Paul Brown, consumer healthcare advocate at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, told CNBC’s “Morning Call” that the Food and Drug Administration’s post-market safety program is “broken.”
He made the comments after new data showed a risk for heart attacks among those using GlaxoSmithKline’s diabetes drug Avandia.
“I don’t know that you want to call it a crisis, but certainly there need to be reforms at the FDA,” Brown said. “(New legislation) requires that most clinical studies be published and available to the public and to researchers and doctors so they can take a look at the risks and benefits of the drugs. Now, if a study by a manufacturer shows the drug is not too beneficial for that company, they hide the study. That’s just plain wrong.”