SURVEY: MOST ORTHOPEDIC SPECIALISTS WANT ACCESS TO VIOXX, LOOSER DRUG APPROVAL PROCESS

A newly published survey suggests that orthopedists want to see a shorter FDA drug approval process and a return to the market of Vioxx, despite the agency's concerns with the drug.

The survey, published Jan. 30 by the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), a free-enterprise group in favor of limited government, asked orthopedists how the FDA approval process affects their ability to treat patients. Out of 175 respondents, the survey found that:

76 percent believe the FDA's approval process is too slow;

60 percent believe the agency hinders their use of new therapies;

73 percent believe FDA approval delays hurt patients;

70 percent favored changing the law to give physicians access to unapproved therapies if those products carry a warning about their unapproved status; and

80 percent favored having Vioxx available again.

The continued absence of Vioxx from the market, despite an FDA panel's recommendation that it be returned, "illustrates how needed therapies can be blocked not only by FDA regulations but by liability concerns as well," Sam Kazman, the CEI's general counsel, said.

The CEI survey can be accessed at www.cei.org/pdf/5732.pdf (http://www.cei.org/pdf/5732.pdf).