Is the FDA on the take?

These kind of things piss me off. These people voted to line their own pockets, not based on how the drug might affect people or what problems it might cause. Note that the article shows that there are 10 members on the panel who have ties to the drug companies. You will also note that these 10 members swung the vote to keep the drugs on the market where without the votes it was 13-7 & 14-8 for withdrawing Bextra and Vioxx respectively. This is unacceptable!

I thought it was awfully quick as well as wrong to continue to allow these companies to manufacture and sell these drugs after the studies showing Vioxx links to strokes and heart attacks as well some of the other COX-2 inhibitors like Bextra and Celebrex were quickly allowed back on the market after the recall.

People who serve on these panels should not be allowed to have any ties like these to the industry and it would be better if they had no ties at all. How are we to expect that these people have the publics best interests in mind when they are voting on serious issues like these. Instead of asking how will these drugs affect the people that are taking them. No, instead they are worried about their speaking fees, consulting fees or whatever other fees they might be collecting from these companies. This is ridiculous.

Not only do we have to worry about the side effects of the drugs, we now have to worry if the agency set up to protect us from the greedy money grubbing pharmaceutical companies is on "the take."

Sorry, but I hate these companies and the control they seem to have over not only the price of the drugs because these companies are knee deep in congress's pocket, they know appear to have control of the regulatory agency set up to watch them.

Story Here

WASHINGTON - Ten members of the Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) advisory panel who voted that a group of powerful pain killers should continue to be sold had ties to the drug makers, an advocacy group says.

A study by the Center for Science in the Public Interest indicates that 10 of the 32 panel members had ties to either Pfizer Inc. or Merck & Co., ranging from consulting fees and speaking honoraria to research support.

The FDA (news - web sites) issued a statement saying it screened members of the panel for conflicts of interest. "This transparent process requires the agency to carefully weigh any potential financial interest with the need for essential scientific expertise in order to protect and advance the public health," the agency said.

After three days of hearings on the drugs, known as Cox-2 inhibitors, the panel voted 31-1 to keep Pfizer's Celebrex on the market, 17-13 with 2 abstentions in favor of Pfizer's Bextra and 17-15 that Merck's Vioxx should be allowed back on sale.

Merck pulled Vioxx from the market Sept. 30 after heart problems were reported in some users. Similar questions were later raised about the other two drugs, prompting the FDA to call the advisory panel to look into the matter.

Since drug companies fund many studies it is not unusual for researchers to have ties to manufacturers, though some have questioned the practice.

The transcript, including the votes by the individual members of the panel, has not yet been posted by the FDA. However, a copy obtained by The Associated Press indicated that the 10 panel members in question voted 10-0 in favor of keeping Celebrex and Bextra available and 9-1 in favor of allowing Vioxx to be brought back onto the market.

Without those ballots the vote would have been 13-7 in favor of withdrawing Bextra and 14-8 to keep Vioxx off sale.

The industry ties of the panel members were first reported Friday by The New York Times.