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On 2 Nov 2000, at 23:30, Sid Levin wrote: > Charlie or Perry, > How does our FDA stack up to the Canadian and Europian equivalents? > More aggressive, more conservative, more or less politicized then the other > guys, etc/ > Sid Hi Sid, Here in Canada (BC specifically) hidden agendas and political interference are rampant of course.... After all - we are talkin' BUREAUCRACY!!! Here's a sample from a Parkinson's perspective.... A new drug is developed - say Mirapex or Ropinerole... Double blind trials are conducted in Movement Disorder Centers and data is collected. In due course it is added to Health Canada's formulary lists... Then, the drug company can apply to have it added to the provincial formulary lists and it may or may not happen... In BC (for these 2 drugs specifically) it has NOT yet happened... What does it mean? It means these drugs are available to the fortunate person who can afford them by virtue of wealth or a private health plan... The PWP who is not working and thus has no benefit plan (extended medical) and a limited income will possibly be denied this medication. So in a nutshell - it sucks..... Here is how 1.5 billion of private money is spent on research tho... University of California, San Francisco Growing number of financial ties between academic researchers and private industry shows need for strict disclosure and management http://www.eurekalert.org/releases/ucsf-gno102700.html [log in to unmask]