Hamburg

Before Dr. Hamburg was confirmed as Commissioner of the FDA in 2009, she and her husband, Peter Fitzhugh Brown had to divest themselves of several hedge-fund holdings as well as some of Mr. Brown’s inherited drug-company stocks so Dr. Hamburg could take the post as the nation’s top food and drug regulator.

Marianne Skolek Global News Centre

(MYRTLE BEACH)  Early this morning it was reported that Margaret Hamburg, MD, Commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), was resigning her position this week, after “serving” the American people for 6 years in safeguarding their health.   It was later reported that Hamburg would be leaving the FDA at the end of March 2015.

I have been reporting on Dr. Hamburg for the past several years and have asked for her termination as commissioner for her ties to the pharmaceutical industry resulting in unprecedented deaths and addictions to prescription opioids leading to the heroin epidemic destroying families throughout the U.S.

Sylvia Burwell, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, said the American people have been “well served” by Dr. Hamburg.  Hamburg reports to the Department of Health and Human Services.  And no Dr. Burwell, the American people have not been “well served” by Dr. Hamburg.  Let me lay it out for you why the American people were the losers in the tenure of Dr. Hamburg as head of the FDA.

Some of the misstatements made regarding Dr. Hamburg’s performance as head of the FDA was that she “grappled” with some of the biggest public health issues of the day such as the opioid painkiller abuse epidemic, obesity and the rise of electronic cigarettes.  I am going to focus on the opioid painkiller abuse epidemic that Hamburg contributed to — one way was her avoiding the word “addiction” and focusing on the word “abuse” as she and her agency approved “addictive” opioids at record numbers.  In 2014, under Hamburg’s leadership, the highest number of drugs were approved in almost 2 decades - 51 to be exact.

Under Hamburg’s leadership, the FDA approved new opioids despite a national health crisis in prescription opioid addictions and deaths.  Some of the approvals were made against the FDA’s own Advisory Committee by large vote.  Hamburg’s leadership for the past six years was “pharma friendly” not “American people safety”.  And she did not have this “working” relationship with the pharmaceutical industry alone and without great financial benefit. 

Before Dr. Hamburg was confirmed as Commissioner of the FDA in 2009, she and her husband, Peter Fitzhugh Brown had to divest themselves of several hedge-fund holdings as well as some of Mr. Brown’s inherited drug-company stocks so Dr. Hamburg could take the post as the nation’s top food and drug regulator. The couple’s assets were valued at between $21 million and $40 million. Hamburg’s husband had to sell his pharmaceutical stocks in Abbott Laboratories, Johnson & Johnson, Merck and pharmacy-benefits manager Medco Health Solutions. Abbott Laboratories promoted OxyContin, or “hillbilly heroin” to anesthesiologists, surgeons, emergency physicians and pain management teams in hospitals and surgery centers throughout the country beginning in 1996 — while Purdue Pharma marketed OxyContin to all other physicians. Medco Health Solutions is a pharmacy benefits managing company that handles drug benefits for over 60 million people.

And it doesn’t end here, it gets uglier.

A few months ago, Bob A. Rappaport, MD, head of the FDA’s Anesthesia, Analgesia, and Addiction Products retired.  One of Dr. Rappaport’s biggest contributions to the American people before the FDA announced his retirement was an opioid called Zohydro ER. Zohydro ER will be the first hydrocodone-only opioid in doses of 5 to 10 times more heroin-like narcotic than Vicodin.  Zohydro ER has been nicknamed “heroin in a pill/capsule.” 

Dr. Rappaport was quoted as saying the FDA did not want to be seen as “punishing this company (Zogenix) and this drug (Zohydro ER) because of the sins of other companies and their product.”

In the meantime, Dr. Rappaport’s “reward” for not punishing the maker of the dangerous opioid Zohydro ER is that on May 13 - 16, 2015 the annual American Pain Society meeting will be held in Palm Springs, California and Rappaport will be the recipient of the “John and Emma Bonica Public Service Award honoring outstanding contributions by an individual or an organization to the field of pain through public education, dissemination of information, public service, or other efforts to further knowledge about pain.”

A federal agency set up to protect the American people against dangerous drugs with the potential to create addiction or death is having one of its own — Bob Rappaport “rewarded.”  And the American Pain Society is under U.S. Senate investigation for their part in profiting from the prescription opioid epidemic.

Is the U.S. Senate going to wait until Drs. Hamburg and Rappaport are sitting in a cushy job in the pharmaceutical industry making huge salaries and giving pharma the goods on how to have any dangerous opioid approved before they take hard action?

Are you sickened yet?  If you don’t smell scandal here, I don’t know what I can do to convince you that there is a huge one here.

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Global News Centre’s Marianne Skolek, is an Investigative Reporter who focuses on the Prescription Opioid/Heroin Epidemic in the U.S. and Canada. In particular, Marianne has covered the criminal marketing of OxyContin going back to 1999 and continuing to the present.

In 2002, Marianne lost her daughter, Jill to prescribed OxyContin which her physician referred to as “mobility in a bottle.” It was, in fact, death in a bottle. After doing extensive research on the maker of OxyContin, Purdue Pharma, Marianne began working with the Department of Justice in Virginia in their criminal investigation into Purdue Pharma and in July 2007 was asked by the U.S. Attorney John Brownlee prosecuting the case to testify against the three CEO’s of Purdue Pharma, Michael Friedman, Paul Goldenheim, MD and Howard Udell, Chief Counsel. The CEO’s pleaded guilty to misleading the medical profession about the dangers of OxyContin. Marianne also testified against Purdue Pharma at a Judiciary Hearing of the U.S. Senate in July 2007.

In addition, a dangerous and highly addictive opioid named Zohydro has been approved by the FDA against their Advisory Committee’s advice and Marianne continues to alert Attorneys General, Senators and Congressmen as to the FDA’s irresponsibility in the out of control prescription opioid/heroin epidemic killing and addicting in the tens of thousands each year. Zohydro has been referred to as “heroin in a capsule” and its lowest dosage (10mg) contains twice as much hydrocodone as found in a Vicodin pill. The highest single dose of Zohydro contains as much hydrocodone as 5 to 10 tablets of Vicodin or Lortab. Zohydro mixed with alcohol can be fatal and has no abuse deterrent built in which will make it easy to crush and deliver a fatal dose of the opioid.

Currently Marianne has been instrumental in calling for the termination of Margaret Hamburg, MD, Commissioner of the FDA as well as Bob A. Rappaport, MD and Douglas Throckmorton, MD for their lack of commitment to safeguarding the American public against the prescription opioid/heroin epidemic. Marianne’s research, writing and contact with government agencies and attorneys has also exposed the heavily funded pain foundations set up by the pharmaceutical industry and their paid physician spokespersons who convinced the medical boards in 50 states and Canada that dangerous opioids such as OxyContin were less likely to be addictive. These physicians — in particular Scott Fishman, MD, J. David Haddox, DDS, MD, Perry Fine, MD, Lynn R. Webster, MD, Russell Portenoy, MD also downplayed the risks of addictive opioids in books as authors. These books are still available for sale and promoted to the medical profession.

Here are links to Marianne’s involvement in exposing the national conspiracy of the prescription opioid/heroin epidemic, the FDA, the pharmaceutical industry, their pain foundations and paid physician spokespersons.

http://www.salem-news.com/by_author.php?reporter=Marianne%20Skolek

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmPG1VjD61U&list=UUWoHUEr4ZAbQOfIqtOArjgg&index=6&feature=plcp

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=855537227796352&set=vb.658186307531446&type=2&theater