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St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lee Enterprises

Thursday, September 3, 2009 9:42 PM CDT
LETTER: Lengthy testing can add to cost of medicines

LEONIDAS MILLER, Mattoon

Myrna Ulfik recently told her story about her experience with cancer (Wall Street Journal, Jul-31-09, p. A17). Her satisfactory outcome was achieved by an equally satisfactory means, a vaccine. The vaccine enabled her to avoid chemotherapy and its undesirable side effects.

One cancer vaccine was created from efforts at Stanford University years ago, which gave very good results.

This vaccine, however, was not available to Mrs. Ulfik in the US. Despite good test results, the US Food and Drug Administration wanted to require another trial lasting nine years. Not wanting to wait, she was able to travel to Germany, where her vaccine was being tested at Freiburg University.

The huge amount of testing required by the FDA could very well point to a major reason for the high cost of drugs. This tells us that, if the Stanford vaccine ever is approved, Excessive regulation will be a reason for its high cost.

This raises other questions about the FDA. What are they trying to achieve by such lengthy delays in allowing a vaccine into the market? Is this really just a special form of medical rationing?

We need Perry Mason on this case.

LEONIDAS MILLER

Mattoon

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Jim1969 wrote on Sep 4, 2009 5:29 AM:

" On the flip side of that when medications that are "rushed" into production end up showing long term disastrous consequences people start screaming that the government should have required more testing and been more careful. "

father bob wrote on Sep 4, 2009 11:48 AM:

" mr miller.....guess you don't remember the "thalidomide" babies??? "

Airy Dite wrote on Sep 5, 2009 7:59 AM:

" Adding to what Jim1969 said we should be wary about the newest swine flu vaccines. Remember the 1976 swine flu vaccine that was rushed onto the market and had to be discontinued seven months later due to complications and deaths. "