Unintentionally humorous drama from the Avandia panel discussion

A few days after the recent FDA panel hearing on Avandia, an amusing drama played out in the Wall St. Journal.

On the Monday after the panel meeting, WSJ reported that one of the panelists, Dr. David Capuzzi, had financial ties to GlaxoSmithKline, the maker of Avandia. Dr. Capuzzi says that, previous to the meeting, he informed FDA officials about the GSK association.

And can you guess how he voted?

Sure you can! Out of the 33 panelists, Dr. Capuzzi was one of just three who voted to allow Avandia to stay on the market without restrictions.

Huh! Imagine that!

The New York Times reported this quote from Dr. Capuzzi about Avandia during the two-day panel discussion: “I think it would be a disaster to remove a useful agent like that. I don’t care what the controlled clinical trials show.”

Then–apparently realizing what he’d just blurted out–he added, “Well, I do but I don’t think it’s knock down complete.”

Wow! That’s pretty candid… Don’t show me the data! I already made up my mind!

Of course, we shouldn’t be surprised. This sort of thing happens all the time. But one of the other panel members who also voted to keep Avandia on the market WAS surprised. Or rather, he was surprised that someone at the FDA didn’t inform the panelists about Dr. Capuzzi’s link to GSK.

But now it appears that FDA officials WEREN’T aware of Dr. Capuzzi’s GSK link. So the agency has referred the situation to the Inspector General’s office at Health and Human Services.

Looks like somebody’s got some splainin’ to do.

But the drama doesn’t end there.

WSJ reports that another panel member, Dr. Abraham Thomas, previously served as a paid speaker for Takeda Pharmaceutical. That’s the company that makes Actos, the primary rival of Avandia.

And can you guess how Dr. Thomas voted?

It’s too easy, isn’t it?

Dr. Thomas was one of 12 panelists who voted to take Avandia off the market.

Do you get the impression they could have all just phoned in their votes? No need to go through the silly charade of a two-day public hearing.

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson

Sources:
“Panelist Who Backed Avandia Gets Fees From Glaxo” Alicia Mundy, Wall St. Journal, 7/19/10, online.wsj.com
“F.D.A. Panel Votes to Restrict Avandia” Gardiner Harris, New York Times, 7/14/10, prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com
“Glaxo Rival Paid Fees to Doctor Who Voted Against Avandia” Alicia Mundy, Wall St. Journal, 7/20/10, online.wsj.com