Here’s the insider’s perspective of scientific integrity at the FDA. And it’s not pretty.

It’s hard out there for a scientist.

Especially an FDA scientist.

In 2006, and again in 2011, the Union of Concerned Scientists surveyed about 1,000 FDA scientists to take the pulse on scientific integrity at the agency.

The consensus… Getting a little better. But not great.

The bad news is fairly ominous.

More than half of the scientists said that political interests influenced agency decisions. Forty percent said business interests guided too many decisions.

Even worse, one in three said they had firsthand experience of interference in their work during the past year.

And worse still, many of the respondents said they feared retribution if they shared their concerns about the agency.

Looks like our FDA fears are valid. Scientific integrity appears to be about as rare as running back a kickoff for a touchdown.

It happens. But don’t count on it.

Sources:
“FDA Scientist Survey Shows Progress, But Problems Remain” Union of Concerned Scientists, 3/7/12, ucsusa.org