Ethical Violations / Investigations Today Congressional Investigations Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP) Letters of Determination: http://ohrp.osophs.dhhs.gov/detrm_letrs/lindex.htm Office of Protection from Research Risks* (OPRR) List of Compliance Oversight Investigations Resulting in Restrictions or Actions to federally licensed Institutions between 1990 – 2000. *Reorganized in 2000 as OHRP Mar 30: AHRP…
Jeffrey Drazen editor NEJM Turns Activist on Drug Trials Thu, 26 May 2005 Journal editors, one by one are trying to retrieve the integrity of their publications, at last recognizing that the pharamaceutical industry is a corrupting factor in medical research and the information disseminated about medicine. Jeffrey Drazen who…
Sen Schumer asks FDA to place hold on Paxil for kids Fri, 13 Jun 2003 Senator Charles Schumer held a press conference in New York to announce that he had written to Mark McClellan, FDA Commissioner to investigate the adverse effects of Paxil, the SSRI antidepressant on children and teens,…
APA Under the Influence of PhaRma June 5, 2002 FYI Reporters who attended the 2002 annual convention of the American Association of Psychiatry / PhaRma have had a rude awakening about the scope of industry’s influence. Essentially, psychiatrists are drug marketers for industry, helping to create blockbuster sales: Â Even…
FDA Forced Wyeth to REMOVE Suicide Warning from Effexor Label Wed, 8 Sep 2004 The Wall Street Journal reports that FDA officials forced Wyeth to remove the label warning stating: “In pediatric clinical trials, there were increased reports of hostility and, especially in Major Depressive Disorder, suicide-related adverse events such…
Take Action: Just Say No to Stigmatizing Screening and Unsafe Drugs Tue, 26 Oct 2004 FYI /ACTION! AHRP believes that America’s school children should not be screened and labeled without a guarantee of the proven accuracy of the screening tool, and the proven safety and therapeutic value of the treatment…
Pfizer Must Hand Over Documents in Pitman Case Sat, 4 Dec 2004 A federal judge in Charlotte North Carolina rejected Pfizer’s arguments and ordered the company to hand over the concealed documents sought by defense counsels in the criminal case against Christopher Pitman, a teenager who, at the age of…
Pfizer Admits Guilt in Promotion of Neurontin–Agrees to Pay $430 Million Sun, 16 May 2004 A lawsuit initiated by Dr. David Franklin, a whistleblower, has been settled: Pfizer pleaded guilty to criminal fraud in the promotion of Neurontin, and agreed to pay $430 million. This case is but an example…
’91 Merck Memo Warned of Mercury in Baby Vaccines – LAT Tue, 8 Feb 2005 The Los Angeles Times reports that a 1991 internal Merck memo obtained from a whistleblower by James Moody, a Washington lawyer who works with parent groups on vaccine safety issues, provides the “first hard evidence…
Conflicts of Interest Taint UK Gov panel investigating SSRI Wed, 19 Mar 2003 An article from the UK Guardian sheds light on how the credibility of an expert investigative government appointed committee is corrupted by financial conflicts of interest. Mounting complaints from patients and the UK watchdog organization, Social Audit,…
Psychiatry and Preschoolers Tue, 1 Jul 2003 There was a time that doctors followed the precautionary “do no harm” principle when prescribing drugs. But the practice of medicine has changed radically as physicians have increasingly become financially tied to the pharmaceutical industry. Among psychiatrists it is difficult to find one…
Will the Cong Oversight / Investigations Committee Ask FDA the Tough Questions? Wed, 22 Sep 2004 FDA’s complicity in concealing vital drug safety information that might have saved lives, is the subject of tomorrow’s hearing by the House subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Rayburn Office Bldg, room 2123 at 11:00….
