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Friday, February 25, 2005

COX-2 Advisory Panel Stacked

Ten members of the Food and Drug Administration advisory panel who voted that a group of powerful pain killers should continue to be sold had ties to the drug makers, a new analysis shows.

A study by the Center for Science in the Public Interest indicates that 10 of the 32 panel members had ties to either Pfizer Inc., or Merck & Co., ranging from consulting fees and speaking honoraria to receiving research support from the companies.

--from the Washington Post

"If the 10 advisers had not cast their votes, the committee would have voted 12 to 8 that Bextra should be withdrawn and 14 to 8 that Vioxx should not return to the market. The 10 advisers with company ties voted 9 to 1 to keep Bextra on the market and 9 to 1 for Vioxx's return," according to the New York Times.

For more information on FDA's response to Vioxx, read:

• Critics Diagnose Systematic Maladies of FDA(11/30/2004)

• FDA Secrecy Continues to Harm Us: Vioxx, Again(11/4/2004)

• FDA and Vioxx(10/18/2004)

• FDA Squelches Findings of Its Own Scientists... Again(10/08/2004)

This isn't the first time that advisory committees have been stack with industry advocates. Read these OMB Watch analyses to learn more:

• Industry Influence Weakens USDA Dietary Guidelines (10/04/2004)

• Administration Stacks Scientific Advisory Panels(3/19/2003)

• Administration Gives Panel on Childhood Lead Poisoning an Industry Tilt (10/15/2002)

• Administration Mixes Politics With Science(9/30/2002)