DNAprint Genomics (DNAG)

[Blue Juggernaut]

Faces In The News
Senator Dodd: Proposes Sweeping Drug Safety Reform
Matthew Herper, 01.21.05, 2:02 PM ET

NEW YORK - Doers and doings in business, entertainment and technology:

Senator Christopher J. Dodd

http://www.forbes.com/facesinthenews/2005/01/21/0121autofacescan03.html?partner=yahoo&referrer=

Connecticut Senator Christopher J. Dodd, a Democrat, is proposing a sweeping set of drug reforms that would give the Food and Drug Administration the muscle to force pharmaceutical companies to study drug safety after the medicines are approved. If drug companies ran afoul of the FDA, they might be fined as much as $10,000 per day. The bill, called the Patient Protection Act of 2005, would have no effect on the approval process for drugs. Instead, it gives the FDA more power to regulate medicines after they are approved, filling what he said were "gaping holes" in the agency's ability to enforce its decisions. "'FDA-approved' is just about as good a brand as we have," said Dodd. The point of the bill is to make that brand stronger. He said the bill would "put some real teeth into the FDA."