The word “regulations” gets a mixed response.
This is common in all industries, and certainly pharmaceuticals. On any given day there are stories on industry news sites about disputes between companies and regulatory agencies.
I’d agree that some regulation is needed. The history of pharmacy has had both remarkable successes – and failures.
Dr. Allan M. Block
Let’s look at migraines, since that’s in my field. The calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) drugs have been a remarkable breakthrough, certainly the biggest one since the triptans in 1992. There are currently seven on the market for both prevention and abortive use. They’re effective and (to date) pretty safe.
But it wasn’t always that way. Look back just 14 years ago to 2009, when the first promising CGRP agent (MK-3207) had its development halted because of hepatic abnormalities. It’s cousin telcagepant (MK-0974) came to a similar end 2 years later.
Without regulations in place (and the potential for lawsuits) these might have made it to market, bringing migraine relief to some and potentially serious liver damage to others. So Merck made the right decision to axe them. Researchers learned from the experience, went back to the drawing board, and developed the current generation of far-safer drugs.
This came into sharp focus in another industry recently, when the eyes of the world were on the north Atlantic. A small tourist submarine imploded and killed five people. During the inevitable media coverage it came out that the submarine hadn’t been certified for safety by any of the agencies that handle such things, falling into a gray area in international waters where inspections aren’t required.
This isn’t to say it wasn’t safe – it had made several dives before – but obviously not safe enough. While I didn’t know the late Stockton Rush (the owner/designer) it sounds like he viewed regulations as stifling innovation, and in one interview said “at some point, safety is just pure waste.” He ignored warnings from several sides about the submersible’s ability to handle deep ocean pressure and the inevitable wear and tear repeated dives will have on the hull.
I understand there’s a margin of luck, too. Bad things can happen to any of us – or any company. Some things can’t be clearly foreseen. Some drugs don’t start to show problems until they’re on the market and reach a certain number of prescriptions.
But there’s a reason we have regulations. Pretty much every government has, going back to the Roman Empire, covering numerous things. In a perfect world we wouldn’t need them.
But people are far from perfect. And the consequences can be terrible.
Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Ariz.