News of GlaxoSmithKline’s coverup of the health risks of their diabetes drug, “Avandia,” has also highlighted serious problems with scientific integrity at the FDA. In 2006, an FDA scientist who recommended requiring a warning label about Avandia’s possible heart health risks was shot down and reprimanded by her superiors. In 2007, the non-profit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, petitioned the FDA to inform patients that a low-fat, vegan diet could be as effective as the drug without carrying the same health risks. They are now suing the the agency for failing to act on its recommendation. In 2008, FDA scientists who expressed concern over risks to patients participating in a study of Avandia’s safety were ignored. “FDA scientists who have questioned the safety of drugs such as Avandia, Vioxx and Ketek were not only were [sic] ignored, they were intimidated and censored,” said Francesca Grifo, director of Union of Concerned Scientist’s Scientific Integrity Program. “In each case, their concerns were justified, but they were heeded only after thousands of patients died or were seriously harmed.”
