Pharma Blog Watch

Revisiting the IOM Report (GoozNews)
In his blog, Merrill Goozner discusses an editorial in the Oct. 26 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine that asks Congress "to take prompt action to enact the more far-reaching elements" of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report on drug safety released last month. These elements include "critical issues of financing, transparency and independence," he writes, quoting the editorial.

He also discusses another issue mentioned in the report that he finds particularly important, which is that FDA advisory committees comprise many members with industry ties. "The IOM report called for a 'substantial majority' of those advisers to have no ties to firms the agency regulates," he writes. "If the new Congress takes FDA reform seriously, ending conflicts of interests on the FDA's advisory committees will rank high on its agenda."