Barrett Tenbarge

Barrett Tenbarge advises clients on the full lifecycle of FDA regulation and compliance, and on navigating complex public policy and regulatory issues, especially with a nexus in the life sciences. Across all FDA product categories, Barrett has extensive experience and advises FDA-regulated organizations on product development, compliance, enforcement, investigations, transactions and public policy matters. Beyond FDA matters, he counsels clients on health care and life sciences regulatory issues, as well as crosscutting policy and regulatory questions, especially involving Congress. Barrett served as general counsel at the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee under Chair Bill Cassidy. In addition to his work on FDA matters, he acted as the principal staffer responsible for committee process, rules, precedent and ethics, and advised on policy, legal and oversight matters across the entire HELP Committee jurisdiction. This included spearheading the response to the Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision. Prior to this role he served as senior health counsel at the HELP Committee under the ranking member, Richard Burr. At the HELP Committee, Barrett was involved in negotiating and drafting multiple pieces of legislation that became or are on track to become law, including the Food and Drug Omnibus Reform Act (FDORA), the PREVENT Pandemics Act, the Modernizing Cosmetics Regulation Act (MOCRA), and reauthorizations of the over-the-counter (OTC) and animal drug user fee programs. Barrett has been involved in major health care legislative initiatives, multiple high-profile hearings on drug pricing and the COVID-19 pandemic response, two FDA commissioner confirmations, and drafting a committee white paper on artificial intelligence. He also worked with FDA and stakeholders as Congress assessed potential reforms to the regulation of tobacco, diagnostics, controlled substances and cannabis, among other areas. Prior to working on Capitol Hill, Barrett worked at an international law firm in Washington, D.C. Barrett’s personal interests include American political and business history, rooting for his favorite sports teams (namely, all Indiana pro teams, the Indiana Hoosiers, the Nashville Predators and the St. Louis Cardinals), and spending time with his wife and young daughter.