated by statements in the mass media which led to an appearance of his inability to render objective advice."