John Fratti: I was simply given a legal pill called Levaquin and now it’s ruined my life.
Melissa: Former pharmaceutical sales rep John Fratti took the drug Levaquin for an infection. He went from charging the basketball court to barely being able to walk.
John Fratti: I’ve now been diagnose with suffering from Levaquin induced brain damage, damage to my nerves and damage to my tendons.
Melissa: Less than a year ago, the FDA mandated the makers of the drug put a black box warning on the prescription for tendinitis and tendon rupture. Americans are ten times more likely to be hospitalized from an adverse drug reaction than from a car crash. Drug reactions are the fourth leading cause of death in the country.
Sidney Wolfe: The FDA and the industry are doing a terrible job assuring the public that what they are getting after a doctor writes a prescription for them is really adequately safe.
Melissa: Dr. Wolfe says that user fees are a huge problem with the drug approval process. That’s money drug companies pay the FDA to get their products reviewed and put on the market.
Peter Lurie: We now find people at the FDA who referred to the drug industry as their customers.
Melissa: The President of the Alliance for a stronger FDA, Steve Grossman says that some level of funding from the drug companies is necessary because the agency can’t survive on the current federal budget.
Steve Grossman: The FDA needs about a hundred million dollar increase just to about break it even.
Melissa: There is one safety issue that both the industry and activist agree needs attention on drugs made overseas. In 2007, 43% of plants were in China but inspectors visited less than 3% of them.
Tim Wells: The number of manufacturing sites in China is thousands. It’s still an uphill battle.
John Fratti: I want people to know that they need to be their own health advocate.
Melissa: John doesn’t want people to stop taking medicine, just start asking questions before swallowing their next pill. I’m Melissa Medalie reporting.
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