Effectively battling against Big Pharmas' abuse: vote reform

[Guest guest]

House members are not impossible to influence for the public good.

Too bad the vast majority of senators, and federal judicial

appointees have their hands so far up Pharmas' back pockets that they

appear to be irretrievable!

Expert computer programmers understand that we will need to reform

how we vote (stop ALL electronic & touch screen voting) and

conscientiously prevent the ongoing systematic political

marginalization of whole demographic groups (young and poor) before

we will see an effective political solution to the problem of

unethical proliferation of SSRIs and other harmful but profitable

drugs.

http://wesavedemocracy.org/congress_electronic_voting.html

" More than 900 computer professionals signed the coalition's on-line

resolution... "

http://wesavedemocracy.org/congress_electronic_voting.html

" If a programmer employed by an election machine manufacturer

introduces malicious code into the system that can change votes, even

the most competent local election officials will not be able to stop

it or detect it, " Dill said.

Keywords:

Muckraking,

Big Pharma,

Vote Reform,

> Please forward, for the sake of our children. You may prevent a

death.

> And please do not forget that there will be congressional elections

> in 11/2006. Also it is alledged Bush is sleeping with big pharma

and

> maybe the oil companies.----john

>

> House Votes to Prevent Pharma-tied Scientists on FDA Advisory Panels

>

> ALLIANCE FOR HUMAN RESEARCH PROTECTION (AHRP)

> Promoting Openness, Full Disclosure, and Accountability

> http://www.ahrp.org

>

> FYI

>

> The House passed an amendment introduced by Congressman Maurice

> Hinchey (NY) to rein in pharmaceutical industry influence on FDA

> advisory panels whose recdommendations have resulted in the

approval

> of lethal drugs.

>

> Below Merrill Goozner write: " The vote punctuates six months of

> intensive research, education and lobbying work by the Center for

> Science in the Public Interest's Integrity in Science project,

which

> I direct. The issue gained national attention in February when the

> New York Times, relying on CSPI research, reported that 10 of 32

> scientists sitting on the FDA advisory panel evaluating -2

> painkillers had ties to manufacturers of the drugs. Had their votes

> been eliminated, two of the three drugs in the class would have

> received a thumbs down vote from the panel. "

>

> Congressman Hinchey's press release states: " recent FDA actions

have

> created serious doubts about whether committee members are serving

> only the public interest and, as a result, industry biases now

taint

> many advisory panel decisions. Today, we took a giant step forward

> to squash those doubts. "

>

> This is but a first step in the right direction. Intensive

research,

> education, and lobbying are still needed to overhau the FDA so that

> it serves the public interest.

>

> Contact: Vera Hassner Sharav

> 212-595-8974

> veracare@a...

>

> House Votes Biz-Backed Scientists Off FDA Advisory Panels

>

> The House of Representatives voted this afternoon to prohibit

outside

> doctors and scientists who work for drug companies from sitting on

> Food and Drug Administration panels that pass judgment on those

same

> companies' products.

>

> The vote on a rider to the FDA appropriations bill was 218-210,

with

> dozens of Republicans joining the an overwhelming Democratic party

> vote in favor of the measure, which was sponsored by Rep. Maurice

> Hinchey (D-NY). The measure now moves to the Senate where Illinois

> Democrat Durbin is planning a similar maneuver.

>

> The vote punctuates six months of intensive research, education and

> lobbying work by the Center for Science in the Public Interest's

> Integrity in Science project, which I direct. The issue gained

> national attention in February when the New York Times, relying on

> CSPI research, reported that 10 of 32 scientists sitting on the FDA

> advisory panel evaluating -2 painkillers had ties to

manufacturers

> of the drugs. Had their votes been eliminated, two of the three

drugs

> in the class would have received a thumbs down vote from the panel.

>

> The conflict of interest issue reared its head again in April when

an

> FDA advisory panel evaluating the safety of silicon gel breast

> implants included a physician who had recently completed a video

for

> the manufacturer touting the safety of the product. A broad

coalition

> of consumer and women's health groups protested his presence on

that

> panel.

>

> Speaking on the House floor, Hinchey quoted at length from the

recent

> Lancet editorial that took issue with the FDA's defense of hiring

> part-time advisers who simultaneously worked for companies with new

> product applications before the agency. The idea that the FDA can't

> find highly qualified, unconflicted scientists among the thousands

of

> persons who teach at America's 125 medical schools or abroad " is

> simply ridiculous, " Hinchey said.

>

> The Democrats who spoke in favor of the measure included Bart

Stupak

> (D-Mich.), whose son committed suicide while on Accutane, the acne

> drug, and Rep. n Berry (D-Ark.), the only certified pharmacist

> in Congress.

>

> The Republican leadership, meanwhile, perhaps feeling the heat from

> its own ethics and conflict of interest scandals, couldn't round up

> anyone besides the floor leader to speak against the rider.

>

> It's still a long way before the measure becomes law, and even then

> it would only be for the coming year. But Wednesday's vote

represents

> a good start in rebuilding the public's faith in the agency, which

> has been badly shaken by the past year's safety scandals.

>

> However, eliminating scientists with conflicts of interest from FDA

> advisory panels is only the first step in the larger project of

> reforming the FDA. Legislation in the Senate (Grassley-Dodd) and

> House (Hinchey) would give the agency's safety department more

power

> to veto drug applications, pull drugs off the market and order new

> clinical trials. Until those bills pass, the American people will

> continue to wonder if their medicines are truly safe and effective.

>

> Posted by gooznews at June 8, 2005 09:07 PM

>

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