SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: FDA IS BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH...

Recently our class in project management (international project coordinator) visited AstraZeneca. It was fascinating to learn more about the company and its progress on the market. It must have come as a shock for the management to hear about the Food and Drug Administration's decision to reject AstraZeneca's blood thinner drug called Exanta. CommentWire reports:

Although Exanta has already been approved in a number of European countries, news of the FDA panel's decision led to a dramatic slump in AstraZeneca's share price as analysts had previously forecast that ximelagatran would be approved for all of its indications. (Datamonitor, 09/16/04.)

Do you think that the "consumer" (read: pressure) group, Public Citizen, has acted behind the scene?

It is time for real progress in the field of medicine. Recommended reading: A "Band-Aid" on the FDA by Gary Hull, Ph.D. Here is an excerpt:

The FDA exists to keep products off the market. Its purpose is not to evaluate new drugs; private manufacturers already do that--as do private scientists, doctors and pharmacists--far more rationally than does the FDA. But such entities cannot force you to accept their judgments. The FDA, however, can. The agency's function is to prohibit the individual from judging which sources of information and recommendation to rely on--to prohibit you from weighing your risks and benefits--to prohibit products you deem valuable to your life. (The Ayn Rand Institute, 09/14/97.)

Related: My post, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE.