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Health groups, some backed by the drug industry, have joined the heated
lobbying battle in Washington over the next commissioner of the Food and
Drug Administration, sending a letter to Health and Human Services
Secretary-designate Tom Daschle urging him to pick a person familiar with
the industry.
The letter follows signs that two outspoken critics of drug makers and the
FDA -- Steven Nissen of the Cleveland Clinic and Baltimore health chief
Joshua Sharfstein -- are candidates for the top FDA job. Dr. Sharfstein is
leading President-elect Barack Obama's team assessing the agency.
The newly formed FDA Commissioner Coalition is made up of 34 patient and
research organizations, most of which receive funding from pharmaceutical
companies. The coalition's letter to Mr. Daschle didn't name any candidates
but said the next commissioner should make decisions free from "pressure
from elected and appointed officials and from the news media."
The FDA faces pressure from both houses of Congress and both parties to get
tougher on industry over food- and drug-safety problems. One House Democrat,
Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan, has urged Mr. Obama not to name any current
FDA officials to the top post, saying they are "too close with the
industries they regulate."
The coalition's letter said relationships with the industry should be viewed
as a "positive qualification" for candidates, not as a black mark.
A spokesman for Friends of Cancer Research, which circulated the letter for
signatures, said the coalition wanted to reflect the concerns of its members
and didn't coordinate its statements with drug companies. "Our interest is
the patients," he said.
The Marti Nelson Cancer Foundation, which signed the letter, expressed
concern Wednesday that "industry" wasn't included in the list of entities
threatening the agency's independence. Bob Erwin, president of the
California-based nonprofit that advocates greater access to experimental
cancer drugs, said "I wish I had corrected the letter to include the
importance of resisting pressure from companies, before signing."
Meanwhile, some women's groups and scientists are weighing in to support
Susan Wood, a former FDA official who quit in a clash over her bosses'
reluctance to approve the emergency contraceptive known as Plan B, or the
"morning-after pill." At the time, she said the scientific evidence favoring
its safety had been overruled by politics.
Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Research Center for Women and
Families, said Dr. Wood "would return FDA to its public-health mission."
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