Senator announces investigation into FDA's alleged misconduct toward safety officer

• Yesterday on the Senate floor, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) announced that he is investigating charges that Wyeth Pharmaceuticals smeared an FDA safety officer who negatively reviewed one of Wyeth's animal care products, and that the FDA subsequently removed her from that product's review.
• Dr. Victoria Hampshire, the safety officer, "concluded that Wyeth's drug (ProHeart6) was killing hundreds of dogs," according to Sen.
• ProHeart6 is a heartworm disease prevention drug for canines.
• Grassley was marking the one-year anniversary of pharmaceutical giant Merck's removal of its arthritis drug Vioxx from the market after it was found to substantially increase the risk of heart attacks.
• Dr. Hampshire is represented by the Government Accountability Project, the same nonprofit law firm that represents Dr. David Graham, the FDA scientist whose Senate testimony prompted the Vioxx removal.
• Grassley entire floor speech on GAP's Web site at http://www.whistleblower.org/templa....
• Grassley also announced that he sent a letter to Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, which at one point states "Information and documents reviewed by the Committee appear to support allegations that Wyeth investigated an employee of the FDA involved in the safety review of ProHeart6.
• It appears that the express purpose of the investigation was to discredit the employee and have the employee reassigned.
• Further, following the investigation conducted by Wyeth, the FDA initiated an internal criminal investigation into the same FDA employee.
• The Committee's review of these allegations raises serious questions regarding, among other things, the appropriateness of the actions taken by both the FDA and Wyeth."