Conflict of interest rules may be loosened up in 2012 by the FDA: PHARMA MONEY AT THE FDA!

VIA Bloomberg

THIS is why we have corporations running our health system folks! Good luck finding non-tainted approval processes of drugs now! Wonder why drugs get fast tracked for approval? It's a pharmaceutical companies dream come true!

from the article at Bloomberg

"Conflict-of-interest rules restricting scientists with financial ties to drug and device- makers from advising U.S. regulators may loosen next year, said Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg.

A 2008 policy limiting researchers who were paid by manufacturers from serving on advisory panels may be curtailing feedback the FDA receives, Hamburg told the advocacy group Public Citizen in Washington today. Changes may come through a renewal of the law letting the agency receive fees from companies such as Pfizer Inc. (PFE) for product reviews."


AND

"The rules shouldn’t be changed because financial interests influence the way products are evaluated, said Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen. “We need stronger protection rather than less,” he said after Hamburg’s remarks."