The Michigan congressman pushed an amendment to a bill, which passed the House last night, that would protect whistleblowing scientists involved in federally funded research and scientific meetings.

A long-standing critic of the pharmaceutical industry and the FDA, Stupak cited Vioxx and the agency’s battle with its own medical reviewer, David Graham, as an example of the need to protect scientists who attempt to raise public-health concerns.

“Publication in peer-reviewed journals and participation at conferences is a key part of the scientific process, and when senior agency officials attempt to prevent these activities, it represents an attack on the integrity of government-funded research,” says Bart, a Democrat who is chairman of the subcommittee on government oversight and investigations.

The bill had the enthusiastic backing of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

For those who don’t know or remember, Stupak has been particularly critical since his teenage son died in 2000 after taking the Accutane acne medication, which was allegedly linked to suicidal thoughts. You can read his statement about that episode here. Ever since, Stupak has challenged the FDA and drugmakers about disclosing and studying side-effect reports.

[tags]Accutane, Bart Stupak, Whistleblowers[/tags]