[extropy-chat] Professor Being Sued Over Anti-Aging Comments

[Adrian Tymes]

--- Mike Lorrey <mlorrey at yahoo.com> wrote:
> The FDA, because it is the 'brand' people see, makes for a weak
> market
> quality because the FDA isn't the one actually doing the testing.
> Labs
> that the consumer is unaware of because of this fronting thus do not
> have a market incentive to protect their brand against negative
> public
> perception by producing shoddy science that cow tows to the drug
> makers
> desired results.

I wonder if it would be feasable, to pass a law requiring the packaging
of any drug receiving the FDA's approval (possibly retroactive up to
how far accurate records are available, possibly only for future
approvals), to also carry the logo of the lab that the FDA contracted
safety testing out to.  That way, those members of the public who
investigate unsafe drugs that the FDA approved could warn people to
stay away from drugs approved by lab X; process of elimination would
hopefully eventually produce brands like UL.

It largely maintains the existing structure of how things are done.
All that it adds from a legal standpoint is a bit more labelling -
trivial.  And yet it could eventually reduce the FDA's role in this to
an official gatekeeper (for those who don't ever trust industry
anything, even an industry that has financial reason to play nice).