Weekly Roundup – 7/14/06

Have a good weekend everyone!

• Warnings to Consumers on Erectile Dysfunction Remedies Sold On Internet – The FDA issued both a press release and a MedWatch alert warning consumers on products purchased on the Internet promising to address E.D.  According to the alert the products "pose a threat to consumers because the undeclared ingredients may interact with nitrates found in some prescription drugs (such as nitroglycerin) and lower blood pressure to dangerous levels. Consumers with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart disease often take nitrates."
• One A Day-Three Drug Combo for HIV Approved – As reported here earlier this week, on July 12, the FDA approved the first 3-drug combination HIV medication that can be administered once a day, overcoming scientific, logistic and business obstacles in doing so.  The drug was named Atripla.  (Who get’s to give out those names?)
• Counterfietting Testimony Before House – Randall W. Lutter, Ph.D.,  Associate Commissioner for Policy and Planning offered testimony before the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources Committee on Government Reform House of Representatives on prescription drug counterfeit measures.  Interstingly, this is the same subcommittee that Dr. Janet Woodcock testified before in May but which the FDA never posted to their Web site.  It can however be found here. 
• Rove Promises Veto on Stem Cell Bill – With various proposals floating around Congress regarding stem cell research, Karl Rove indicated that the President will veto a bill that would expand federal funding for stem cell research.  He said that the President was emphatic about this, as opposed to empathetic.