FDA & Prescription Drugs

• Avandia May Increase Risk of Heart Attack

  Michael Phelan | May 22, 2007 8:56 AM | 0 CommentsRichmond, VA

  Avandia was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1999 to treat type 2 diabetes and is used by an estimated two million people worldwide. An article published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that Avandia significantly increased the risk of heart attacks and heart-related deaths. The article prompted the FDA to issue a public safety alert advising users of...

• Bush Nominee to Head CPSC Receives Payola from Manufacturers Ass'n

  Michael Phelan | May 16, 2007 2:30 PM | 0 CommentsRichmond, VA

  Michael Baroody, the senior lobbyist at the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) nominated by President Bush to lead the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), will receive a $150,000.00 payment from NAM when he takes his new government job; a job that involves enforcing consumer laws against members of the association. Sounds like payola to me. Even Baroody characterized the...

• Senate Beefs Up the FDA

  Michael Phelan | May 11, 2007 12:13 PM | 0 CommentsRichmond, VA

  The day after Oxycontin manufacturer, Purdue Pharma, pleaded guilty to criminal charges that it fraudulently marketed Oxycontin for six years as a drug that was less prone to abuse and has fewer narcotic side effects, the U.S. Senate approved by a vote of 93-1 a landmark drug safety bill that would double the number of scientists at the FDA assigned to monitor drugs already on the market for...

• Defective Drugs & the FDA Approval Process

  Michael Phelan | March 22, 2007 1:40 PM | 0 CommentsRichmond, VA

  FDA Advisory Boards recommend drugs and medical devices for approval. Their votes can greatly effect drug company profits. Lawyers, advocacy groups, and certain members of Congress (e.g., Sen. Charles Grassley) have for years worried that the drug and device makers have hijacked the FDA's approval process by improperly influencing advisory board members through payment of exorbitant consulting...

• CDC Warns Parents Not to Give Cold Medicine to Children Under 2 Years of Age

  Michael Phelan | January 13, 2007 11:18 AM | 0 CommentsRichmond, VA

  The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned parents on Thursday not to give common over-the counter cold remedies to babies and toddlers under two years of age without first consulting a doctor. The active ingredient in cold remedies such as nasal decongestants and cough suppressants is pseudoephendrine. The active ingredient in these products used to be phenylpropanolamine...

• Drug Manufacturers Association Revises Code of Ethics

  Aubrey Ford | January 06, 2007 5:05 PM | 0 CommentsRichmond, VA

  The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA), which represents the world's largest drug makers, updated on January 1 its code of ethics for the first time in a decade. The revised code bars drug manufacturers that are members of the federation from lavishing physicians with cash, extravagant all-expenses paid trips, and expensive gifts. Such...

• The FDA Is In Bed With The Pharmaceutical Industry

  Aubrey Ford | January 06, 2007 3:11 PM | 0 CommentsRichmond, VA

  Many consumers believe that the FDA actually tests presecription drugs for safety and efficacy before such drugs are approved to go on the market. This is not so. In fact, for the most part, the FDA simply reviews information (e.g., animal studies and clinical trials) submitted by the drug manufacturer in the pre-approval process. History is replete with examples of dangerous drugs that...