Frightening!

123JustMe

FDA wants to slow immuno-oncology drug research

http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnlamattina/2016/06/...

dlb823

Wow, how disheartening.

cp418

One can only hope that the BIG pharma companies who have invested so much time and money in this research will continue on this path. It sounds like the typical nasty politics discussed in the book - Emperor of Maladies. It makes you wonder why is this person of "power" taking this stance? Something smells rotten here......

Fallleaves

I kind of get his point, which is "should we be putting all our eggs in one basket?" I think with limited resources you have to ask whether developing multiple drugs targeting one pathway makes sense, when there are so many other things left untested. It reminds me of the 8+ clinical trials testing methylnaltrexone for opioid related constipation. Seriously? When there are so many cancer fighting compounds tested ad nauseum in rats/mice that are very promising, but never make the jump to humans?

I read the article in the NYTimes that was linked in the Forbes article about his wife's battle with ovarian cancer. Very sad. Sounds like he was very cautious about approvals, then loosened up when his wife was ill, but is moving back to his original position. It is hard to walk the line between keeping people from getting innovations that may save their lives, but not rushing treatments that actually make things worse. Some people suffer either way.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/03/us/politics/fda-...

I think big pharma WILL keep going with their new drugs. That's where the money is, and hopefully they'll eventually save some lives.