E-drug: Rachel #632: Another Kind of Drug Problem (cont'd)
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Jamie Love's report points out one school of thought that a national
drug safety board might be needed at this time:
In drug safety, on the other hand, there is only one agency. The
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves pharmaceuticals and
it also has responsibility for investigating injuries and deaths
caused by those pharmaceuticals. As we have seen, FDA has a very
limited capacity to conduct surveillance studies so, in fact,
they rely on the drug companies to provide data on deaths and
illnesses caused by their own products.
Although such a board would respond to many, if not all the concerns
raised in this report, the question arises as to what tool[s] would be
available to the board to carry out its mission?
By that, I mean, if the FDA has long since practiced a policy of
permitting companies to apply for product approval based on less than
"valid" data, where would the board obtain "valid" data to use for its
investigation?
Having thoroughly researched this very problem, and capable of
providing such tool[s] which answer this question, I would encourage
this "board" idea be pursued by those in a better position to "get the
ball rolling". Any ideas?
Thanks,
Thomas A. Poe, M.D.
Director
The World Center For Clinical Research
Shoreline Plaza
2500 Dickerson Road, H-124
Reno, NV 89503-4801
Message Phone: 775-825-0570
e-mail: admin@worldccr.org
web site: http://www.worldccr.org/
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