In my recent Huffington Post piece, "A Painful Decision," I wished that the Food and Drug Administration would "send a loud message in favor of innovation by taking the almost unprecedented step of overruling its own panel and approving Arcoxia now. That loud noise you'll hear would be cheering from arthritis patients."
Unfortunately, the only cheering you'll be hearing now is from people like Dr. Marcia Angell, who believe that one drug of each type is enough. The FDA has decided not to approve Arcoxia.
No surprise, just a disappointment.
Jeff Stier is an associate director of the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH.org, HealthFactsAndFears.com).
See also: ACSH's brochure and full report on the benefits and risks of pharmaceuticals.
