Posted by Editor | Posted in General
A House subcommittee has approved legislation giving the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) greater power to oversee drug safety. The changes would improve drug labels and force pharmaceutical companies to conduct studies of products already on the market.
The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health voted to improve the FDA’s ability to detect harmful side effects once medication are sold. Lawmakers said the changes were needed following drugs being pulled from the market, including Merck’s Vioxx and GlaxoSmithKline’s Avandia. Personal injury lawsuits regarding Vioxx have been working their way through the courts.
The full committee will consider the legislation soon. The Senate has already approved a similar measure. The House and the Senate will need to iron out any differences in their bills after they’ve passed both houses of Congress.
