tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9437268.post3797230562497098112..comments2024-02-03T07:12:06.620-05:00Comments on U.S. Food Policy: Should FDA give waivers to panel members who have conflicts of interest?usfoodpolicyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17098394318544229984noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9437268.post-27181688252467330002008-05-07T11:01:00.000-04:002008-05-07T11:01:00.000-04:00Actually, I think that it's not so hard to believe...Actually, I think that it's not so hard to believe that many "experts" have financial ties to the companies. People devoted to specific topic will have sought funding from the appropriate sources, and it's not unreasonable to believe that they have either been funded or been denied funding by the company that has an interest in the topic at hand.<BR/><BR/>In any case, I would like to argue "no" to your question, but knowing that it's not that simple. My questions to you, keeping in mind that I do not know too much about the FDA panels and how they are run, are how big are the panels, how do the panels reach a decision, and what is the proportion of "experts" that have conflicts of interest.<BR/><BR/>It is a real danger to have the company influence judgement on approval or regulation decisions. Another issue is also the regulation of research funding by these companies, as this funding may not only influence the FDA panels but also create experimental biases, but that is another discussion....<BR/><BR/>By the way, I came across this blog from your faculty page at Tufts. Very interesting, and I'm quite appreciative of the discussions and information sources in your posts.Nathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08518245571421076940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9437268.post-11505635067148098152008-05-07T10:51:00.000-04:002008-05-07T10:51:00.000-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Nathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08518245571421076940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9437268.post-74295742357914101382007-12-06T14:26:00.000-05:002007-12-06T14:26:00.000-05:00Of course, it shouldn't grant waivers, but, especi...Of course, it shouldn't grant waivers, but, especially given the current environment in Washington, I'm not optimistic the practice will stop. It's hard to believe that the only "experts" available are those that just happen to have financial ties to the outfits they're seeking to regulate.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com