Defective Drugs - FDA's Credibility Questioned

Greg Owen

Attorney

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It is no secret that an endless parade of defective drugs such as Vioxx, Avandia, Accutane, Ketek and Zyprexa have been approved by the FDA. In fact, the FDA has been accused of being a little too close to the pharmaceutical industry. In an effort to remedy the situation, the House of Representatives recently passed a bill aimed at improving the FDA's current system. The bill, once signed by President Bush, will cause sweeping changes.

The bill would give the FDA more authority to follow up on the safety record of the drugs they have approved for as long as seven years after it has been approved. There is also another change, which has long been sought, that would limit "Conflict of Interest" waivers on the advisory panels of the FDA to one. Believe it or not, it is now unlimited. It will be interesting to see if the bill is signed by President Bush since the pharmaceutical industry is seen as one of the Bush Administration's most important and influential constituencies.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Drugs, Medical Devices, and Implants.