Obama Not to Blame for Armour Shortage, Says New Member
Will S., a new member of metabolism.com, offers these sensible comments on who to blame for the sad state of FDA oversight of prescription drugs like Armour Thyroid.
Will argues:
Gatekeeper: Just a suggestion to do a little more research on this situation before blaming it on Obama. It was several years ago, at the end of the Clinton and beginning of the Bush administration, that the FDA began to investigate and reveal that Armour Thyroid had never been officially approved by the regulatory agency. Membership on the FDA consists partially of highly paid executives that came from pharmaceutical companies. It makes sense that they have an interest in making sure that only the big pharmaceutical companies have the money to get their drugs approved. Situations like this are why we need health care reform now. Yes, you certainly can and should bring this issue to the attention of the current administration, but please place blame where it is due, as finger pointing in the wrong direction is unhelpful to those who are suffering.
I can only hope others will contact the new administration with Will’s message. http://www.whitehouse.gov
First, your statement: “Membership on the FDA consists partially of highly paid executives that came from pharmaceutical companies” is very misleading, because it implies that this shortage is primarily their fault. In the case of the Armour thyroid shortage, “highly paid executives” have nothing to do with the problem. Don’t forget, in the final analysis, it is the bureaucrats who formulate and enforce FDA policy and regulation, and it is politicians that give them the power to do so.
Second, how can you possibly suggest that “health care reform” in the form of MORE gov’t involvement is the answer to this problem when a gov’t agency is behind the asinine policies resulting in shortage of Armour Thyroid in the first place? The “reform” going through the Senate as we speak will only make the FDA bureaucrats more powerful.
I’m redeemed? Regardless of where the blame lies, in the end it will all beabout greed, why we need an e-mail in mass to the white house, imho. As far as reform, non-profit insurance companies and mandatory pay-in.
Currently insurance companies howl because young people are the ones not buying. Insurance companies (or whomever) need to give parents the ability to keep their kids on their policies till they have policies of their own. I have a good bad story about that. My insurance allows me to keep my kids on till 25, whether they’re in school or not. The bad, both will be on it most likely as long as I’m employed as they have Asperger’s. But, that’s money I’m paying in for very little take out as they’re both in the healthy young adult category. But I digress… sorry.
Will said:
“It makes sense that they have an interest in making sure that only the big pharmaceutical companies have the money to get their drugs approved.”
Except that Armour Thyroid is a product of Forest Laboratories…a big pharmaceutical company who has successfully put many drugs through the FDA approval process.
Why does anyone believe that this temporary shortage is the result of some government and/or pharmaceutical industry conspiracy instead of a raw material supply problem? The FDA has taken no action against Forest Laboratories and their Armour Thyroid product. What they are doing is the same thing they did with levothyroxine and, as you should know, generic companies were successful in getting FDA approval for their levothyroxine products. In bringing non-FDA approved drugs through the approval process, they have stated that they will proceed in a manner as not to disrupt supply or patient access to these products while pending FDA approval.
Tony
In its form letter on the dessicated thyroid topic the FDA refers to Armour Thyroid as an “illegal” drug. It would be foolish for a pharma company to continue to market a drug when the FDA plainly states the company would be breaking the law by doing so. I don’t blame Forest from backing down in the face of this type of pressure if they want to stay in business. If this was simply a supply problem wouldn’t you expect Forest to be doing everything possible to reassure its customers of this? Instead, Forest has been vague and evasive. That’s why I think the “shortage” is much more likely to be a conscious termination of production by the pharma company(s) in order to protect itself from legal action by the FDA. Personally I don’t expect them to restore the supply of Armour any time soon.
If it is considered an “illegal” drug. How can compound pharmacies still use and sell it?
I am curious how is Pharma protecting itself from the many so-called legal drugs that have of late been pulled off the market because people have DIED! Where were the tests done that allowed them to go onto the market in the first place. And lately they are proving that certain drugs given to babies have caused autism.. I saw a tv program that showed an adorable baby who was active and perfectly normal until he got whateve “legal” shots they gave him and shortly thereafter he became autistic!! They now say autism has never been so high…WHERE are the tests for these drugs..I may be wrong but I have never heard of anyone dying who took Armour Thyroid for many many years..Again it is money money money not conscience..unfortunately!! Another one is Vioxx now pulled off the market..I could go on and on but I will wait to see if anything gets done and hopefully WE will be able to see to it that it DOES get done for the thryroid victims!
Unless Armour goes back to the old formulation, I’m sticking with compounded, it has been working better for me.