An Angry Mom Goes To Washington
10 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // May 8th, 2007 // 3:53 pm
The House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on health will hold a hearing tomorrow morning about drug safety. The witnesses include Steve Galson, who heads the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research; a biostatistician from the University of Pennsylvania medical school, and representatives from PhRMA; the Government Accountability Office; Kaiser Permanente, and The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, among others.
One witness, however, will be a symbolic rep for parents. Lisa Van Syckel, a self-styled activist from suburban New Jersey, will make her first appearance before a congressional committee after several years of speaking at FDA panel meetings, chasing after politicians and talking to journalists about drug safety. Why does she do this? Her daughter attempted suicide while on the Paxi antidepressant and she has been after drugmakers to disclose more clinical trial data, and curtail promotions. Her family later filed and setted a lawsuit with Glaxo.
Pharmalot chatted with Van Syckel briefly.
Pharmalot: Why do you think you were asked and not someone else?
Van Syckel: Well, for one reason, I’ve been in touch with (Congressman) Pallone’s office for quite some time on this issue. And my daughter’s story, which has been out there, was so horrible, that I think they want the others to know what this can be like.
Pharmalot: So that makes you qualfied to talk about the issue?
Van Syckel: I’ll tell you what makes me qualified - Glaxo (which sells Paxil) gave me experience the day they withheld vital (side effect) info from the public. You don’t go through what I’ve been through without learning something.
Pharmalot: What do you hope to accomplish, though?
Van Syckel: The best I can hope for is that congress will do its darndest to protect children. I want them to pass legislation that creates an independent office for drug safety, and to ensure patient med guides are distributed to parents and patients by physicians, and not placed in the bottom of pharmacy bags.
Pharmalot: And what’s your message?
Van Syckel: That parents shouldn’t trust. They have to carefully investigate the medicines they give their children.
[tags]antidepressants, Lisa Van Syckel[/tags]
Anonymous
That Van Syckel was invited by Pallone is not surprising. Pallone has consistently alinged himself with plaintiffs attorneys, who are the second largest contributors to his campaign coffers behind physicians; drug companies were #11 (ref. Open Secrets). Pallone was the brains behind the thimerosal hearings in the 1990’s…hearings held at the request of trial lawyers. [Nevermind the 10 years, nearly 140 studies on 4 contients involving almost 100,000 children to disprove that myth and its still going strong].
I’m surprised you didn’t ask any of the tough questions–
Do you feel guitly exploiting your daughter’s problems for publicity and your personal financial gain?
How much money (direct or indirect) have you and your family received from other interested parties (including trial lawyers, Scientologists and others)?
Or, the slightly more diplomatic version, through what occupation do you presently support yourself and your family?
Juliana H
And trial lawyers Scientologists are always wrong? The tort system is what encourages people to stay in line. Report these drug tragedies to the FDA, state agencies, and any governmental office, and the offense is ignored. We need tort reform that makes filing for drug damage easier. The current system allows these criminals to stay in business by putting such low caps on damages that bringing these people to justice is just too expensive.
Laurie
Anonymous, now we KNOW that you are from pharma! How convenient for you that the scientologists are there for you to throw out there whenever you hear some truth that you don’t like, or want buried. When the going gets tough and honest…call them a scientologist. I’m as WASP as they come! Did it ever occur to you that a scientologist would never have allowed their child to take one of these drugs? Guess not!
Those involved in the fight to get the word out, from FIRSTHAND experience are VERY careful to NOT take any money from outside sources, unlike the mental health “groups”. Your barking up the wrong tree. Believe me, there is no financial gain in this cause. We pay out of our pockets for everything that we do. We can honestly report NO confict of interest, can you say the same?
Exploiting??????? Our children, who have lived this hell, encourage us to stay involved to that their suffering doesn’t happen to any other child. We, unlike so many others, have only one goal in common. The exposure of the system that almost killed our children.
ed
Hi folks,
I would ask that the rhetoric get toned down just a little, please.
To Juliana, I appreciate your passion for the subject, but I would ask you to refrain from the use of the word ‘criminals.’
And to anonymous, I can appreciate one’s inclination to be suspicious or cynical. To answer your questions, I’m aware of the occupation of Ms. Van Syckel’s husband, and the family has repeatedly indicated it does not adhere to Scientology. (No, I’ve not investigated their claims about Scientology, but I have received documentation of their daughter’s suicide attempt and subsequent problems). The settlement with Glaxo, by the way, does not allow the family to disclose the amount. I’ve asked that, too.
ed
Rich
Children are NOT the only ones at risk. Both my mother and wife had suicidal thoughts. Once off the SSRI,s the symptoms diisappeared. Were these side effects reported to an agency? No. They were reported to their doctors but the doctors are not required to report them either. If the govt were serious about this and other drugs being a danger, why are there no post approval surveys done in a real population. Relying on studies done by the company that will realize huge profits from a new drug seems, whats the word, …………..insane.
Amy Philo
If the FDA did its job and was not funded mostly by drug company applications, if there was a safety panel for post-marketing independent of the drug company money and those responsible for approving the drug, perhaps the public could expect to be protected. 3 years ago they had just started warning about the suicide risk for children under 12. Now these drugs carry a black box warning for suicidality and if you read the label you will also see hostility, mania, and akathisia. This translates to murder. The hostility and “no effect” categories are just euphemisms and cover ups.
You can’t hide the truth for long. The public (including unborn children and college students & professors who get massacred) is at great risk this very moment because of these drugs. Moms go psycho and drown their kids. People burn houses. You’re right about one thing, this is about Greed, but not on the part of the victims, only on the PhRMA promoters and profiteers. Maybe you should reinvest your time and energy into developing prisons or selling caskets because the world is going crazy and criminal on the massively popular drugs you make.
Amy Philo
Please check out the website http://www.ssristories.com
and this youtube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni0lK4Na6VY
rdjanis
Mrs. Van Syckel , thank you for representing the so many families that have suffered or died at the hands of pharma. My family knows first hand the suffering that occurs when pharma choose not to disclose for financial gain.
I wouldn’t pay much attention to any negative comments, people tend to get upset when their livlihood is being threatened.
Morten
Only one person questioned Mrs. Van Syckel in these comments rdjanis.
And to bring my own anecdotal analysis of antidepressants. My father is bipolar and he will sometimes go off his medication for whatever reason he has… it breaks my heart he’s so irrational. It has cost him two marriages and a job and I just know how much worse off he would be if he couldn’t get treatment.
And I don’t think the American tort system is necessarily the best way of deterring bad guys from doing bad things. If it didn’t leave them wide open to litigation I think Merck would have considered commenting that there was a cardiac risk associated with Vioxx that didn’t reach statistical significance in their statistical analysis. Of course wrong-doing should be punished - but the American health sector is the most expensive in the world because doctors and companies have to shield themselves from litigation.
Lisa Van Syckel
Hi guys
I am back from Washington! All went well.I feel compelled to answer some of the questions Mr. Anonymous has asked.First,Rep Pallone is probably one of the most compassionate individuals in Washington.Secondly,Mr. Pallone is quite aware that I am a self proclaimed REPUBLICAN!!!! I am an Episcopalian by choice and have raised my children in the Catholic faith.RELIGEON HAS NO PLACE IN THIS DEBATE!!! Members of Congress and Senate are very aware that when I go to Washington its on my own dime.I represent Parents across these United States.I have no hidden agenda!! The safety of the medicines we give our children should be our number one priority.