Not all bacteria is bad, and we don’t have to treat everything we detect. We urge the USPSTF to consider the new evidence for or against broad screening.
Read More »We’re Speaking Out on Health Issues
NCHR scientists and health policy experts provide written and oral statements on a wide range of topics.
Here are many of the ways we have been Speaking Out on Health Policy Issues for the last few years. Whether the topic is legislation intended to cure diseases, proposed bans on BPA or other chemicals that disrupt your hormones, the importance of including women, people of color, and patients over 65 in clinical trials, or many other topics, you’ll gain a better understanding of our evidence-based analyses by reading these letters, statements, and testimony.
Here are the ways we have been Speaking out on Medical Treatments and Products, such as prescription drugs and medical devices that the FDA is considering approving, or is considering taking off the market because of serious risks. Whether the topic is Chantix, Addyi, Yaz, Essure, or medical products you’ve never heard of, you can find out more about what is known and not known about the safety and effectiveness of a wide range of products by looking through this section of our website.
Here are our Statements and Positions on issues that affect you.
NCHR Comments at CDRH’s Voluntary Medical Device Manufacturing and Product Quality Workshop
October 10, 2017. Recalls demonstrate the crucial need for improved medical device quality, and for more clinical testing of such devices before they are put onto the marketplace, as well as improved inspections of manufacturing facilities prior to them going on the market. It’s a positive sign that this pilot program will address at least some of these inspectional issues.
Read More »NCHR Comments on the USPSTF’s Draft Recommendation Statement, Evidence Review, and Modeling Report on Cervical Cancer Screening
October 9, 2017. The USPSTF proposes new cervical cancer screening recommendations. Surprisingly, the USPSTF proposes eliminating co-testing (pap and HPV test together) as a preferred screening approach in favor of the HPV test alone. Do the proposed recommendations deserve an “A” rating? Read our comments to find out.
Read More »NCHR Statement on Right To Try Legislation before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health
October 3, 2017. We strongly urge this Committee to reject the Right To Try legislation that is currently under consideration, because it would undermine the successful FDA compassionate waiver program already in place to enable patients to have access to experimental drugs for free or at cost.
Read More »NCHR Testimony at the FDA Panel on Ataluren
September 28, 2017. We agree with FDA scientists that the data today do not indicate significant benefit in randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials, such as Study 7. Only after making many post-hoc changes did ataluren show it was effective for ADP patients, but this was not replicated in Study 20. As you know, those post-hoc manipulations do not provide clear evidence of efficacy. For both studies, 90% and 79% of patients were White. But the CDC reports that Hispanic males are disproportionately likely to have these conditions. It is essential that an adequate number of Hispanic males be analyzed to determine if they can benefit from a treatment such as ataluren.
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