Another deadly drug recalled – FDA asks Congress for Power to Dictate Warnings

Another deadly drug recalled – FDA asks Congress for Power to Dictate Warnings Tue, 1 Mar 2005 Public pressure has intensified as FDA’s failure to protect the public from unsafe – even lethal drugs. That failure included the failure to at least warn physicians and the public about severe adverse…

Evidence-based medicine? Overdosed America: The Broken Promise of American Medicine

Evidence-based medicine? Overdosed America: The Broken Promise of American Medicine Thu, 17 Mar 2005 Dr. John Abramson is a physician who spent more than twenty years as a clinician treating patients in Appalachia and Massachusetts before writing “Overdosed America: The Broken Promise of American Medicine.” “When I first read of…

The Rutherford Institute Takes on TeenScreen Case in Indiana

The Rutherford Institute Takes on TeenScreen Case in Indiana Mon, 13 Jun 2005 Good News! The high profile civil libertarian Rutherford Institute has taken up the case of Mike and Teresa Rhoades whose15-year old daughter was screened in her Indiana school for mental illness– without their permission. John Whitehead, the…

TIME inquiry finds top officials at vital gov agencies lack credentials for the job

TIME inquiry finds top officials at vital gov agencies lack credentials for the job Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2005 The New York Times reports today that the mystery of Lester Crawford’s abrupt resignation as head of the FDA “fueled speculation that he had investments in companies regulated by the FDA."…

Suspended Chief Medical Officer of Medicare reassigned to AHRQ

Suspended Chief Medical Officer of Medicare reassigned to AHRQ Wed, 21 Sep 2005 An example of how little the federal government cares about professinal standards or the integrity of high ranking medical offficers. Contact: Vera Hassner Sharav 212-595-8974 Daily Health Policy Report Kaiser Network Suspended CMS Chief Medical Officer Tunis…

Twin Pharma Give-A-Ways: Biodefense Vaccine /Drug Development Act–S. 1873_ $7 bill Bird Flu Plan

Twin Pharma Give-A-Ways: Biodefense Vaccine /Drug Development Act–S. 1873_ $7 bill Bird Flu Plan Wed, 2 Nov 2005 If the Administration were serious about preparing for an avian flu pandemic–or for ANY health disaster for that matter–the money would be spent on developing reliable infrastructures at the state and local…

Florida Attorney General Subpoena’s Eli Lilly Re: Zyprexa documents

Florida Attorney General Subpoena’s Eli Lilly Re: Zyprexa documents Wed, 3 Aug 2005 Reuters reports that Eli Lilly received a subpoena in June from Florida’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Attorney General office which seeks documents pertaining to the marketing of Zyprexa. Lilly said “it was possible that other…

Children were the raw material of medical research /Newborn Screening for 29 conditions

Children were the raw material of medical research – CBS 60 Minutes /Newborn Screening for 29 conditions – NYT Mon, 28 Feb 2005 Children have historically been the voiceless victims of medical research abuse – and the doctors and staff who abused them have almost never been held accountable –…

Will NIH Ban on Consulting Deals with Drug Firms Set an Ethical Example? LAT / NYT

Will NIH Ban on Consulting Deals with Drug Firms Set an Ethical Example? LAT / NYT Wed, 2 Feb 2005 The Los Angeles Times, whose investigative reports about conflicts of interest at the National Institutes of Health, shook the foundations of NIH by prying open the vaults that contained secret…

FDA Requests Anticonvulsant Suicide Data Analysis – Boston Globe

FDA Requests Anticonvulsant Suicide Data Analysis – Boston Globe Wed, 20 Apr 2005 Thanks to the persistent advocacy efforts of attorney, Andrew Finkelstein, the FDA has finally sent letters to 14 manufacturers of anticonvulsant drugs, such as Pfizer’s Neurontin, to examine the suicide data from these drugs. Finkelstein began his…

FDA New Drug Safety Website – ADHD A Huge Profit-Engine for amphetamine-like drugs – The Street

FDA New Drug Safety Website – ADHD A Huge Profit-Engine for amphetamine-like drugs – The Street Sun, 22 May 2005 “After 25 years and 35 studies, there is not a single straightforward experiment comparing typical unmedicated children with an ADHD diagnosis to typical controls.” But science is not what the…