90
get in some cases. I am just wondering why we are perpetuating
this. If there is some question about this, why hasn't the Arthritis
Foundation come out and asked about it?
Also, earlier we heard from Dr. Scherbel indicating that it does
produce-though he wants the option of using aspirin-it does
produce other negative effects, blindness, hearing, et cetera.
Can you tell me a little bit about the Arthritis Foundation be-
cause we did not have any kind of preview. How is it funded?
Mr. BENNETT. It is funded almost entirely by public contribu-
tions. It is a voluntary health organization, comparable not in size
but in operation and function to the American Cancer Society, the
Heart Association, and so forth.
Ms. OAKAR. We asked the question of the physicians if they were
tied into any special interest groups and I hope you will not be
offended if I ask you if you have gotten any contributions from any
of the, let's say supporters of aspirin, cortisone, or drug companies.
Mr. BENNETT. From the pharmaceutical houses?
Ms. OAKAR. Yes.
Mr. BENNETT. Yes, the Foundation does get grants periodically.
In the area of education, for example, if we propose to carry out a
professional program helpful in updating the practicing physician
in arthritis, drug firms will support something like that with no
more quid pro quo than a credit line that says, "made possible by a
grant from X Company."
Ms. OAKAR. You mentioned you do not want to see older people
especially ripped off with respect to this drug, and we have heard
testimony, and I saw "60 Minutes" myself, that indicated it cost
about $4.25. So if it were on the market it would be a lot cheaper
than other drugs, wouldn't it?
Mr. BENNETT. Oh, yes.
Ms. OAKAR. How would they get ripped off financially by taking
this drug?
Mr. BENNETT. In the Mexican connection-
Ms. OAKAR. I am really talking about getting treated here with
the drug.
Mr. BENNETT. I doubt that there is a "ripoff" situation there,
unless a patient is taking it because it has been promoted to him in
some way that makes medical claims for it that have not been
verified, for which there is not evidence.
DMSO is not a quackery drug in this country. I say it is a
quackery drug the way it is promoted by Mexico. It is still a
remedy which is going through its trials.
Ms. OAKAR. You are pretty locked in with the findings of FDA; I
mean the credibility of the other doctors that we have heard from
are not weighing as heavily, I take it, as some of the studies.
Mr. BENNETT. Yes. The Arthritis Foundation does not consider it
its function to tangle with the FDA.
Ms. OAKAR. Why not, if they are wrong?
Mr. BENNETT. Well, I do not think we have the mechanism to
determine whether they are wrong. If somebody else does, and the
FDA is accused and found guilty and proved wrong, then that
might conceivably call for a different point of view on the part of
the Foundation.
