Opinions
Opinions
| Date | Opinions | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 3, 2012 |
''Drug, device reform gets bipartisan push'' "The U.S. Supreme Court's eagerly awaited Affordable Care Act ruling unfortunately overshadowed the unusually bipartisan work underway at the U.S. Capitol last week, where Congress finalized sweeping legislation crammed with smaller-scale but still vital health reforms." |
Drug Safety, Drugs and Devices at the FDA |
| Jul 11, 2012 |
''Resistance to antibiotics is becoming a crisis'' In an editorial stressing the need for new antibiotics, the Washington Post cites that some bacteria have become resistant to multiple antibiotics while the pipeline of new drugs is drying up. But a promising step by Congress could give pharmaceutical companies the incentive they need. |
Antibiotic Innovation |
| Jul 16, 2012 |
''Delays and Difficulties in Assessing Metal-on-Metal Hip Implants'' More than 500,000 U.S. patients have received metal-on-metal hip prostheses, most of which were implanted between 2003 and 2010. These prostheses entered the market through the 510(k) pathway at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), whereby manufacturers need only demonstrate substantial equivalence to a device already on the market to gain approval. Unfortunately, there is now compelling evidence that these implants fail at a higher rate than hip prostheses made of other materials. |
Drugs and Devices at the FDA |
| Jul 17, 2012 |
"About six years ago my mother-in-law and I were both sickened by E. coli in bagged spinach we had in our home. I survived a painful illness, but my mother-in-law perished eight days after eating the tainted food." |
Food Hazards |
| Jul 24, 2012 |
A Healthy Dose of Bipartisanship Passed by Congress on June 26 and signed by President Obama on July 9, the FDA Safety and Innovation Act will increase inspections of foreign manufacturers that supply 80 percent of the ingredients in our pharmaceuticals, putting American companies on the same footing as their foreign competitors. In addition, it requires drug makers to hold their suppliers to high standards. |
Medical Safety |
| Jul 26, 2012 |
''Washington's election-year paralysis hurts the nation'' "A federal food safety law shifting the government's focus from responding to dangerous contamination to preventing it has been heralded as the most sweeping food security reform in decades. But 18 months after the law was enacted, the rules needed to put it into effect are nowhere to be seen. That inaction is just one example of a disheartening election-year paralysis in Washington." |
Food Safety |
| Aug 6, 2012 |
Biomedical Science Programs Make a Positive Impact on Research The Pew Scholars Program and The Pew Latin American Fellows Program support promising early-career scientists from North, South and Central America in the health sciences — particularly young researchers with innovative approaches and ideas. Anita Pepper, Director of the Pew Programs in the Biomedical Sciences, explains the benefits of the programs. |
Biomedical Research |
| Aug 7, 2012 |
''Will Humans Lose the Battle With Microbes?'' Bacteria have become increasingly resistant to the drugs we've come to rely on. Only a concerted effort can avert a public health crisis. |
Antibiotic Innovation, Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Aug 13, 2012 |
''Rules Delayed, Governing Denied'' "It has been 19 months since President Obama signed into law the Food Safety Modernization Act, the first overhaul of the Food and Drug Administration’s food safety laws since the 1930s. But if you think the food supply has become markedly safer since then, think again." |
Food Safety |
| Aug 13, 2012 |
''Food Safety Delay Puts Lives at Risk'' "It's been a year since a tragic listeria outbreak in cantaloupes began on a Colorado farm, claiming at least 30 lives and infecting nearly 150 people in the largest outbreak of foodborne illness in almost 90 years. Yet, even as we've entered another summer outbreak season, important provisions of a landmark food safety law are still not implemented." |
Food Safety |
| Aug 20, 2012 |
''Get Antibiotics Off the Farm'' "Earlier this month, a federal magistrate judge in New York told the Food and Drug Administration to quit dillydallying on its three-decade effort to curb indiscriminate use of antibiotics in farm animals to spur their growth. He set a timetable for the agency to follow in withdrawing two important drugs — penicillin and two forms of tetracycline — from widespread use in animals. The trouble is, that timetable will give the FDA. five more years to complete the process." |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Aug 24, 2012 |
''Tracking a Superbug at the NIH'' "A deadly outbreak of antibiotic-resistant bacteria last year at the Clinical Research Center of the National Institutes of Health offers a fascinating and frightening window on the future of medicine. Fascinating because scientists used whole-genome sequencing to obtain a fine-grained blueprint of the genetic material in the bacteria and to track how it spread. Frightening because the bacteria, resistant to multiple antibiotics, defied efforts to control it in the 234-bed hospital in Bethesda." |
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| Aug 24, 2012 |
''Food safety law is being delayed'' "In 2011, the president signed the Food Safety Modernization Act, the most ambitious overhaul of the nation’s food safety system since the 1930s, which passed Congress with broad bipartisan support and industry backing." |
Food Hazards |
| Aug 27, 2012 |
''An Uncontrollable Outbreak'' ''The menace posed by germs resistant to powerful antibiotics was all too apparent when a deadly, drug-resistant form of pneumonia bacteria struck the Clinical Center of the National Institutes of Health last year. It infected 17 patients and killed 6 of them. This disheartening episode shows again the importance of slowing the development of resistant strains by reducing rampant overuse of antibiotics — and of developing new, more effective antibiotics." |
Antibiotic Innovation |
| Aug 30, 2012 |
''Deadly Wait for Food Safeguards'' Almost two years after President Barack Obama signed the first major changes to food-safety laws since the 1930s, they're still sitting on the back burner. The Office of Management and Budget hasn't signed off on the changes, further delaying reforms that have been debated for years. |
Food Safety |
| Aug 31, 2012 |
''President Fumbles on Food-Safety Law'' "Twenty months after President Obama signed the Food Safety Modernization Act, the landmark legislation appears to have suffered the same fate as another important measure: the Physician Payment Sunshine Act. Both historic laws have yet to become a reality because the Obama administration hasn't completed the work of turning the laws' language into practical regulations, then issuing that guidance to the public." |
Food Safety |
| Oct 4, 2012 |
''New Food Safety Rules Need to Be Implemented'' Debbie Frederick remembers her father, who passed away from a foodborne illness, as well as millions of Americans who suffer from preventable foodborne illnesses and the thousands who will die each year. She asks that proper protections be put in place to ensure the food on their dinner tables is safe to eat. |
Food Safety |
| Oct 8, 2012 |
"One of the most urgent global public health problems is the increasing capability of bacteria to resist antibiotic drugs. The crisis of antimicrobial resistance is particularly acute in hospitals, where superbugs able to resist multiple drugs have spawned. More than 70 percent of the bacteria that cause hospital-related infections are already resistant to at least one type of antibacterial drug." |
Antibiotic Innovation, Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Oct 10, 2012 |
''Letter: Keep Our Food Supply Safe'' In a letter printed in The Detroit News, Neogen Corp. CEO James Herbert applauded the FDA Safety and Innovation Act and stressed the need for bold leadership to help ensure that the food we put on our tables is safe. Neogen Corp. has been involved in food safety testing for 30 years, developing diagnostic tests and products for food allergies and pathogens. |
Food Safety |
| Oct 11, 2012 |
''Save Lives Now: Implement Food Safety Rules'' Paul Schwarz's father was a World War II veteran and double Purple Heart recipient. Tragically, he was killed by lethal bacteria listeria that he received from a cantaloupe. In order to get better food safety regulations implemented, Schwarz has a clear message for Washington. |
Food Safety |
| Oct 15, 2012 |
"President Obama signed the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act into law in January 2011, hailing the first comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s food safety regulations in seven decades. Yet the rules remain mired in the Office of Management and Budget at the White House. The president should direct that the new food safety rules be finalized before millions more Americans fall victim." |
Food Safety |
| Oct 17, 2012 |
Recent Outbreak Stresses Need for New Antibiotics Following the deadly superbug outbreak in 2011, a recent report published by the NIH indicates new antibiotics could help fight antibiotic resistant bacteria. Senior Officer of Pew's Antibiotics and Innovation Project Nicole Mahoney discusses the new report and the need for a comprehensive strategy to prevent superbug outbreaks.
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Antibiotic Innovation |
| Oct 26, 2012 |
PTA President to Parents: Support the New School Meals In a new opinion editorial in Education Week, Betsy Landers, National PTA President, comments on the importance of parental support for the new school lunches. |
School Food |
| Nov 12, 2012 |
''Lawmakers face a torrent of delayed decisions'' In recent months, the White House has stalled on a host of pending rules, including implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act. |
Food Hazards |
| Nov 19, 2012 |
Mr. President: Pardon the Turkey, Not Industrial Animal Agriculture In just a few days, Americans will prepare and serve about 45 million turkeys. This bounty is worthy of our thanks, but the conditions in which most of these birds were raised are not. |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
