Disease Proof

A government panel wants stronger safety standards for diabetes drugs. Of course the drug companies are mad. It’s going to cost them millions! Via the Associated Press:

The majority of the panel said drug companies could begin safety testing -- expected to take between five and seven years to complete -- before they submit drugs to the FDA and finish the studies after their release.

But at least one panelist doubted whether the proposed studies would actually uncover heart risks.

"If you wait this amount of time for testing you're going to be preventing certain drugs from getting out there that may be better than what we already have," said Dr. Eric Felner, a pediatric specialist at Emory University School of Medicine.

The FDA is not required to follow the panel's advise, though it often does.

If the recommendation is adopted, development of diabetes drugs would become longer and more expensive, since it can cost tens of millions of dollars to perform long-term studies that track heart problems in thousands of patients.

GlaxoSmithKline PLC, AstraZeneca and Novartis AG are among the companies developing diabetes treatments to compete in the domestic market, which grew to over $6 billion last year, according to pharmaceutical research firm IMS Heath.

I’m sorry, but spending money on safety is an act of social responsibility—deal with it!