FDA must recall Adderall till risks analysis is done
Recent decision by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) not to follow Health Canada with Adderall recall in the United States has surprised many and has left Adderall patients (and parents of children who take Adderall) confused. On one hand, right across the border, Canada has banned Adderall citing the dangers of leaving the drug on the market. On the other hand, FDA has refused to do anything. In fact, according to United States Senator Grassley, the FDA tried to influence Health Canada not to recall Adderall.
Should a government agency charged with public safety do this? Should the agency risk lives of Americans just because it has close ties to the pharmaceutical industry? And should the FDA be telling other countries what to do with their regulations?
Some answers may be found if one takes a look at the Vioxx controversy in the United States. Judith Graham of Chicago Tribune has disclosed that FDA is really not doing its job of public safety. Not only is the agency not vigilant, it seems to let the pharmaceutical companies play with the lives of American people. "More than two years before Merck & Co. pulled the popular painkiller Vioxx from the market over safety concerns, federal regulators knew studies had indicated older people taking the drug were more likely to die than those in a placebo group," writes Graham. Or in other words, while Merck was driven by greed not to recall Vioxx on time, FDA was simply helping it in that mission.
Is it the same reason that FDA is not ready to recall Adderall? Does the agency suspect that it will also be forced to recall Celebrex, Bextra soon? Probably. In fact Senator Grassley has learned that the FDA did not want another recall crisis on its hand at a time when the agency is being criticized from all sides, particularly for not managing the drug approval process well and for coming up with laughable excuses for not allowing Americans to import prescription drugs from Canada.
Recommended article: FDA tries to protect Merck and Pfizer
Should a government agency charged with public safety do this? Should the agency risk lives of Americans just because it has close ties to the pharmaceutical industry? And should the FDA be telling other countries what to do with their regulations?
Some answers may be found if one takes a look at the Vioxx controversy in the United States. Judith Graham of Chicago Tribune has disclosed that FDA is really not doing its job of public safety. Not only is the agency not vigilant, it seems to let the pharmaceutical companies play with the lives of American people. "More than two years before Merck & Co. pulled the popular painkiller Vioxx from the market over safety concerns, federal regulators knew studies had indicated older people taking the drug were more likely to die than those in a placebo group," writes Graham. Or in other words, while Merck was driven by greed not to recall Vioxx on time, FDA was simply helping it in that mission.
Is it the same reason that FDA is not ready to recall Adderall? Does the agency suspect that it will also be forced to recall Celebrex, Bextra soon? Probably. In fact Senator Grassley has learned that the FDA did not want another recall crisis on its hand at a time when the agency is being criticized from all sides, particularly for not managing the drug approval process well and for coming up with laughable excuses for not allowing Americans to import prescription drugs from Canada.
Recommended article: FDA tries to protect Merck and Pfizer
posted by eCreativa Media | 11:23 AM
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