The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) reports on multiple waivers of conflicts of interest on three recent FDA advisory panels. Three experts with financial conflicts were allowed on this week's advisory panel on adult suicide risk from antidepressants. According to CSPI, one received between $10,000 and $50,000 per year from one of the companies affected by the panel hearing.
Last week, seven waivers were granted to members of a panel discussing safety concerns about Sanofi-Aventis' antibiotic Ketek.
And the FDA gave financial conflict-of-interest waivers to six physicians who sat on the advisory panel that evaluated the safety of drug-eluting stents made by Johnson & Johnson and Boston Scientific.
CSPI does a tremendous public service by disclosing what's going on at the FDA. The public - and many journalists - don't know the extent to which conflicts of interest may impact the integrity of science and of health care recommendations. We need to have a deep and ongoing public discussion about what these conflicts mean, how to judge them, and how to ensure unbiased review of new drugs and devices given the prevalence of conflicts of interest among America's physician-researchers.
Posted by schwitz at December 13, 2006 08:05 AM | TrackBack