This post originated from an RSS feed registered with .NET Buzz by Doug Thews. Original Post: FDA Approval Process Messed Up Feed Title: IlluminatiLand Feed URL: http://apps5.oingo.com/apps/domainpark/domainpark.cgi?client=netw8744&s=JETBRAINS.COM Feed Description: A technology blog for people enlightened enough to think for themselves Latest .NET Buzz Posts Latest .NET Buzz Posts by Doug Thews Latest Posts From IlluminatiLand

Now that a new study shows that Celebrex can lead to increased risk of heart attacks & strokes, we can all bet that there's going to be a microscope on the FDA and ther drugs it approves.

The problem is that the process is already too slow. There are many drugs out there that can potentially help people overcome (or at least achieve a better quality of life), but the FDA takes either too long or ignores these drugs for whatever reason. These are the drugs that the FDA should accelerate their process in an attempt to save lives.

Speculation is that the FDA is too aligned with the drug companies, and these other drugs are made by the "little guys", so they get ignored. Meanwhile, the large drug companies get their drugs approved (albeit slowly) and they make a fortune from US "buyers" - with the ultimate costs getting spread down to HMO's & insurance carriers.

So, what's the solution? A private firm would probably be easier for the drug companies to manipulate. Maybe tie the FDA compensation & budget to the number of drug approval requests processed, and penalize for fiascos like Vioxx, Celebrex and others.

But, believe me, the more important task is to get these other drugs out there an evaluated so that we can start to reap some of the benefits of drugs developed by the "little guys" that can really give us the cures and increased quality of life that we are all looking for.