Conflict of interest charge leveled at FDA advisory panel chair

An FDA chairwoman of an advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration canceled her scheduled participation at a conference in February after a consumer rights group Thursday leveled conflict of interest charges and sent a letter of complaint to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg.

Dr. Lynn Drake, a lecturer at Harvard Medical School and current chairwoman of the panel that advises the FDA on drugs to treat skin and eye conditions, was scheduled to counsel drug companies at the conference on ways to improve their chances of winning favorable recommendations for their products.

The stated aim of the conference is to help companies "walk away with strategies to successfully present before a committee and avoid potential roadblocks."

FDA advisory committees exist to give the agency an independent assessment of a company's application to market a new drug.

In a letter sent Thursday to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, Dr. Sidney Wolfe, founder of Public Citizen's Health Research Group, called on the agency to either require that Drake not attend the meeting, or remove her from her position as chairwoman of the Dermatologic and Ophthalmic Drugs Advisory Committee.

An FDA spokesperson told Al Jazeera that although Drake did inform the agency prior to accepting the invitation, neither Drake nor the agency had a "full understanding of the purpose or intent of the conference. FDA did not signal a concern, but this response was based on limited information."

"Dr. Drake has provided strong leadership and guidance to the agency. She fully understands the responsibilities of an advisory committee chair and, therefore, has informed the agency that she no longer intends to participate in the conference."

The FDA intends to respond to Public Citizen’s letter, the spokesperson said.

"All advisory committee members receive annual ethics training, which outlines specific standards for ethical conduct, including, but not limited to not using their public position for private gain."

Different FDA committees specialize in different disease areas. Committee members are provided with background documentation and clinical trial data and asked to help the agency determine whether the benefit of a proposed product outweighs its risks. The FDA is not bound to follow the advice of its committees, but almost always does so.

Reuters. Amel Ahmed contributed to this report.