Does Pharma 'Highjack' FDA Public Comment on Cancer Drugs?

[Cllcanada]

About one-third of "public" speakers at US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee meetings on yet-to-be-approved cancer drugs in recent years had financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry, according to new research.

In other words, public testimony, which is mostly from patients and the staff of nonprofits, and can be emotionally compelling, is regularly supported by private interests.

"Some of the stories are really compelling," Dr Prasad said, "but it's a mistake to assume that people who speak at these hearings represent the average patient or express what the average patient wants."

"We're likely hearing more of the upsides. Patients who suffered real side effects — they are not the ones able to travel to these meetings," he added.

Medscape Article..free to get an account...

medscape.com/viewarticle/85...

[virdieblue]

And I read recently that the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society gets 60% of its funding from big pharma. Might not be receptive to drug pricing discussions.

[Cllcanada Top Poster CURE Hero in reply to virdieblue]

Can you provide a source? How has this effected drug pricing? The Medicare bill specifically prevents drug price negotiations... start with your law makers...

congress.gov/bill/114th-con...

statnews.com/2016/01/06/med...

statnews.com/2015/12/01/sta...

Couple this with the Orphan Drug Act... closed markets... no free enterprise, patents run 15 years... perks, public funded research/clinical trials and tax breaks...

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orp...

Certainly the LLS partners with pharma under a number of projects, including TAP

lls.org/therapy-acceleratio...

The LLS helps thousands of CLL patients with copayment relief, so they can afford the new very expensive treatments like Imbruvica (ibrutinib), Idelalisib (Zydelig) and Gazyva (obinutuzumab)...

~chris

[virdieblue in reply to Cllcanada]

It was in my local Sunday paper. I'll try try to track it down.

LLS does good things, and Im a contributer, but maybe in this area not so good?

[Cllcanada Top Poster CURE Hero in reply to virdieblue]

It is not in their mandate to negotiate drug costs... in the U.S. it is congress or private insurers...