In 2002, medical giant C.R. Bard recruited Kay Fuller, a veteran regulatory specialist, to help secure FDA clearance for its Recovery blood clot filter, after the agency had turned down a previous application. The Recovery, a one-and-a-half-inch metal trap, was designed to sit inside a major vein, the vena cava, and block blood clots from traveling to the heart or lungs, where they could be deadly. In an exclusive interview with NBC News, Fuller said that she had serious concerns about the Recovery. A small human clinical trial raised red flags, and the company did not give her important safety performance test results. But when she voiced her concerns, Bard officials didn't seem to want to hear them.
