FDA outdoes itself with useless drug investigation resource
We've all worked with a guy I'll call Lazy Larry. He sits around doing nothing until someone practically screams at him. Then, he'll make some half-hearted effort and practically want the Medal of Honor for it.
Well, the FDA is Lazy Larry – in agency form.
The FDA is giving itself kudos for launching a barely useful Web page that reports drugs under investigation for potential safety problems.
Of course, what you won't hear is that the FDA didn't launch this new Web page out of the goodness of its heart. Congress passed a law last year forcing the agency to post quarterly lists of medications under investigation. Even then, the FDA did its typically shoddy job.
Wait until you see this thing. Half the drugs on there, we already knew about – such as heparin, which has been all over the news for problems with contamination and allergic reactions.
The other half includes some surprises, such as the multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri, which the FDA is investigating for a potential link to skin melanoma.
Want to know more? Well, you're on your own. The FDA is providing nothing more than a chart with the name of the drug and what it's being investigated for. That's it — no further detail on how widespread problems are, what the side effects are, how many hospitalizations, or how many deaths.
I don't know that this rises to contempt of Congress, but the FDA is certainly showing contempt FOR Congress. If they spent 10 minutes on this thing, they spent too long. Take a look at http://tinyurl.com/5bu2om. And as you feel yourself getting annoyed, just remember – those are your tax dollars at work.
If you do see a drug you're taking on the list, talk to your doc. Maybe he'll take this more seriously than the FDA did.
