Writing Sample: Political Article

In a series of blatant abuses of power, the Food and Drug Administration unwittingly has offered the American public compelling reasons for its immediate reform. These actions clearly show that the FDA and the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical industry have one goal in common: Increasing profits from prescription drug sales.

Not only do the FDA and the drug company robber barons daringly loot the pockets of the American consumer, they do so without any regard for the laws and regulations designed to ensure fairness and honesty. The FDA exercises its power through 18 separate "Expert Committees" made up of scientists with the experience necessary to examine various classes of drugs. Each panel evaluates and recommends actions concerning medications that are worth millions, even billions of dollars to the pharmaceutical houses that invented, imported or modified them. Any one decision by a panel can move a drug company's stock up or down quickly, and the committee's members are well aware of the significance of their choices. Obviously, the drug lords also are knowledgeable of how the panels affect their careers and collective fortunes.

There are government regulations in place to protect the American public from biased or even corrupt panel members. The rules state that a person cannot sit on a committee if he or she has an obvious conflict of interest, defined as a situation in which ruling could make a significant financial impact on that person. This would seem to guarantee a relatively unbiased decision making process, but never underestimate the power of a greedy drug corporation or a corrupt government agency. Despite all the safeguards, over 50% of the members of the FDA's Expert Committee members are people with direct financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

This astounding disregard for federal regulations was uncovered first by USA Today on September 25, 2000. Its investigative report revealed that 54% of those serving on FDA committees had a direct financial interest in their own decisions. These conflicts included receiving direct fees from the drug company, owning its stock, having a spouse employed by the same company being reviewed and having their research funded by the very patent holder whose patent was under evaluation.

Even participating consumer representatives were found to be on the drug lords' payrolls.

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