Senate Votes for Bill Giving FDA Sweeping New Powers for Drug Safety

May 9, 2007 — The Senate today passed a bill giving the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sweeping new power to police drug safety, order changes in drug labels, and restrict the use and distribution of medicines found to pose serious risks to consumers, reported the New York Times.

The bill calls for a fundamental change in the philosophy and operations of the F.D.A., requiring the agency to focus on the entire life cycle of a drug — not just the years prior to its approval, but also the experience of patients who later take it.

According to the Times, Senators said the bill was a response to a widespread loss of confidence in the ability of the F.D.A. to protect consumers against the dangers of drugs like Vioxx, a popular painkiller withdrawn from the market in 2004. The bill would carry out many recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences and appears broadly acceptable to the House.

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