Today, the Court directed FDA to reexamine its decision to deny two Citizen Petitions filed in 1999 and 2005, which asked the FDA to stop the unnecessary use of medically important antibiotics on livestock. The Court wrote: “[T]he statutory scheme requires the Agency to ensure the safety and effectiveness of all drugs sold in interstate commerce, and, if an approved drug is not shown to be safe or effective, the Agency must begin withdrawal proceedings. The Agency has forsaken these obligations in the name of a proposed voluntary program, Guidance # 209, and acted contrary to the statutory language. . . . [FDA] must evaluate the safety risks of the petitioned drugs and either make the finding that the drugs are not shown to be safe or provide a reasoned explanation as to why the Agency is refusing to make such a finding.” The Citizen Petitions asked FDA to act on medically important antibiotics that are being fed to healthy livestock and are contributing to the looming public healt - Ned Hamson