MB Civic

By Marcia Angell, MD | Monday, February 26, 2007 | The Boston Globe

In 1992, with the best of intentions, at a time when drugs for AIDS were urgently needed and AIDS activists were increasingly vocal, the US Food and Drug Administration “streamlined” its safety testing procedures for ALL new drugs. These were the procedures that 30 years earlier spared America a Thalidomide tragedy like the one in western Europe. The FDA is now seriously compromised by conflicts of interest, and numerous drugs have been released that turned out to have serious adverse effects when used in large populations (Vioxx, Ketek, troglitazone, just to name a few). Harvard Professor of Medicine Angell lays out a plan to radically reform the FDA and get Big Pharma out of the approval process – a vital government service that should be protecting us – the people – rather than profits. Where’s my pitchfork? Onward!…BS

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/02/26/taking_back_the_fda/