Friends of Cancer Research in USA TODAY

USA TODAY PUBLISHES FRIENDS OF CANCER RESEARCH LETTER TO THE EDITOR
5.31.07

USA TODAY publishes letter to the editor on drug safety from Friends of Cancer Research Chairperson and Founder Dr. Ellen Sigal and Fox Chase Cancer Center President Dr. Robert Young

Earlier this month, USA TODAY published an editorial piece “Our view on pharmaceutical safety: Latest drug scare shows need for FDA overhaul,” (May 23, 2007) addressing the recent news over the diabetes drug Avandia, comparing it to another Vioxx. Friends Chairperson and Founder Dr. Ellen Sigal joined with Dr. Robert Young, Fox Chase Cancer President and co-author and chair of the drug safety white paper report “Drug Safety and Drug Efficacy: Two Sides of the Same Coin,” to respond with a letter to the editor.

Published in this morning’s edition (May 31, 2007), the response stressed the reality that no drug is 100% safe or effective. It also referenced the drug safety white paper report that both Dr. Sigal and Dr. Young served as co-authors of along with 20 other authors from leading cancer and healthcare groups (www.focr.org/drugsafetyreport.htm).

While suggesting that “the public, the media and members of Congress need to put money where their mouths are,” in terms of sufficiently funding a resource-starved and responsibility-laden agency, Dr. Sigal and Dr. Young’s letter to the editor commended recent legislation as part of the solution in saying, “Existing legislation already passed by the Senate would create post-marketing surveillance systems and increase communication, which is precisely what we could use right now to clarify the Avandia controversy. This legislation would enhance drug safety and, most important, save patients' lives.”

To view the entire letter to the editor:
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/05/invest_in_fda_g_1.html#more

To view the original editorial piece:
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/05/our_view_on_pha.html

To view the drug safety report:
www.focr.org/drugsafetyreport.htm