I am turning this into my drug thread.... So I can keep track of what is going to happen within the FDA. I hope you dont mind?
Drugmakers Lobby for Obama to Name Woodcock as FDA's Chief By Justin Blum Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Drugmakers are lobbying for President-elect Barack Obama to name Janet Woodcock, a senior official of the Food and Drug Administration, as the agency's next commissioner, according to people associated with the industry. Patient advocacy groups critical of the FDA say Obama should instead consider cardiologist Steven Nissen or Baltimore City's health commissioner, Joshua Sharfstein. Both have pressed the FDA for changes on drug safety. The FDA and its current commissioner, Andrew von Eschenbach, have faced criticism from lawmakers who say the agency has approved unsafe medications and hasn't done enough to prevent tainted imports of food and drugs from entering the U.S. Von Eschenbach, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, plans to submit his resignation before Obama takes office, according to agency spokeswoman Judy Leon. ``The best and most likely candidate is going to be a top clinician already in or around the agency who is seen as an independent and career scientist,'' said Scott Gottlieb, a deputy commissioner of the agency under Bush, in an e-mail. Gottlieb is now a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a research organization in Washington. Representatives of drugmakers are advocating Woodcock, 60, to lawmakers to serve as commissioner on either an acting or permanent basis, according to two people associated with the industry who spoke on condition of anonymity. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a drugmakers' trade association in Washington, declined to discuss individual candidates. $2 billion Budget Obama and his advisers haven't indicated who they are considering to head the agency that polices food, drugs and cosmetics. The commissioner, who must be confirmed by the Senate, oversees an agency that employs about 11,000 people and has a budget of more than $2 billion. Obama campaigned for president promising to overhaul the U.S. health- care system, and he spoke at times about the need to improve food and drug safety. Presidents typically have first hired a secretary of Health and Human Services, who in turn helped pick an FDA commissioner. Former Senator Tom Daschle and Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius are contenders for health secretary, according to people in contact with Obama's health- care advisers. Woodcock, named head of the FDA's drug division in March, is an internist and rheumatologist. She joined the FDA in 1986, according to the agency's Web site, and previously served as deputy commissioner and chief medical officer. Advocacy groups questioned whether she would get the job, saying she wouldn't be seen as someone who would significantly change the agency. Woodcock declined to comment, according to the FDA's Leon. Cancer Research Group Woodcock is also among a number of candidates supported by Ellen Sigal, chairwoman of Friends of Cancer Research, based in Arlington, Virginia. The group, which receives some of its funding from drugmakers, seeks to raise awareness and speed up finding ways of preventing and treating cancer. ``You have an agency that has been grotesquely under- funded,'' Sigal said in a telephone interview. ``Their infrastructure needs to be rebuilt.'' Another FDA insider, its chief scientist, Frank Torti, has spoken with Obama representatives about the agency, according to a source familiar with the conversation. Torti declined to comment, according to Leon. Torti, 61, joined the agency in May after serving as chairman of the cancer biology department and director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Wake Forest's School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. A critic of the FDA, Diana Zuckerman, said in a telephone interview that she is discussing the possibility of recommending FDA candidates with a coalition of groups. Zuckerman is president of the National Research Center for Women & Families, an advocacy group in Washington. Nissen, Sharfstein Among candidates Zuckerman said she would support are Nissen, 60, head of cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, and Sharfstein, 39, a pediatrician who is commissioner of the Baltimore City Health Department. Nissen disclosed heart risks associated with GlaxoSmithKline PLC's diabetes drug Avandia in a May 2007 study, and he has criticized the agency's handling of drug safety. Even some of his supporters said he may be an unlikely choice for the job because he would face strong opposition from drugmakers. Sharfstein also was named as a likely candidate by Ipsita Smolinski, an analyst for J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., in a note to investors yesterday. Sharfstein gained prominence last year after petitioning the FDA to ban marketing of over-the-counter cough and cold medicines marketed to young children. Sharfstein previously worked for Representative Henry Waxman, a California Democrat. Sharfstein declined to comment on the FDA position. No Discussion Nissen said in a telephone interview that he hadn't discussed the job with Obama or his advisers. ``When the time comes, if somebody approaches me, I'll certainly talk to them,'' Nissen said. Zuckerman also backs Susan Wood, a professor at George Washington University in Washington who previously was the FDA's assistant commissioner for women's health. Wood served on an Obama campaign advisory panel on women's health policy. ``Whoever the FDA commissioner is needs to reestablish the trust of the American people,'' said Zuckerman. ``There are a lot of years' worth of decisions that have really eroded the public confidence.'' She said the agency should have taken stronger action on drug safety and faulted its handling of Avandia and Merck & Co.'s painkiller Vioxx. Wood, 50, said in a telephone interview that she hadn't spoken with Obama representatives about the job. To contact the reporter on this story: Justin Blum in Washington at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Last Updated: November 6, 2008 17:15 EST http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=al49I5JmbAks&refer=home On Nov 5, 8:49 pm, "Mercury.Sailor" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Can Obama's Win Lead to Meaningful Health Care Reform? > > Let's start with some good news: The days of Big Pharma's dominance > over Washington may be coming to an end. No more drug companies > ripping off the taxpayers thanks to a Bush-approved Medicare bill that > made it illegal for the U.S. government to negotiate volume discounts > with Big Pharma. An Obama presidency will stick it to Big Pharma and > work to help lower the cost of prescription drugs for consumers. (But > that's not really a health care solution. It's just making dangerous > drugs cheaper.) > > You can also say goodbye to any kind of ridiculous pre-emption ruling > that would grant Big Pharma blanket immunity against claims by victims > who are harmed by their dangerous products. An Obama presidency will > very likely see the passage of laws reinstating the rights of > consumers to sue companies who sell them dangerous products, even when > they're approved by the corrupt, fraudulent U.S. Food and Drug > Administration. > > Here's an important question: Could an Obama presidency prioritize > meaningful FDA reform and the restoration of health freedoms for all > Americans? > > http://www.naturalnews.com/024705.html --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "World-thread" group. 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