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APPENDIX 10
March 27, 1980
Honorable Claude Pepper
Select Committee on Aging
U.S. House of Representatives
Room 712, House Office Bldg Annex 1
300 New Jersey Avenue SE
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Congressman Pepper,
I would like to thank you again for the privilege of appearing before
the Select Committee on Ageing. It was an interesting experience for me;
first because it was the first time I have ever given testimony before such
a group but also it was the first time I had ever attended any type of
committee meeting in Washington. I was impressed by your handling of the
hearing.
I would like to state, because of its importance, my support of the
present mechanisms for handling drug applications. People easily refer to
the thalidomide experience as a plus for the FDA but then attack the FDA's
method of handling new drug application. Many people all too easily forget
that the type of decontrol that some of them are asking for was precisely
the type of freedom that enabled thalidomide to get on the open market in
Germany and Britain. I to have chaffed under the restrictions of the FDA
since I have participated in many drug trials. I do feel that some adjust-
ment of the ways in which they work should be done. I personally favor the
use of studies done abroad which have been done by reputable workers with
good controls. However, studies of this type are admittedly harder to control
and evaluate.
I do not believe the FDA committees are biased. They might err in the
direction of being too cautious but that seems to be a problem in much of
bureaucracy. You rarely get your hand slapped for being too cautious
(although the FDA seems to be an exception) but often do if you are too free
with information or permission. I have worked in rheumatology since 1952
(starting as a medical student) and I know virtually every leading rheumatolo-
gist in this country. I know them to be a group of individuals who maintain
A Hospital for the Care and Treatment of the Chronically Ill
