Go to...
http://www.latimes.com/health/consumer/connews/20001220/t000121322.html
...for a fascinating story on changes in the FDA drug approval process.

In short:

"For most of its history, the United States Food and Drug Administration
approved new prescription medicines at a grudging pace, paying daily homage
to the physician's creed, "First, do no harm."
     Then in the early 1990s, the demand for AIDS drugs changed the
political climate. Congress told the FDA to work closely with pharmaceutical
firms in getting new medicines to market more swiftly. President Clinton
urged FDA leaders to trust industry as "partners, not adversaries."
     The FDA achieved its new goals, but now the human cost is becoming
clear.
     Seven drugs approved since 1993 have been withdrawn after reports of
deaths and severe side effects. A two-year Los Angeles Times investigation
has found that the FDA approved each of those drugs while disregarding
danger signs or blunt warnings from its own specialists. Then, after
receiving reports of significant harm to patients, the agency was slow to
seek withdrawals."

Once again, your tax dollars hard at work!

Dori Zook
Denver, CO

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