Following up on President Obama's January 21 memo requiring agencies to promote transparency and openness, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has created a Transparency Task Force to create recommendations to make the FDA more open and transparent. The largely secretive process of review and approval for drugs and medical devices is garnering the most attention as any attempt to open up this process would greatly affect thousands of corporations and the entire American public.
The FDA has had serious problems in disclosing problems with medications, over-the-counter drugs, and devices to the public with troublesome results. The New York Times writes, "the goal is to open up a system in which the agency failed to inform the public that a widely prescribed heartburn drug was especially toxic to babies; that a diabetes medicine and a painkiller increased heart attack risks; and that antidepressants increased suicidal thoughts and behavior in children and teenagers."
This transparency effort may be one of the more important ones for the administration, as most Americans rely on the FDA to provide accurate information as to whether a drug or device is not to be used, or what dangers may exist. An FDA that does not have the trust of consumers would assuredly cause increased risks in health decisions and lead to profit loses for companies manufacturing drugs and devices. Transparency is essential to instill trust in this area.
If the recommendations do include more transparency for drug and device reviews Congress would likely have to change laws that govern confidentiality at the agency. As the Times notes, passing a bill through Congress that the pharmaceutical industry has a great interest in derailing would be a difficult task.
The pharmeceutical industry spent a little more than $29 million on campaign contributions during the 2008 election cycle. The industry only spent more on campaign contributions in the 2002 cycle when Congress debated a bill to provide prescription drug coverage through Medicare. The industry spent a combined $234 million on lobbying in 2008 and has already spent $66 million this year. Any effort that is opposed by the pharmaceutical companies would have to overcome this juggernaut of political influence.
Transparency at the FDA is instrumental to a healthy and consumer confident country. The task force should ensure that the American consumer is readily and well information about the products they use.