Time for a Drug Test Registry_Marcia Angell_Why NIH is Not Up to the Task Fri, 13 Aug 2004 The uncovering of concealed, unpublished evidence showing that children suffered harm in antidepressant drug trials, has led to a rude public awakening. Selective reporting of clinical trial data has become “standard practice”…
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…
Alliance for Human Research Protection in the Press Feb 17, 2005: FDA Critics Slam Plan for Safety Reform – Nature “This is smoke and mirrors and musical chairs,” says Vera Sharav, president of the New York-based Alliance for Human Research Protection. “They will be using the very same officials that…
NIH AIDS Research Chief Rewrote Safety Report – AP Wed, 15 Dec 2004 John Solomon of The Associated Press continues his documented expose of the inner workings of the AIDS Division of theNational Institutes of Health (NIH). At the same time that the Los Angeles Times and Congfressional hearings focused…
FDA Approves Lilly’s Growth Hormone for Healthy Children Mon, 28 Jul 2003 The FDA has approved Eli Lilly’s injectable human growth hormone (hGH) therapy, Humatrope, for healthy children who are short but have no hormonal deficiency. Lilly claims that its trials in 300 healthy short children resulted in an increase…
Science & Ethics Hold Up EPA Nomination: pesticide experiment draws fire Fri, 08 Apr 2005 The Los Angeles Times reports that Senator Bill Nelson of Florida is equally outraged about the Environmental Protection Agency pesticide experiment that would expose 60 poor babies to pesticides to study how much harm they…
FDA Commissioner Nominee told Senate He’s Open to Independent Safety Unit / Biogen issues Avonex Warning Fri, 18 Mar 2005 It would be impossible to gain insight into Lester Crawford’s confirmation hearings by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee if one read only one news report. The Los…
NIH: Public Servant or Private Marketer? Wed, 22 Dec 2004 David Willman of the Los Angeles Times provides an important reminder that the FDA is not the only government healthcare agency to have betrayed the public trust and lost its credibility. While the FDA has lent its seal of approval…
Analysis of S. 1873 – The Biodefense and Pandemic Vaccine and Drug Development Act of 2005 Karen R. Effrem, MD Alliance for Human Research Protection Board of Directors www.ahrp.org INTRODUCTION: This bill seriously endangers, if not completely undermines, the democratic process and the rule of law. It will absolutely destroy…
FDA Official Calls Newsletter Unethical – WP / Senate Considers Safety Reform at FDA – LAT Fri, 4 Mar 2005 The Washington Post reports about yet another instance of a high FDA official who misspoke. Dr. Sandra Kweder, Deputy Director of FDA’s Office of New Drugs, sent a letter, “written…
NIH Under Fire: Longtime Favorite of Congress – Wash Post / WSJ Sun, 27 Jun 2004 Under fire from Congress with evidence of NIH staff engaging in secret outside contracts and consultancies, NIH Director, Dr. Elias Zerhouni, turned a corner. He acknowledged the problem at a hearing (June 22) of…
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…
