Prescription For Disaster

    If the headline above startles you, it should, considering those were the very same sentiments voiced yesterday by Dr. David Graham to the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, investigating the FDA's seeming inability to approve newer, safer drugs and provide better post-marketing monitoring.

    The meeting came one day after the FDA finally announced major labeling changes to Ketek, a deadly antibiotic whose very debatable safety is defended as legitimate by Sanofi-Aventis, even though one often-cited study includes fabricated data. Now, Ketek is only approved to treat pneumonia, and not bronchitis or sinus problems.

    By the way, one doctor who once worked for the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) told the panel he had warned the agency about the life-threatening effects of Ketek to a patient's liver but his superiors had forced him to tone down his criticisms, prior to the drug's approval.

    Unfortunately, the agency's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) still treats the pharmaceutical industry as if it were the FDA's main client, Graham says. So there's no more reason today than two years ago to believe the FDA will ever get drug safety right.

Your best and safest bet: Taking ownership of your own health.

    Prescription for Disaster is an in-depth investigation into the symbiotic relationships between the pharmaceutical industry, the FDA, lobbyists, lawmakers, medical schools, and researchers, and the impact this has on consumers and their health care. During this thorough investigation, we take a close look at patented drugs, why they are so readily prescribed by doctors, the role insurance companies and HMO's play in promoting compliance, and the problem of rising health care costs. We examine the marketing and public relations efforts on behalf of the pharmaceutical companies, including sales reps, medical journals and conferences. Further, we look at alternatives to traditional pharmacology and drug therapy, such as vitamins and nutritional supplements, and why they are often perceived as a competitive threat to the drug manufacturers. Alternative therapies also include diet, exercise and a healthy lifestyle.

    Prescription for Disaster takes you on a journey through the tangled web of big business, the way disease is treated today, and the consequences we suffer as a society.