FDA staff return to crowded offices, broken equipment, and missing chairs
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One staffer described 'chaos and lost work hours' for commuting, security lines and shuffled office space.
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About half the FDA's 20,000 scientists, attorneys, inspectors and support staff report to the agency's main campus in White Oak, Maryland, which until the late 1990s was a naval weapons testing facility.
While many agencies switched to telework during the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA began embracing the practice a decade earlier. Most employees had the option to work from home at least two days a week — flexibility that was seen as a competitive perk for recruiting highly trained experts who can often earn more working in industry.
By 7:30 a.m., many on-campus parking lots were full, with cars parked along side streets, according to employees. Some workers reported waiting up to one hour to clear security checkpoints, and photos viewed by the AP showed lines of employees winding out doorways, along sidewalks and around corners.
Once inside, employees confronted broken desks, missing chairs and locked offices for which they didn't have keys.
'All of the staff is definitely bending over backwards to make an impossible situation work and get their work done,' said one employee.
Some employees were left to scour the campus for chairs and other essentials.
'People are looting chairs from conference rooms and other buildings,' a staffer said. 'We have no supplies. People are hunting around all of the buildings on campus for pads of paper and other basics.'
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When employees did get situated, many shared cramped spaces with people from different divisions and teams, making it difficult to hold calls and meetings. Photos shared with the AP show folding chairs and tables setup in hallways and lobbies.
An FDA spokesman said in an email Monday the agency 'is continuing its return-to-office activities to ensure staff remain able to conduct their important public health work.'
All the employees told the AP that they brought their own drinking water Monday. That's due to a monthslong issue involving Legionella, the bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease, which was detected at several FDA buildings. The General Service Administration, which oversees federal buildings, has been working on the issue since last summer.
FDA staff received an email earlier this month that all water is safe to drink, but it did not detail the latest testing results or corrective actions taken.
Anthony Lee, who represents the local chapter of the federal union for FDA employees, said the agency has not granted the group's request for a meeting on the issue.
Asked about the water, one staffer said: 'Honestly, none of us have tried it. After months of Legionella warnings, it's not very inviting.'
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We remain steadfast in our conviction that the formula for lasting success is to stay focused, think long-term, and do business in a financially, socially, and environmentally responsible way. With a US presence spanning 40 years, Novo Nordisk US is headquartered in New Jersey and employs over 10,000 people throughout the country across 12 manufacturing, R&D and corporate locations in eight states plus Washington DC. For more information, visit Facebook, Instagram, and X. Novo Nordisk is committed to the responsible use of our semaglutide-containing medicines which represent distinct products with different indications, dosages, prescribing information, titration schedules, and delivery forms. These products are not interchangeable and should not be used outside of their approved indications. Learn more at Contacts for further information Media:Liz Skrbkova (US)+1 609 917 0632USMediaRelations@ Ambre James-Brown (Global)+45 3079 9289Globalmedia@ Investors:Frederik Taylor Pitter (US) +1 609 613 0568fptr@ Jacob Martin Wiborg Rode (Global)+45 3075 5956jrde@ Sina Meyer (Global) +45 3079 6656 azey@ Ida Schaap Melvold (Global) +45 3077 5649 idmg@ Max Ung (Global)+45 3077 6414mxun@ References: 1. Kaplan LM, Golden A, Jinnett K, et al. Perceptions of barriers to effective obesity care: results from the national action study. Obesity. 2018;26(1):61-69. 2. Bray GA, Kim KK, Wilding JPH; World Obesity Federation. Obesity: a chronic relapsing progressive disease process. A position statement of the World Obesity Federation. Rev. 2017;18(7):715-723. 3. Garvey WT, Mechanick JI, Brett EM, et al. American association of clinical endocrinologists and American College of Endocrinology comprehensive clinical practice guidelines for medical care of patients with obesity. Endocr Pract. 2016;22 (Suppl 3):1-203. 4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Adult obesity facts. Last accessed: June 2025. Available at: 5. World Obesity Federation. World Obesity Atlas 2023. Last accessed: June 2025. Available at: 6. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Risk Factors for Obesity. Last accessed: June 2025. Available at: 7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Why it matters. Last accessed: June 2025. Available at: 8. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Obesity and Severe Obesity Prevalence in Adults: United States, August 2021–August 2023. Last accessed June 2025. Available at: View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE NOVO NORDISK INC. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This communication contains, or may contain, forward-looking information and statements about Oryzon, including financial projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions, statements regarding plans, objectives, and expectations with respect to future operations, capital expenditures, synergies, products and services, and statements regarding future performance. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally identified by the words 'expects,' 'anticipates,' 'believes,' 'intends,' 'estimates' and similar expressions. Although Oryzon believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors and holders of Oryzon shares are cautioned that forward-looking information and statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of Oryzon that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include those discussed or identified in the documents sent by Oryzon to the Spanish Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV), which are accessible to the public. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and have not been reviewed by the auditors of Oryzon. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they were made. All subsequent oral or written forward-looking statements attributable to Oryzon or any of its members, directors, officers, employees, or any persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statement above. All forward-looking statements included herein are based on information available to Oryzon on the date hereof. Except as required by applicable law, Oryzon does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward‐looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. This document does not constitute an offer or invitation to purchase or subscribe shares in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017, and/or the restated text of the Securities Market Law, approved by Law 6/2023 of 17 March, and its implementing regulations. Nothing in this document constitutes investment advice. In addition, this document does not constitute an offer of purchase, sale or exchange, nor a request for an offer of purchase, sale or exchange of securities, nor a request for any vote or approval in any jurisdiction. The shares of Oryzon Genomics, S.A. may not be offered or sold in the United States of America except pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933 or pursuant to a valid exemption from registration.. Spain Oryzon IR & Media, Europe & US Patricia Cobo/Mario Cordera Emili Torrell Sandya von der Weid Atrevia Chief BD Officer LifeSci Advisors, LLC +34 91 564 07 25 +34 673 33 97 65 +34 93 515 1313 +41 78 680 05 38 pcobo@ mcordera@ etorrell@ svonderweid@
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Results from early clinical studies were presented at the 2023 Technology and Heart Failure Therapeutics conference and simultaneously published in the Journal of Cardiac Failure. The AccuCinch System was granted Breakthrough Device Designation from the FDA in 2022. 'The AccuCinch System is the only completely transcatheter procedure to treat the enlarged left ventricle,' said Jeff Closs, president and CEO of Ancora Heart. 'Reaching this milestone is an incredible accomplishment in heart failure research and a model example of collaboration across heart failure and structural heart care teams at participating CORCINCH-HF clinical trial sites. We'd like to thank study investigators for their commitment to innovation and partnership, and we look forward to building on this momentum as we work toward reaching our full enrollment target of 400 patients.' The CORCINCH-HF study is evaluating the safety and effectiveness of the AccuCinch System in patients who have symptomatic HF with reduced ejection fraction. An estimated 6.7 million adults in the U.S. live with heart failure, and about half have HFrEF. 1,2 'Despite advances in guideline-directed medical therapy, many patients with heart failure continue to experience debilitating symptoms,' said Ulrich Jorde, MD, global co-principal investigator of the CORCINCH-HF Study, professor of medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and section head of Heart Failure, Cardiac Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support at Montefiore Health System in New York. 'Reaching this milestone in the CORCINCH-HF study is a significant step toward determining whether this treatment option may improve the length and quality of their lives.' 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About Heart Failure An estimated 6.7 million adults in the U.S. live with heart failure, a condition in which the heart's muscles weaken and lose their ability to pump enough oxygen-rich blood to the body. 1,2 Heart failure patients suffer from debilitating symptoms, including persistent exhaustion, trouble breathing and confusion, as well as frequent hospitalizations. About half of HF patients have heart failure with a reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and an enlarged left ventricle, the main pumping chamber of the heart, which causes more stress on the heart and leads to reduced pumping efficiency. Up to 50% of people who develop heart failure die within five years of diagnosis. 3 About the AccuCinch ® Transcatheter Left Ventricular Restoration System The AccuCinch System is an investigational device designed to augment the existing care cardiologists provide their heart failure patients. For patients in whom HF has progressed beyond the ability of medications and pacemakers to manage symptoms, the AccuCinch System may provide a new treatment option to fill the gap between medication or pacemaker therapy and left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) or a heart transplant. During the minimally invasive AccuCinch System procedure, a flexible implant is attached to the inner wall of the left ventricle and then cinched. The implant is intended to reduce the size of the left ventricle, reduce ventricular wall stress, and support and strengthen the heart wall. The AccuCinch System is under clinical evaluation to determine its potential benefits related to patient symptoms, quality of life and life expectancy. About the CORCINCH-HF Study The CORCINCH-HF Study (NCT04331769) is a prospective, randomized, open-label, multicenter, international, clinical safety and effectiveness investigation of the AccuCinch Transcatheter Left Ventricular Restoration System, which is designed to enroll 400 patients at centers worldwide. The study has a unique design allowing initial analysis of safety and clinical effectiveness for PMA submission after the first 250 patients have reached six months of follow-up, and then a second analysis after the entire cohort has reached 12 months of follow-up. About Ancora Heart, Inc. Ancora Heart is a medical device company dedicated to providing new treatment options for people with heart failure (HF). The company's lead product is the AccuCinch ® Transcatheter Left Ventricular Restoration System, an investigational device currently being studied in the CORCINCH-HF pivotal trial. Ancora Heart is a privately held company located in Santa Clara, Calif. For more information, about Ancora Heart and its products, visit and follow the company on Facebook, LinkedIn and X. * Dr. Reisman reports travel support from Ancora Heart. 1 Martin SS, Aday AW, Almarzooq ZI, et al.; American Heart Association Council on Epidemiology and Prevention Statistics Committee; Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. 2024 heart disease and stroke statistics: a report of US and global data from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2024;149:e347–913. 2 Murphy S, Ibrahim N, Januzzi J. Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction, A Review. JAMA. 2020;324(5):488-504 3 Virani SS, Alonso A, Benjamin EJ, Bittencourt MS, Callaway CW, Carson AP, et al. Heart disease and stroke statistics—2020 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2020;141(9):e139-596.
