Heparin Deaths

The name Janet Woodcock, M.D. is one that anyone who has followed the Heparin Catastrophe is familiar with. It was Dr. Woodcock who stood in front of Congress in 2008, trying to explain how the FDA could possibly have allowed the import of drugs into the United States from facilities that the FDA would not get around to inspecting for nearly 30 years.

It was clear in those hearings that the Congressmen and Dr. Woodcock were well acquainted, with many references to her previous testimony. It now appears that Dr. Woodcock was the pure Washington insider, well acquainted not only with those who were in charge of oversight of her job, but also with those who she was supposed to be regulating.

The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Dr. Woodcock has been accused of conflict of interest, not just on any old drug, but with a heparin based blood thinner, Lovenox. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125003545637224263.html

According to the Wall Street Journal:

“The investigation of Janet Woodcock, the director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, stems from an ethics complaint filed by Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Inc., a California company that says it has been delayed in its six-year effort to win approval for a generic version of Lovenox, a multi-billion-dollar blood thinner.

“In its complaint, Amphastar alleges that its competitor had special access to Dr. Woodcock at critical times in the prolonged approval process, which is ongoing. Amphastar points out that Dr. Woodcock co-authored a scientific paper with scientists at Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc. while both companies were battling to win FDA approval of their generic blood thinners.”

It is an old cliché, but it may be time to throw out those bums. Change we can believe in must come to Washington. The debate over healthcare reform has shown just how deep the health industries ties are to our government. If we can’t return our government to the people, not corporate lobbyists, government for the people, by the people, may perish.

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Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

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