Author Archives: Martha Rosenberg and Evelyn Pringle

Phony patients selling pricey drugs—Part 1

It’s happened to anyone who’s attended an open-mic session at an FDA advisory committee hearing. A queue of “patients” materializes out of nowhere to testify, often in tears, about the crucial need for approval of a drug the public has often not even heard of. Sometimes the drug has not been approved by the FDA at all, but often it’s just not been approved for the use the patients wants—so it’s not reimbursable. Continue reading