Congress is considering relaxing FDA rules on drug conflicts of interest. The FDA has taken the position that it is very difficult to recruit highly qualified people onto committees that determine whether or not a drug will be approved by the FDA. They say that 23% of FDA Advisory Panels have vacancies and that people who are the most knowledgeable should be included on these regulatory panels regardless of their conflicts of interest. Fees from drugmakers and medical devices provide more than one thikrd of the FDA's funding. This is no different that recruiting foxes to guary the hen house!
We agree that anyone with qualified information needed to educate FDA panelists should be invited to serve on FDA committees. However, they clearly should not have voting privileges!! They have a track record that is a disgrace. The Vioxx and Celebrex stories are good examples of the depth of this corruption. The bottom line is we don't need more corruption caused by conflicts of interest and there are plenty of people who are smart, qualified, and don't have conflicts of interest. It is shocking that Congress has the gaul to put such a law into practice.
