Minnesota Attorney General Supports Widow in Zoloft Suicide Case Tue, 22 Mar 2005 A press release from the law firm, Baum Hedlund announces that Minnesota’s State Attorney General filed a legal brief refuting Pfizer’s claim that “it should be immune from liability for failing to warn about dangerous side effects…
What Ails the FDA? Payola – Marcia Angell Boston Globe Thu, 10 Mar 2005 The Boston Globe reports that the FDA is scrambling to put out one drug crisis after another, doing a poor job in both its areas of responsibility: medicine and food. FDA acting chief, Lester Crawford, cancelled…
Three Senior NIH Researchers in COI Controversy Are Leaving – LAT Thu, 10 Mar 2005 The Los Angeles Times reports that three senior NIH researchers whose paid consultancies are central to the heated controversy over professional / financial conflicts of interest are leaving. The revelations that sparked the controversy –…
US Marshals Seize Millions of Defective Paxil & Avandamet pills_NYT Mon, 7 Mar 2005 The FDA and federal marshals yanked millions of tablets of the antidepressant, Paxil CR (Seroxat, controlled release) and the diabetes drug, Avandamet, off the market because they are defective. The Paxil pills split during manufacturing, and…
NIH Scientists Gripe At Ethics Rule: NO Stocks in Pharmaceutical Companies – LAT / WSJ Sat, 5 Mar 2005 A group of dissident NIH scientists represented by an 18 member executive committee, are gripping about new rules prohibiting them from accepting fees for outside activities. Conflict of interest rules apply…
Pfizer Marketing Scheme Stirs Concern_NYT / Corporate Responsibility Movement Puts PhRMA on Notice_ ICCR Mon, 7 Mar 2005 The New York Times reports that Pfizer is planning to lock up the market for heart treaments by bundling its new drug (toretrapib, which is still in experimental stage of development) to…
USA and Canada’s influenza vaccination programmes for children based on little evidence: The Lancet review of all relevant trials published last winter by Dr. Jefferson and colleagues found no evidence to support the CDC position.
FDA Panel Poses Pointed Questions to Drug Makers Over Risks of Painkillers – NYT Thu, 17 Feb 200 A three day public advisory panel hearing which is overflowing with attendees from around the world, is an investigation of the conduct of pharmaceutical company giants and the FDA. The hearing began…
Jury Finds Chrisopher Pittman Guilty of Murder Tue, 15 Feb 2005 A jury rejected the link between the murder by a (then) 12 year old to the effect of the antidepressant Zoloft. The jury found Christopher Pittman guilty of murder—as charged. He faces 30 years to life in prison as…
THE NEW YORK TIMES February 12, 2005 Drug Regulators Are Trying to Quash Study, Senator Says By GARDINER HARRIS WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 – The tension and intrigue surrounding a crucial federal drug advisory committee meeting next week, already high, reached a boil on Friday when Senator Charles E. Grassley charged…
Canadian Regulators Withdraw ADD Drug Linked to 20 Sudden Deaths Thu, 10 Feb 2005 Canadian regulators – but not the FDA – have withdrawn a Adderall, a pssychostimulant drug prescribed for children with so-called ADHD that has been linked to 20 sudden deaths linked to the drug – of which…
Thank you for the opportunity to submit this testimony for the record.
My name is Meryl Nass, M.D., and I have worked for the past twenty years as an emergency physician and internist in community hospitals in the northeastern US. I have also studied many aspects of bioterrorism since 1989. I am the person who first demonstrated, in 1992, that one could investigate an epidemic retrospectively, and prove that it was due to biological warfare, using Rhodesia’s 1978-80 anthrax epidemic as a model.[1]
