FDA, the new panal--but no authority

[rodeodance]

http://www.slate.com/id/2113600/fr/nl/

The NYT and Journal detail a few of the slight caveats about the new FDA panel: 1) It won't really be independent. Members will be drawn mostly from the FDA itself, though not from drug-approval programs. 2) It will have no regulatory authority to recall drugs, fine companies, or do anything else. Its power will come from advising FDA honchos and naming-and-shaming. 3) While the FDA said it will pour through healthcare databases looking for signs of bad pills, there's no money in the proposed budget for such a project, which researchers told the NYT would cost "tens of millions."

The other papers don't dig into the panel's limitations. The Post's coverage is particularly credulous: "FDA PLANS NEW BOARD TO MONITOR DRUG SAFETY; Independent Panel to Be More Open to the Public."

[ladjf]

1. I believe that the overall budget for the FDA will be cut

in the new budget.