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Lessons from Jon Barron
Conflicts of Interest With Regulators
In this week's excerpt from Lessons from the Miracle Doctors, Jon Barron discusses some of the conflicts of interest associated with government regulators.
"Many FDA managers have conflicts of interest, from holding stock in the pharmaceutical industries they regulate to holding jobs at these same pharmaceutical companies either before or after they work for the FDA. Yes, top FDA officials frequently end up with top positions at the same drug companies they were entrusted to regulate. Does this automatically mean that these positions are improper or that "improper" decisions were made as a result? No, of course not. But sometimes the appearance of impropriety is so overwhelming that it's more than enough to convict.
Consider too that the FDA admits this failure. In a July 2006 article entitled "FDA Pledges Conflict Reforms," the FDA issued a preemptory mea culpa. The agency said it would clarify rules on advisory panel members with ties to drug companies. But the proposed reforms are unlikely to stop many doctors and researchers with such conflicts from serving on panels whose recommendations can determine the fate of drugs worth billions of dollars in corporate profits-but that may endanger consumers at the same time. The FDA has about fifty advisory panels that are supposed to provide impartial technical advice on issues such as over-the-counter allergy medicines, silicone breast implants, and chemotherapy drugs with toxic side effects. A study published in 2006 found that 28 percent of panel members disclosed financial conflicts, but only 1 percent recused themselves.
To be fair, there are many, many good, conscientious people working for the FDA. I've talked to a number of them. The problem is that the nice people don't control the agenda.
For those of you living outside the United States, don't feel smug. Remember, you have your own government agencies—in most cases, even worse than the FDA. Just look at the European Health Initiative and Codex, or look at how Canada treats naturally occurring substances such as DMAE as drugs, or how Australia's rules require massive amounts of documentation for the importation of even the most innocuous natural health supplements. Don't think for one moment that what happens in the U.S. with the FDA doesn't matter to you, or that what happens in your country vis-à-vis alternative health regulation doesn't matter to those of us in the United States. It most assuredly does. To paraphrase Ben Franklin: "We must all stand together (regarding our health rights), or assuredly we shall all hang separately."
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We hope you enjoyed this week's excerpt from Lessons from the Miracle Doctors. Next week, we'll take a look at some of the unhealthy connections that doctors share with the pharmaceutical industry. If you enjoyed this excerpt and would like to get a copy of the book for yourself, please visit one of the following resources.
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