US Epidemic: Controlled Prescription Drug Abuse–Teen Drug Abuse Triples in 10 Years – CASA

US Epidemic: Controlled Prescription Drug Abuse–Teen Drug Abuse Triples in 10 Years_CASA Sat, 9 Jul 2005 “Our nation is in the throes of an epidemic of controlled prescription drug abuse and addiction,” said Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA’s chairman and president and former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare….

Clinical Trials Controversy Spotlights Flawed System – Psychiatric News

Clinical Trials Controversy Spotlights Flawed System – Psychiatric News Mon, 19 Jul 2004 Recent independent analyses of the published and unpublished SSRI antidepressant pediatric data submitted by manufacturers to the FDA reveal not only that a disparity exists between published and unpublished data, but it becomes increasingly clear that the…

Cong Hinchey Rebukes Daniel Troy, Chief Counsel FDA, for financial conflict of interest

Cong Hinchey Rebukes Daniel Troy, Chief Counsel FDA, for financial conflict of interest Tue, 13 Jul 2004 Daniel Troy, the FDA’s chief counsel, is under fire for his financial conflicts of interest and for perverting FDA’s mission “to ensure that the public is protected from unsafe food, drugs and other…

FDA Squelches an Article Raising Doubts on Safety Of Device to Repair Artery – WSJ

FDA Squelches an Article Raising Doubts on Safety Of Device to Repair Artery – WSJ Fri, 9 Jul 2004 A front page article in The Wall Street Journal exposes another case of safety data suppression by the FDA. The case involves a device to repair the heart artery which FDA’s…

Public Ranks Drug Industry at Bottom With Oil, HMOs, Tobacco – Harris Poll

Public Ranks Drug Industry at Bottom With Oil, HMOs, Tobacco – Harris Poll Thu, 8 Jul 2004 The New York Times reports: “No industry has fallen as far or as fast in public esteem in recent years as the pharmaceutical industry, according to the Harris Poll.” The American public is…

Conflict of Interest

Conflict of Interest: Profits vs Safety Congressional Investigations US Senators Pharmaceutical industry holdings, 2004: http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/SenPharma.pdf Oct 12: How Did the Vioxx Debacle Happen? USA Today / Lancet Oct 4: Op Ed: Psychiatry on the Ropes–WP / Evidence-based Psychiatry Oct 3: BBC PANORAMA TONIGHT – Taken on Trust – 13 years-Medical…

FDA Failed to Enforce Law Requiring Drugmakers to Disclose Test Data – WashPost

FDA Failed to Enforce Law Requiring Drugmakers to Disclose Test Data – WashPost Tue, 6 Jul 2004 A front page article in The Washington Post reports that the FDA failed to enforce the law that requires drug companies to disclose ALL clinical drug trials and ALL trial findings-whether they’re good…

Response to Washington Post Editorial “Missing Drug Data”

Today’s (6/30/04) editorial, “Missing Drug Data,” misses the point and argues with the pharmaceutical industry and its allies in the Congress, the NIH and the FDA that data can be selectively reported to satisfy commercial interests. This is a blatant attack on Karl Popper’s falsifiability principle on which empirical science depends to make progress. One needs all the data in order to verify the results of clinical or any other kind of research. Most academics and pundits know that any case can be made if allowed to manipulate the data and assumptions. The AMA, the medical journal editors, and Eliot Spitzer, all deserve applause from the Washington Post editor-not quibbling about the possible damage that somehow, somewhere might result from strict embrace of the principles and practice of scientific inquiry. It’s all about transparency.

John H. Noble, Jr.

Forest Labs Admits Concealment of data – Congressional Probe Expands

Forest Labs Admits Concealment of data – Congressional Probe Expands Sat, 26 Jun 2004 New York Times business reporter, Barry Meier, reports, “Forest officials had not told a medical journal about a failed unpublished study in 2002 of Celexa use in children and adolescents, before the journal published an article…