I may not teach at Harvard Medical School like the author of this interesting op-ed in the Boston Globe, but I also have some opinions on what the new FDA should do. I am right with the people who have many complaints about our foreign policy under the past administration, but medicine and health were also gutted and ruined, and the FDA was at the rotten core.
I agree with every recommendation she makes, especially the ones about comparing new drugs with existing drugs in the same category for efficacy, and using clinical endpoints like heart attack and stroke instead of biomarkers like cholesterol. (H/t Our Bodies, Our Blog)
I would go one step further and recommend that all pharmaceutical companies do the preliminary research themselves on new drugs, but contribute to a general fund for advanced trials. Independent scientists would do blinded research, including older drugs for comparison. All results would be published. These companies would have to be damn sure all the kinks were out by the time it got to that stage.
Hey, a girl can dream, can’t she?
YOu may as well set your aspiration high.