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September 25 FDA Susceptible to Industry Bribes--Ahem, PressureOh, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, why is your state the only one to make the flu shot mandatory for entrance into public school? Hmm...
The US Food and Drug Administration said yesterday (September 24) that four New Jersey legislators and the agency's former commissioner are guilty of pushing through the approval of an expensive medical device, reported The New York Times. Starting in late 2007, the congressmen -- Senators Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg and Representatives Frank Pallone Jr. and Steven Rothman -- received political contributions from New Jersey-based device maker ReGen Biologics Inc., maker of a C-shaped pad called Menaflex used to repair a torn or damaged part of the knee. The lawmakers took a total of $26,000 from three ReGen executives and then urged Andrew C. von Eschenbach, former FDA commissioner, to approve Menaflex for sale. Even though FDA scientists cautioned that the $3,000 product was not safe because it could fail, necessitating another knee operation, Menaflex was approved for sale in December of last year. Currently, 30 Americans and nearly 3,000 Europeans have the device in their knees. The four New Jersey congressmen, ReGen officials, and Eschenbach all claim that they are innocent of wrongdoing. TrackbacksThe trackback URL for this entry is: http://theresma.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!80EE15D075B65A13!1327.trak Weblogs that reference this entry
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