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www.fdanews.com/articles/61246-fda-scientists-report-political-influence-on-their-work

FDA SCIENTISTS REPORT POLITICAL INFLUENCE ON THEIR WORK

July 27, 2006

Many FDA scientists are subject to "pervasive and dangerous political influence" that has affected medical device approvals, according to a new Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) survey report issued July 20.

Further, surveyed scientists felt the FDA was more highly invested in serving the needs of industry (30 percent) and political appointees (32 percent) than in consumers (25 percent), patients (19 percent) or doctors (11 percent).

The UCS distributed nearly 6,000 surveys, of which 997 were completed. A report on the survey results said "hundreds of scientists reported significant interference with the FDA's scientific work."

Forty percent of those surveyed indicated a fear of expressing their concerns to the public because of retaliation. "Too often, political pressure restricts the FDA from providing information to the public," one respondent said.

Fifty-seven percent said top FDA management failed to consistently support scientists with "scientifically defensible positions that may be politically controversial." Forty percent felt their direct managers failed to support them when the political heat was on.

Nearly 20 percent -- "have been asked, for nonscientific reasons, to inappropriately exclude or alter technical information" or their conclusions by agency officials, the UCS report said. (http://www.fdanews.com/ddl/33_29/)