Quote of note:
The FDA screens panelists' consulting arrangements and stock holdings before deciding if they can participate in a committee meeting. Panelists who considered the pain drugs were reviewed "according to the same strict ethics guidelines FDA applies to all its advisory committees," said Sheila Dearybury Walcoff, FDA associate commissioner for external relations.
The analysis sparked more congressional concerns over the FDA and its policing of drug safety
Ten on Drug Panel Had Industry Ties, Group Says
Fri Feb 25, 2005 07:06 PM ET
By Lisa Richwine and Susan Heavey
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ten of the 32 U.S. advisers who supported future sales of pain relievers Celebrex, Bextra and Vioxx have consulted in recent years for the drug makers, according to a consumer group analysis of medical journals and other records.
Last week, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel said Merck & Co Inc.'s withdrawn arthritis drug Vioxx was safe enough to rejoin Pfizer's Celebrex and Bextra on the U.S. market after concluding all three medicines posed some heart risk.
Ten panelists were paid consultants for Pfizer or Merck, according to the consumer group Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).
If those 10 panelists had not voted, the committee would have rejected future sales of Bextra and Vioxx. The Celebrex vote would not have changed because all but one member supported keeping that drug on the market.
"By failing to at least disclose those conflicts before the meeting, the (FDA) has undermined the credibility of the committee's advice," said Merrill Goozner, director of CSPI's integrity in science program.
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Newsvine
Furl
Google
Yahoo
I used to be disgusted, now I
I used to be disgusted, now I'm just amused. Can't be surprised that in George W. "Dont Bring Me NO Bad News) Bush's fascist administration, the only opinions heard are from plants and shills for corporate policy. This is the same administration that simply purges reports of its own commissions when they are critical of Bush, that screens its audiences--even in foreign countries--to weed out "agitators" who might dare ask a question of the president he doesn't (or can't) answer, who pays reporters and commentators to support his programs and policies when the mainstream media won't do it enough, and who puts male hookers in the White House Press Corps to ask him easy questions. These people are no longer bothering to hide their manipulation of government to corporate ends. It's fascism, and we better start calling it by its true name.