The FDA made some very questionable decisions in t
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Posted On: 12/22/2017 12:50:00 PM
The FDA made some very questionable decisions in the past. For instance, the decision to ban Anatabloc being sold as a dietary supplement, ostensibly because a couple of people posted on their website's comments page that it "cured" their arthritis. (Many people think this was politically motivated because of the now-dismissed claim that the president of the company tried to bribe the governor of Virginia with free golf trips and parties, etc.) And there is the horrific Ampligen decision, in which the FDA refused to approve the drug for chronic fatigue syndrome, which is a debilitating and life-threatening disease (despite its benign-sounding name), for which there are NO drugs. Ampligen helped a significant percentage of CFS sufferers, but -- the CEO of that company was very unpopular with members of the approving committee, so they torpedoed the drug.
And then, there's Dendreon. Despite great success with their personalized prostate cancer drug, and contradicting the recommendation of the scientific review committee, the FDA's final approval committee refused to approve it. As it turns out, a member of the committee was working on a rival drug, so he got DNDN's drug NOT approved. (And his drug ended up not working.)
So, who knows how many men died for lack of that drug. It took patients lobbying with their senators and representatives to get the drug approved. When the Senate announced that they were going to investigate why it hadn't been approved, magically the FDA decided it was worthy of approval after all.
But, despite thousands of complaints from consumers (reporting severe headaches after use), and studies that document that NutraSweet causes brain lesions, this incredibly dangerous artificial sweetener is still approved for sale in this country. There are several drugs that have been banned in Europe because they are deemed dangerous, yet they are allowed to be sold here. And, there are drugs which are approved for use in Europe, and which have documented efficacy, but the FDA refuses to approve them here.
This is an agency that needs a complete overhaul, with good scientists and physicians hired to run it free of political considerations.
And then, there's Dendreon. Despite great success with their personalized prostate cancer drug, and contradicting the recommendation of the scientific review committee, the FDA's final approval committee refused to approve it. As it turns out, a member of the committee was working on a rival drug, so he got DNDN's drug NOT approved. (And his drug ended up not working.)
So, who knows how many men died for lack of that drug. It took patients lobbying with their senators and representatives to get the drug approved. When the Senate announced that they were going to investigate why it hadn't been approved, magically the FDA decided it was worthy of approval after all.
But, despite thousands of complaints from consumers (reporting severe headaches after use), and studies that document that NutraSweet causes brain lesions, this incredibly dangerous artificial sweetener is still approved for sale in this country. There are several drugs that have been banned in Europe because they are deemed dangerous, yet they are allowed to be sold here. And, there are drugs which are approved for use in Europe, and which have documented efficacy, but the FDA refuses to approve them here.
This is an agency that needs a complete overhaul, with good scientists and physicians hired to run it free of political considerations.
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