Human Guinea Pigs

More fun and games at the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) as they continue to allow the pharmaceutical industry to use the population of America as human guinea pigs. This installment is about how the FDA finally got around to putting a "black box warning" on Bristol-Myers' best-selling drug Plavix. It seems that up to 14% of the population may have a genetic variation that makes it difficult for them to metabolize the drug, or as the FDA says they "may not respond well" to the drug. Plavix is also marketed by Sanofi Aventis and is the second-best selling drug in the world with $8.6 Billion in sales in 2008.

The FDA also recently announced it's conducting a review of a class of bone-building drugs featuring products like Boniva to see if they actually increase the risk of femur fractures as has been reported in the media. Bisphosphonate drugs have also been reported to have severe side effects like jaw necrosis, heart rhythm disturbances and severe bone and joint pain. How many years will this review take and how many people will be injured in the meantime?

People simply don't understand and appreciate that they're being used as human guinea pigs, they think the FDA is protecting them.

And the medical industry wonders why consumers are turning to complementary and alternative medicine?