There have been many informative and interesting responses to this
question - it's clearly a complex issue, with no easy answers, since not
only science impacts on developing new treatments and ultimately the
cure. Politics and economics are also deeply involved and can help speed
the process or can add roadblocks and slow it down.
If you are interested in the development of new PD drugs and possible
roles for PWP in this process
I recommend reading Perry's proposal for the Parkinson-FDA-Industry
initiative
www.parkinsonscare.org/RxDEv.html
Perry -could you suggest ways listmembers could help?
A couple of related articles appeared yesterday :
The first is from kaisernetwork.org Daily Reports.
"ADMINISTRATION WATCH
National Journal Examines Search for FDA Commissioner
National Journal this week reports on the search for an FDA
commissioner, a position that has remained unfilled since the resignation
of former Commissioner Jane Henney in January. The absence of a
commissioner raises "troubling questions" about the speed of drug
approvals and issues related to mifepristone and human cloning, National
Journal reports. In addition, the FDA, which approves new drugs and
vaccines and regulates food safety, plays an important role in the fight
against bioterrorism. While HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson has made the
"most-critical" decisions at the agency since January, National Journal
reports that the FDA's "second leadership tier" has been running the
agency day to day, and according to analysts, "it's just not as good as
having a political appointee who can represent the administration in
high-level interagency meetings." President Bush planned to appoint
Michael Astrue, chair of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council and
general counsel f!
or the biopharmaceutical company Transkaryotic Therapies Inc., to head
the agency, but Astrue withdrew his name from consideration in late
October after Senate Democrats said that they would not confirm a
candidate with ties to the pharmaceutical industry. According to
analysts, after Astrue's withdrawal, "it's unclear how aggressively the
administration is pursuing the nomination of its current front-runner,"
Lester Crawford, director of Georgetown University's Center for Food and
Nutrition Policy. National Journal reports that "a nomination can't be
expected anytime soon" (Serafini, National Journal, 12/15)."
--------------------------
see:
Health Policy As It Happens
http://www.kaisernetwork.org
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