Acting FDA Chief's Dual Jobs Questioned

[Guest guest]

Acting FDA Chief's Dual Jobs Questioned

By JOHN J. LUMPKIN, Associated Press Writer Tue Sep 27, 4:18 PM ET

WASHINGTON - The acting FDA commissioner's decision to keep his old job

as the government's chief cancer researcher is being questioned by

lawmakers and health experts. They say he cannot do both jobs

effectively and may face conflicts of interest.

Dr. von Eschenbach, who is wearing two hats as the new FDA chief

and the head of the

National Cancer Institute, could face conflicts if the FDA must make a

decision on a cancer treatment he helped to develop.

The National Cancer Institute, part of the

National Institutes of Health, funds research into new cancer

treatments, often in partnership with drug companies. The

Food and Drug Administration, meanwhile, regulates the results of that

research, deciding whether the new treatments are safe and effective

enough to permit sales to the general public.

" It's a foot in both camps, " said Marc Scheineson, a former FDA

associate commissioner who is now a partner in the Alston and Bird law

firm in Washington. " He's going to quickly have to decide where to put

his foot. You have to be on one side or the other. "

For the complete article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050927/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/fda_new_commission

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Kathy Meade

Arlington Educational Consulting

http://www.vapcacoalition.org/

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There is power in coalitions. However, there is also power in one

person, and oftentimes it takes a visionary to step forth, to break new

ground, to look at something differently, and to set an idea in motion.

Pamela , BSN, RN

September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month