As I said before, the FDA is complicit
Lawyer: FDA May Reassign Vioxx Whistleblower
Mon Nov 29, 2004 01:20 PM ET
By Susan Heavey
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Food and Drug Administration reviewer who criticized the agency's handling of Merck & Co. Inc.'s now-withdrawn Vioxx painkiller may be forced to another position at the agency, a lawyer for the scientist said on Monday.
FDA efforts to move David Graham, the associate director for science in the Office of Drug Safety, have stepped up since he accused the agency at a Nov. 18 Senate hearing of failing to protect the public, said his lawyer, Thomas Devine.
"We were wondering if he was going to be reassigned today," but that had not happened as of Monday morning, said Devine, legal director of the Government Accountability Project. Devine added that talks with other FDA scientists indicate Graham's "exile from drug safety work is imminent."
