FDA announces disclosure, conflict policy updates
August 6th, 2008 joshua
The Food and Drug Administration announced new conflict of interest policies along with additional steps to improve disclosure among the regulatory agency.
But the problem with the FDA is not the laws on the books; it’s following the laws on the books. Judging by how today’s government works, this policy shift simply provides more red tape and a future purpose for corporate lobbyists.
According to FDA releases on the policy changes, the new rules include stricter limits on financial conflicts of interest for committee members and for defining what information the agency will disclose pertaining to advisory committee members and to matters discussed at advisory committee members.
Conflicts of interest a committee member may have could include holding stock in a company coming before the FDA, or through owning grants available to these companies.
The rules establish a cap of financial interest an advisory committee member may have, and it shall draw the line for determining when a conflict of interest is present.
The fact that the FDA can’t find committee members without financial ties to the industries seeking its approval for myriad products speaks volumes. The FDA discusses a $50,000 cap on financial stake in a company, but isn’t $49,000 enough?
For that matter, isn’t even a single dollar enough to present a conflict of interest?
