“…the agency’s senior management is more concerned with external appearance than rigorous science.” — Dr. Richard Horton, editor, The Lancet
The reputation of both the FDA and Merck lies in shambles today after evidence continues to surface that shows the FDA knowingly approved, promoted and refused to recall a dangerous drug that caused an untold number of fatalities among the American population: Vioxx. As readers of this website have long known, the FDA sees its job as promoting drugs and the financial interests of pharmaceutical companies, not in protecting the public health. We’ve known, all along, that it would take a scandal to reveal the true nature of the FDA and see serious calls for reform. Well, folks, the scandal is here, and the FDA is now under intense fire by the international medical community for its role in covering up the truth about Vioxx for four years.