May 9, 2017. We strongly support FDA efforts to strengthen the role of patients and we urge the agency to define patients as those who use medical products, whether or not they are seriously ill.
Read More »On Health Policy
Letter to Pruitt Concerning Beck Hiring for Senior Position at EPA
May 10, 2017. We are troubled and distressed by reports that you have hired Dr. Nancy Beck, a policy advocate at the American Chemistry Council (ACC), as a senior political appointee in the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP). In this post, Dr. Beck will be well-positioned to direct the EPA staff to implement the same science and policy agenda that she played a central role in developing for ACC and its members, presenting a serious conflict of interest.
Read More »NCHR Comment on the USPSTF’s Draft Recommendations for Prostate Cancer Screening
May 8, 2017. We support the efforts of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) to re-evaluate its recommendations in light of new research regarding prostate cancer screening that provides new insights into its benefits and risks.
Read More »NCHR Testimony to the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria on Animal Antibiotics
May 4, 2017. We support efforts by federal agencies to reduce unnecessary exposures to antibiotics. Reducing unnecessary exposure reduces antibiotic resistance, and thus preserves the use of these antibiotics for animal and human health.
Read More »NCHR Testimony at FDA Meeting on Developing Antibiotics for Bacteria That Rarely Cause Infection
April 13, 2017. Developing antibiotics for single bacterial species that infrequently cause infections is difficult. We as a society and as patients want these treatments. However, having ineffective drugs marketed for these specific bacterial species does not help patients and may harm them, in addition to contributing to healthcare costs, which are already higher in the US than other countries where people live years longer. If the FDA wants to be more patient-centered, it needs to ensure that new antibiotics actually work for the intended patients before they are approved. New drugs should be scientifically tested on patients who know that they are participating in a well-designed clinical trial that contributes to knowledge, not by patients who think that they are receiving a proven treatment.
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