Responding to public outcry over recent prescription drug scandals, CALPIRG and Senator Jack Scott (D-Altadena) have introduced legislation in Sacramento to make sure that drug companies finally come clean about the safety of the medicines. The bill, SB 1683, would require drug companies to publicly disclose the results of all their clinical trials for each drug they sell in California.
While many states have considered legislation regarding clinical trials, SB 1683 is broader and stronger than existing bills. Because it applies to all FDA-approved medicines sold in California, SB 1683 would give everyone with an internet connection unprecedented access to the results for virtually every pharmaceutical industry-sponsored clinical trial conducted over the past several decades. In addition to addressing safety concerns, the legislation would also tackle the problem of overpriced and underperforming medicines. Because researchers, doctors and the general public will have access to all of the health and effectiveness studies conducted by manufacturers, they would finally be able to clearly compare medicines in the light of day. Once accurate comparisons can be made on issues of safety and effectiveness, drug companies may have a much harder time convincing doctors and patients that expensive brand-name drugs are worth two or three or ten times the price of equally safe and effective generic drugs.
