Then there's fluoroquinolone antibiotics. Fluoroquinolones are among the best-selling drug classes but are linked to tendinitis and tendon ruptures, liver injury, heart problems and mental effects like confusion, hallucinations and psychosis. The Journal of the American Medical Association reported that of 4,384 patients diagnosed with retinal detachment, 445 (10 percent) were exposed to a fluoroquinolone in the year before diagnosis. Fluoroquinolones are a "major risk factor for development of community and hospital acquired C. difficile infection," reports the Duke Antimicrobial Stewardship Outreach Network (Dason), the dreaded and tenacious intestinal microbe. Last year because of serious side effects, some permanent, the FDA said fluoroquinolones should only be used as a last resort.
Why are such dangerous drugs being waved through? The FDA was always Pharma friendly because of cronyism, the revolving door and huge fees drug makers pay for quicker approvals but it has become more so.
When Robert Califf was confirmed in 2016 as FDA Commissioner despite 23 financial links to Pharma and cheerleading for Vioxx and Xarelto, many felt the industry taint at the FDA could not get worse. Little did they know Trump would pick venture capitalist Scott Gottlieb to be FDA Commissioner----a person so enmeshed with Pharma profits and conflicts of interest, his appointment would once have been inconceivable.
"From 2013 to 2015, for example, Dr. Gottlieb received more than $150,000 to advise Vertex Pharmaceuticals, a company whose two approved drugs are seen as breakthrough treatments for cystic fibrosis but carry list prices of more than $250,000 a year," wrote the New York Times when he was picked. "He's the acting chief executive of Cell Biotherapy, an early-stage cancer biotech firm that he helped found. He has served for years as a consultant to pharmaceutical giants like GlaxoSmithKline and Bristol-Myers Squibb and is paid by other companies for his expertise."
Gottlieb has also held seats on the corporate boards of Tolero Pharmaceuticals and MedAvante, which assists pharmaceutical companies with clinical trials, the Times noted.
Of course it is not just the FDA that now belongs to industry under Trump. The new head of the Department of Health and Human Services, Alex Michael Azar II, is a former Pharma executive and lobbyist. Think about that.
With the foxes guarding the henhouses, is it any wonder drugs are becoming more expensive and dangerous?
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