Since I was just a little kid I've been told about the dangers of taking drugs. But my mom and Nancy Reagan probably didn't intend for me to 'Just Say No' to FDA approved drugs. Because those are supposed to be safe? Right?
Yet, this week's 60 Minutes broadcast once again reported about how the FDA and the drug industry failed to pull a drug off the market when trials showed that the drug posed a danger to the people who took it. When the FDA fails to do its job, the burden then rests with the public, through use of the courts, to step in. Another great example why we need a strong civil justice system!
"Doesn't a drug have to be proven safe before the FDA allows it on the market?" [CBS correspondent Scott] Pelley asks [Dr. Dennis] Mangano.
"No," he replies. "The trials that are constructed before a drug is marketed and given approval to be marketed generally address effectiveness of the studies."
"Make sure I understand. If the FDA is not certifying a drug as safe, before it goes on the market, what is it doing?" Pelley asks.
"It's certifying that the drug is effective and that within the small numbers studied, relatively small, it doesn't appear to be unsafe," Mangano says.
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