Good insight and commentary here from the "inside" track...are members of Congress helping or stalling the progression of the FDA...will the Biotechs be able to develop 
and withstand some of the stringencies and additional methodologies to bring new products to market to save lives? Nice to hear from someone who has been on the inside track...BD
The news did not make it to the front pages, but on Feb. 28 a powerful member of the U.S. Senate launched an attack on the Food and Drug Administration, the drug companies and the desperate cancer patients they treat.
The senator is demanding a full-scale review of each and every product ever approved, and is asking for a rejudgment by GAO "to ensure that drugs approved on surrogate endpoints are both safe and effective." Companies may decide it is not financially viable to even bother developing new drugs, and the pipeline for new products to treat cancer could slow even more. Mr. Grassley's legacy could be thousands of additional cancer deaths.
Charles Grassley (R., Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, requested that the Government Accountability Office launch an inquiry into whether the FDA behaved appropriately in granting the "accelerated approval" of Avastin, a drug for treating women with metastatic breast cancer. Mr. Grassley's action will have a catastrophic effect on America's ability to develop new drugs.
Dr. Thornton is a former medical officer in the Office of Oncology Products at the Food and Drug Administration. He volunteers as president of the Sarcoma Foundation of America.
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