Proof of intelligence, compassion, and conservatism in the Senate

[BaliBabyDoc]

CNN Money

Separately, The New York Times reported Thursday that almost a year before Merck pulled the drug on Sept. 30, company officials had received preliminary results from a study that apparently indicated the drug posed cardiovascular risks.

You ever notice that preliminary data in your favor gets advertised while evidence to the contrary needs confirmation?

"Regardless of the New York Times article, my investigators have come up with information that both before Vioxx went on the market and even after Vioxx went on the market there were various red flags coming up within the organization of Merck that raised these legitimate questions about the safety of the drug," Grassley, an Iowa Republican, told CNNfn.

Minor details . . .

Two Food and Drug Administration officials also are due to testify, including Dr. David Graham.

Dr. Graham co-authored of a critical study of Vioxx, and later complained in e-mails that his supervisors ignored his conclusions, the Times reported.

I think I've seen this movie before . . .

Grassley also said the committee would ask whether the FDA was independent enough from the pharmaceutical industry.

"All the FDA must consider is that their only client is the American public, not the pharmaceutical companies," said Grassley.

Go figure. Who would have thought a regulatory agency created to protect the public from dangerous and/or ineffective products would consider that their primary function??