http://www.arizonapirg.org/newsroom/health-care/health-care-news http://www.arizonapirg.org/newsroom/health-care/health-care-news/president-signs-prescription-drug-safety-bill President Bush today http://www.arizonapirg.org/newsroom/health-care/health-care-news/president-signs-prescription-drug-safety-bill Thu, 13 Dec 2007 14:48:13 -0600 http://www.arizonapirg.org/newsroom/health-care/health-care-news/president-signs-prescription-drug-safety-bill2 President Bush today signed a comprehensive Food and Drug Administration (FDA) bill that focuses on prescription drug safety reforms. The bill holds the prescription drug industry more accountable for the safety of their products by requiring them to publicly disclose drug safety studies, even the ones that show their medicines in an unflattering light. It also increases the budget for drug safety reviews at the Food and Drug Administration. “This bill is the right prescription for improving the safety of our medicines,” stated Diane E. Brown, Executive Director of the Arizona Public Interest Research Group (Arizona PIRG). “It is a huge victory for consumers over the powerful prescription drug industry, which tried unsuccessfully to weaken the drug safety language in the bill. We applaud Congress for passing it and President Bush for signing it into law.” The Food and Drug Administration Amendment Act will: http://www.arizonapirg.org/newsroom/health-care/health-care-news/president-signs-prescription-drug-safety-bill2 Tue, 11 Nov 2008 10:36:20 -0600 http://www.arizonapirg.org/newsroom/health-care/health-care-news/u.s.-senate-passes-drug-safety-legislation Bill Will Protect Patients from Unsafe Medicines In a victory for consumers, the U.S. Senate today passed the "Food and Drug Administration Revitalization Act" by a vote of 93 to 1. The bill attempts to please both the powerful pharmaceutical industry and consumer groups. It increases the amount of money the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) receives in fees from drug makers to speed the approval of new drugs, and includes language to protect consumers from unsafe prescription drugs. Over the next five years, the bill will increase by $225 million the amount of drug industry user fee money dedicated to drug safety. "Congress is telling the FDA that they must put safety first," said Diane E. Brown, Executive Director of the Arizona Public Interest Research Group (Arizona PIRG). "The American public will no longer tolerate dangerous and deadly drugs like Vioxx, Paxil, and Accutane approved by an agency that has been much too cozy with the industry it is supposed to be regulating." The U.S. Senate bill gives the FDA new powers to issues fines to drug companies if they fail to do follow-up safety studies, or if they air false or misleading TV ads. The drug safety provisions were added to must-pass prescription drug user fee legislation that provides nearly $400 million or 20 percent of the Food and Drug Administration's $1.5 billion budget. The U.S. House is scheduled to debate similar legislation in the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health by the end of May, and both Houses are expected to pass drug safety/prescription drug user fee legislation by the end of July, 2007. http://www.arizonapirg.org/newsroom/health-care/health-care-news/u.s.-senate-passes-drug-safety-legislation Tue, 11 Nov 2008 10:51:42 -0600