FDA slipping?: From a reader, an interesting story about the FDA: Critics, including members of Congress, former F.D.A. officials, lawyers, doctors and consumer groups, say they see a clear shift in how the agency is performing one of its main functions: policing the marketing of drugs, food and medical devices. The agency has become willing [...]
Vincristine manslaughter case: "If, when you have heard the evidence, your judgement is that his conduct in the events that caused the death of Wayne Jowett fell far below the standard to be expected of a reasonably competent doctor holding his position and that conduct actually caused his death, then the law says that amounts [...]
Do you want chips with your prescription? : Pharmacogenomics starting to deliver? Yahoo.
The era of personalized medicine came a step closer Wednesday with the launch of the world’s first “gene chip” for testing how people will react to drugs. [..]
Some 10 percent of Caucasians and 20 percent of Asian populations are poor metabolites [...]
The law: Don’t know your 89/342/EEC from your 92/27/EEC? Read more in this review of UK and European medicinal controls [PDF 85K]
Prescribing pharmacists preventing errors? : Yet more data showing drug histories can be vastly improved. This time by the use of pharmacists. [PDF]
A study I was involved with has shown that patients have poor understanding about the risks of treatment with methotrexate, both in terms of adverse effects and interactions. In addition many do not know their dose in terms of milligrams, but only in the number of tablets. So if they get the wrong [...]
Advertising Complaints in Oz: Editor of the Australian Prescriber told to withdraw complaint by manufacturer.
MHRA under fire: The BBC carries a report on the MHRA today:
The government’s medicines watchdog has been attacked by MPs for failing to do enough to protect patients. The Commons public accounts committee said the Medicines Control Agency’s efforts to improve patient safety was lacklustre.
It accused the agency of failing to gather [...]
Botox hype starts to wrinkle: "The company that makes anti-wrinkle treatment Botox is misleading patients over the risks of the treatment, say the US authorities.
The Food and Drugs Administration says that advertising on the web and in print does not reveal that more than four in ten people who have the treatment suffer some [...]