The FDA Guerillas of Wonky DrugWonks - Part II

Evidence of “cozy” relationships can also be found in the names of the guests at the "memorable launch party." On August 24, 2005, Mr Pitts pumped out syrupy defense when the Seattle Times criticized the FDA’s hiring of industry insider, Scott Gottlieb, directly from the MS&L stable. Without mentioning that he also was employed by MS&L, Mr Pitts wrote:

“Scott Gottlieb is a lot of things. Public servant. Physician. Pundit. He is my former colleague at the FDA. Most importantly, he is my friend.”

“And my blood boils with anger and frustration at today’s scurrilous attack on him in the Seattle Times“.

“Scott I know personally. I know that he takes his work at the FDA seriously. I know that he takes his government oath to protect the public health seriously. I know that he is highly ethical and honest. And I know how much this article must hurt him personally.”

“And, I’m sure, that is precisely why certain lupine elements are gleefully forwarding this ugly hit piece to their friends and colleagues.”

“If people don’t agree with his policy positions they should dispute them, firmly, strongly, logically — and respectfully,” Mr Pitts wrote.

“That they have chosen character assassination only shows the weakness of their intellectual arguments as well as their disappointing lack of character,” he wrote. “For shame.”

On January 15, 2006, Dr Sidney Wolf, was again ridiculed when the LA Times cited his criticisms of what Mr Pitts described as the FDA’s “new and better way to establish drug safety that solves a one of the more serious problems in drug development, namely that animal studies are often a poor and inaccurate substitute for what happens in human.”

The “better way” involved earlier testing on humans. Dr Wolf questioned whether the FDA had a strong enough scientific argument for speeding the early stages of drug research, the Times noted.

In his blog, Mr Pitts dismisses the legitimacy of Dr Wolf’s concerns with the statement: “Sid Wolfe has opposed every effort to speed drugs to dying patients since he has been on his anti-patient jihad starting in 1970.”

“Wolfe has a self-interest in trashing new medicines,” he also explained, “since his organization makes money by hawking a book Worst Pills, Best Pills that argues the most drugs are dangerous.”

The majority of proof to support Senator Grassley‘s “blowhard accusations,” will likely come directly from the CMPI website and the years of incriminating blogs by Mr Pitts and Mr Goldberg filled with nothing but lobbying campaigns for the drug companies.

Rarely does a month pass where the two top bananas are not pumping out propaganda to boost profits for MS&L clients Eli Lilly, Glaxo and Pfizer, with false claims that SSRIs are effective and do cause suicide, along with vicious attacks on anyone who says otherwise.

On February 15, 2008, Mr Goldberg was again blaming a non-existent decline in the prescribing of SSRIs, and the increased suicides, on Rep Stupak, as head of the Health subcommittee on Energy Commerce. He held "several fear-drenched hearings about antidepressants in 2003-2004," and he "is partially responsible for the decline in SSRI prescription use and the corresponding increase in adolescent suicide," Mr Goldberg wrote. “So the question is,” he said:

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