Posted by Shawn. T. on June 25, 2004, at 11:58:11
In reply to FDA Finds Gepirone ER 'Not Approvable', posted by jrbecker on June 25, 2004, at 8:16:51
I find that decision nothing less than infuriating; the FDA had better have a very good reason for their ruling. In the past few years, the FDA has consistently demonstrated a lack of disregard for the best interests for consumers. Their frequent conflicts of interests and inappropriate actions have been reported by USA Today ( http://www.mercola.com/2000/oct/1/fda_drug_approvals.htm ), the San Francisco Chronicle ( http://www.namiscc.org/News/2004/Spring/SSRI-Suicide.htm ), the Washington Post ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A58130-2004Jan28?language=printer ), Lancet ( http://www.mercola.com/fcgi/pf/2001/may/30/drug_industry.htm ), and several other news agencies. Given the FDA's troubled past, I find it difficult to accept that the FDA has based this decision on solid evidence. I'm unaware of any published findings that question the safety of gepirone; perhaps the drug's problem lies with the fact that its producer doesn't benefit from the same coziness that some other drug companies share with the FDA. Perhaps anti-consumer attitudes aren't quite as unethical in other government agencies, but the FDA has a very important responsibility to follow reasonable ethical standards. When lives are stake, the FDA must now be allowed to exist as a servant of certain sectors of the pharmaceutical industry.
Shawn
poster:Shawn. T.
thread:360155
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040621/msgs/360253.html