August 22, 2016 Public Comment to FDA: The National Center for Health Research supports more funding for the FDA through PDUFA but warns that the current process focuses too much on speed over safety, leaving patients at risk and consumers without a strong voice in the process.
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.
Letter to FDA Commissioner Re Lack of Public Health and Consumer Perspectives at Drug User Fee Meeting
August 18, 2016: The National Center for Health Research wrote to the FDA to criticize the agency for excluding consumer and public health experts at the PDUFA user fee meeting, clearly focused on what industry wants rather than patient safety and public health.
Read More »NCHR Joins Other Safety Advocates to Applaud IKEA Recall, Emphasize Need for Consumer Awareness
June 28, 2016. “This recall is critically important to protect children and prevent future injuries and deaths caused by these dangerous IKEA dressers. While we wish that this safety hazard had been addressed sooner to protect young lives, we’re pleased that this recall will stop the sale of these dressers and give consumers options for a refund or the assistance to make these products safer by anchoring them to the wall.”
Read More »NCHR Testimony at the FDA Meeting of the Pediatric Subcommittee of the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee
June 29, 2016. We strongly support FDA advisory committee meetings, such as this one, to garner input from experts on how best to conduct clinical trials in pediatric patients.
Read More »NCHR Testimony at Public Meeting on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria
June 21, 2016. We’re not convinced that strategies to encourage the private sector to solve this problem make sense, because there is an inherent conflict between a company’s investment to develop new antibiotics for targeted populations and the public health need to prevent wide-spread use of those drugs. And patent extensions and other financial incentives will always mean that the American taxpayer will be footing the bill anyway. We agree with Rep. Jan Schakowsky that this is an issue where the government needs to step in. In our view, it is time for the NIH to invest in this work instead, and thereby put limits on off label promotions that lead to overuse.
Read More »