FDA, Pharmaceuticals, and Waking Up
Among the top stories on AP and Reuters today: FDA scientist, David Graham, told a Congressional investigation that "the FDA has an inherent conflict of interest that triggers 'denial, rejection and heat' when safety questions emerge about products it has approved." Hey, if you had read the report from the Union of Concerned Scientists when it came out back in February of this year, your reaction to today's story would not be surprise. Let's say life is a cartoon, our health is a hen-house, the FDA is the guard dog, and Big Pharm is the fox. If you hadn't read that report, you might be wondering how it came to be that the dog has a "conflict of interest" between the interests of the hens and those of the fox. How exactly did the dog come to think it "inherently" serves the interests of the fox? Maybe you missed that episode. If so, read the report. And while you're at it, ask yourself where the Democrats were when it came out. And then ask yourself whether you still believe the Democrats serve a socially useful purpose.
[posted: 11/18/04]