Bush Drug Policy: The Fox watching the Hen House
Why does the latest story about the Bush Administration not surprise me? Am I becoming jaded to the corruption of this Administration that supports and passes Medicare Drug bills that prevent the Government from even negotiating with Drug Companies?
The New York Times reported recently that:
Ten of the 32 government drug advisers who last week endorsed continued marketing of the huge-selling pain pills Celebrex, Bextra and Vioxx have consulted in recent years for the drugs' makers, according to disclosures in medical journals and other public records.
Did this affect the review of these drugs?
Absolutely.
As reported:
If the 10 advisers had not cast their votes, the committee would have voted 12 to 8 that Bextra should be withdrawn and 14 to 8 that Vioxx should not return to the market. The 10 advisers with company ties voted 9 to 1 to keep Bextra on the market and 9 to 1 for Vioxx's return.
Why should we surprised when drug companies write the rules that prevent the government from negotiating for better prices? Isn't it also reasonable that they should control the very panels designed to rule on the safety of medication for Americans?
This is not about conservative. This is not about liberal. This is not about values. This is about lying and stealing and failing to protect the American public from unsafe medications. This is simply shameful behavior by this President and his Administration. America deserves better!
Bob
posted by BobsAdvice at 11:12 PM
2 Comments:
Are changes needed, absolutely. Should drug prices be regulated like any other -necessity- such as electricity or water to prevent undo gouging(how do you spell that? lol) but I don't know that the makeup of the FDA or the rules governing it have really changed since the Clinton administration, in fact that's probably when a lot of these drugs were under review.
The FDA's always been rife with corporate influence. Aspartame(a sweetner containing 3 neurotoxins) was passed by the FDA while the man who was head of the company producing aspertame was head of the FDA. Should this situation be fixed? Absolutely. Are the bushies a bunch of bastards heavily influenced by, if not recieving arms length benefits from corporations with interests counter to those of the American people as a whole?, quite surely. Is the FDA the fault of the Bush Administration? Nope, it's a legacy issue. Been there for a long time. If Kerry promised to purge it and fill it with non-corporate influenced individuals would that be something worth talking about? Yes.
Dex,
Thanks for your note. I think if you look closely at all of the regulatory bodies that have appointments from this Administration, you will find that lobbyists and business interests are especially prominent under this Administration.
This issue is particularly associated with this President.
It is not an issue of liberal or conservative, it is an issue of having neutral parties involved in regulation and avoiding conflicts of interest. I am sure we can come to an agreement on that point.
Bob
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