I believe that first sunlight has to be shown on the corruptions that have occurred. As you know from posts I’ve placed on your site I’ve gone through a number of FDA documents that are on the internet and have been able to tease out problems. We’ve also seen other information from other sources.

However often times the mainstream press does not pick up on or follow things. It’s fortunate that we have a few people and sites and I especially want to point to Ed and Pharmalot, Pharmagossip, you at Shearlings got Plowed, and Furious Seasons.

I believe we need a major, major scandal and especially of a financial nature illustrating collusion between a major pharma co and the FDA so that a major outlet such as the WSJ will pick up on it.

Only such a situation that could potentially result in numerous FDA officials going to jail, similar to the Generic Drug Scandal, would in my opinion get the attention of Congress.

I believe such a scenario is possible and that the evidence to make it happen is out there.

Salmon

What we need urgently is enforcement of existing standards by NIH, by academic institutions, and by professional societies. For too long the people whose job it was to rein in the ethical outliers looked the other way. Senator Grassley had to do it for them. Our letter to Francis Collins quotes his predecessor Elias Zerhouni saying about academic medical centers, “People flouted the rules, didn’t disclose, and did it for years on end, repeatedly.” I consider it disingenuous of Dr. Zerhouni to wait until he was safely out of the hot seat before making such a statement.

My preference has been for case studies that expose systemic problems through deconstruction of specific instances of corruption. I guess I feel that corruption in biomedicine is like pornography – we know it when we see it.

Strongly support this, and perhaps we can see how wonderful to get stimulate some important new jobs, now that many researchers are being let go in industry….

Should we talk to the authors?

Let me know. Namaste

White papers, position papers, guidances, approvals, labeling, even reporting of adverse effects is inappropriately influenced or controlled by Pharma.

Salmon

With the authors’ blessing, I’ve put up a link, and created a little graphical badge, that anyone who wants to support the effort, may download, and place on their blogs, twitter-tweets, etc. — to publicize this important initiative.

Do go downlaod it.

Namaste