May 22, 2018: Opioids can be greatly beneficial and, as we all know too well, can also produce tremendous harms for patients suffering from pain. Buvaya presents concerning safety issues, its benefits seem minimal, and the delayed benefit for patients may result in overuse or misuse in the real world. Please carefully consider the risks of putting another non-abuse-deterrent opioid on the market and whether the sponsor’s attempts to reduce misuse and abuse are sufficient. We do not think so and more important, there is no evidence demonstrating that this product will be misused less often than other opioids. We therefore urge you to vote that the benefits of Buvaya do not outweigh its risks.
Read More »On Medical Treatments & Products
Statement of National Center for Health Research Supporting A CDC Review to Save Women’s Lives
The National Center for Health Research strongly supports the announcement that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may conduct a review of the potential benefits of biopsies for women scheduled for hysterectomy or fibroid removal. The review is essential because a recent article, published in the medical journal Obstetrics & Gynecology reports that the rate of unsuspected cancer is dangerously high in women undergoing hysterectomy. When those women undergo surgery, particularly procedures involving a medical device called a power morcellator, the cancer can spread inside the woman’s abdomen, resulting in an early-stage cancer being upstaged to a much more dangerous metastatic (stage 4) cancer. The risks are especially high for women ages 55 and older, reaching almost 10% for undiagnosed uterine cancer.
Read More »NCHR and NPA Comments at FDA Advisory Committee on New Treatment for Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria
May 2, 2018, We urge the panel to recommend that FDA require additional well-designed superiority studies that use appropriate statistical methods to determine whether plazomicin cures infections and saves lives for patients who have no other options. With reliable methods, even small studies can show a clinically meaningful and significant benefit. Since there is no evidence that plazomicin works or is safe for patients who have no or limited options, approval will do more harm than good.
Read More »NCHR’s Comments on USPSTF Draft Research Plan: Interventions for Tobacco Cessation in Adults, Including Pregnant Women
USPSTF, April 11, 2018, We strongly support the efforts of the USPSTF to draft a research plan to identify benefits and harms of tobacco cessation interventions in broad populations, including pregnant women. We encourage the USPSTF to consider: 1. the necessary evidence to establish the short-term and long-term benefits of tobacco cessation on an individual and population level 2. potential fetal outcomes, including developmental and birth-related outcomes. 3. the harms associated with electronic nicotine delivery systems, as these products have been touted as safer alternatives that may also serve as quit aids.
Read More »Statement Regarding FDA Restrictions on Essure Sterilization Device of Dr. Diana Zuckerman, President of the National Center for Health Research
April 9, 2018. The FDA announced restrictions on the sale and distribution of Essure and a requirement that women receive risk information. But, the checklist that is meant to help inform women has clear problems, and the information in it has been questioned by experts in the field.
Read More »