FDA's protection racket for Big Pharma

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FDA runs protection racket for Big Pharma

By Evelyn Pringle

Online Journal Contributing Writer

 

Jan 11, 2007

Why would Americans trust the FDA to regulate the

pharmaceutical industry? Since the Bush administration

took office the FDA has become the industry's partner

in crime.

 

The most notorious protection scheme put in place by

the FDA and Big Pharma is the preemption policy that

bans private lawsuits against drug companies in state

courts once a drug and its label have been approved by

the FDA.

 

On January 18, 2006, the FDA issued new rules for the

labeling of prescription drugs, and in the preamble to

the rules on page 43, the FDA says, State law actions

& #8220;threaten FDA & #8217;s statutorily prescribed

role as the expert Federal agency responsible for

evaluating and regulating drugs, & #8221; requiring lay

persons to second-guess its expert assessments of a

drug & #8217;s risks and benefits.

 

So, after all of the concerns raised about the FDA's

failure to protect consumers against dangerous

products over the last several year, by top experts

from all over the world, the FDA has hereby declared

itself the sole authority on decisions regarding

prescription drugs, including whether a drug's label

contains adequate descriptions of indications for use,

risks and benefits...

 

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_1626.shtml