Lester Crawford-Ex-Head of FDA Faces Criminal Inquiry_NYT

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Sat, 29 Apr 2006 21:47:46 -0000

[sSRI-Research] Lester Crawford-Ex-Head of FDA Faces Criminal

Inquiry_NYT

 

 

 

 

 

ALLIANCE FOR HUMAN RESEARCH PROTECTION (AHRP)

Promoting Openness, Full Disclosure, and Accountability

http://www.ahrp.org/cms/

 

FYI

 

The New York Times reports that former FDA Commissioner, Dr. Lester

Crawford " is under criminalo investigation by a federal grand jury

over accusations of financial improprieties and false statements to

Congress. "

 

His abrupt departure as FDA Commissioner occurred under a cloud of

controversy abut reports of undisclosed stock sales in companies

regulated by the FDA. Notwithstanding Crawford's claim that he had

decided to retire at age 67, The Times reports " He has since joined a

Washington lobbying firm, Policy Directions Inc. "

 

The companies represented by Policy Directions Inc are regulated by

the FDA, raising questions about the propriety of high government

officials--particularly those who head regualtory agencies--blithely

moving to lobbying firms that represent the same industries. There

are additional accusations of financial conflicts of interest.

 

Among the long list of food, drug and cosmetics companies that have

hired Policy Directions, Inc to lobby the FDA and Congress:

 

Nestle USA Inc.; Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America;

Baylor University; Merck & Co.; American Feed Industry Association;

Altria Group Inc ; National Association for Biomedical Research;

State University of New York; Amgen Inc.; Genzyme Corp.; Baxter

Healthcare Corp.; U.S. ONCOLOGY; Society for Neuroscience; Sanofi-

Aventis; National Renderers Association; Reckitt Benckiser

Pharmaceuticals; Procter & Gamble Co.; American College of

Neuropsychopharmachology; Grocery Manufacturers of America;

Pharmavite LLC; Turner Strategies; Alpharma; Cellerant

Therapeutics; Depression & Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA);

Genelabs Technologies, Inc; Eli Lilly and Co.; Visx Inc; Millennium

Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Orphan Medical, Inc.; Biotech Coalition;

Covance Inc.; Bayer Corp.; Animal Health Institute; Cosmetic,

Toiletry & Fragrance Association.

 

Of note, among Policy Directions' clients are also several " not-for-

profit " organizations and universities that directly and indirectly

lobby with the pharmaceutical industry.

 

According to Center for the Public Intesest , between 1998-2004 they

earned-- $6,975,000 in lobbying fees; In 2004 they earned --

$1,320,000

 

See:

http://www.publicintegrity.org/lobby/profile.aspx?

act=firms & year=2003 & lo=L00

2522

 

 

Contact: Vera Hassner Sharav

212-595-8974

veracare

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/29/washington/29fda.html?

pagewanted=print

 

THE NEW YORK TIMES

April 29, 2006

 

Ex-Head of F.D.A. Faces Criminal Inquiry

 

By GARDINER HARRIS

 

WASHINGTON, April 28 - Dr. Lester M. Crawford, the former

commissioner of food and drugs, is under criminal investigation by a

federal grand jury over accusations of financial improprieties and

false statements to Congress, his lawyer said Friday.

 

The lawyer, Barbara Van Gelder, would not discuss the accusations

further.

 

In a court hearing held by telephone on Thursday, she told a federal

magistrate that she would instruct Dr. Crawford to invoke his Fifth

Amendment right against compelled self-incrimination if ordered to

answer questions this week about his actions as head of the Food and

Drug Administration, according to a transcript of the hearing.

 

Dr. Crawford did not reply to messages seeking comment, and Kathleen

Quinn, an F.D.A. spokeswoman, declined to comment.

 

Dr. Crawford resigned in September, fewer than three months after the

Senate confirmed him. He said then that it was time for someone else

to lead the agency.

 

The next month, financial disclosure forms released by the Department

of Health and Human Services showed that in 2004 either Dr. Crawford

or his wife, Catherine, had sold shares in companies regulated by the

agency when he was its deputy commissioner and acting commissioner.

He has since joined a Washington lobbying firm, Policy Directions Inc.

 

The criminal investigation was disclosed at a court hearing in a

lawsuit over the F.D.A.'s actions on the emergency contraceptive Plan

B, a subject of bitter contention during Dr. Crawford's tenure as

acting commissioner and commissioner. After the pill's maker, Barr

Laboratories, applied three years ago to sell the pill over the

counter, the agency repeatedly delayed making a decision on the

application.

 

While many lawmakers, abortion rights advocates and former F.D.A.

officials said the delays had resulted from politics, Dr. Crawford

and other agency officials said their concerns were scientific and

legal.

 

An advocacy group, the Center for Reproductive Rights, sued the

agency in federal court in New York over the delays. Many such suits

are quickly dismissed, but a federal judge allowed the case to

proceed, giving the center the right to interview top F.D.A.

officials, including Dr. Crawford.

 

Dr. Crawford was scheduled to be questioned under oath on Thursday,

but on Wednesday Ms. Van Gelder, who is his personal lawyer, asked

for a delay, saying she would instruct him to invoke his Fifth

Amendment rights. Dr. Crawford previously declined to answer

questions from the Government

Accountability Office about Plan B.

 

Ms. Van Gelder told Magistrate Judge Viktor V. Pohorelsky of the

District Court for the Eastern District of New York on Thursday that

Dr. Crawford had been represented by Justice Department lawyers in

the reproductive rights center's suit.

 

According to the transcript, she said that Dr. Crawford was under

criminal investigation and that the issue of his financial

disclosures " is within the grand jury. "

 

Before Dr. Crawford's confirmation, the secretary of health and human

services, Michael O. Leavitt, promised that the F.D.A. would act on

the Plan B application by September 2005, a promise that led two

Democratic senators, Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Patty

Murray of Washington, to relent in their efforts to delay the

nomination. But after he was confirmed, Dr. Crawford announced an

indefinite delay that has remained in effect.

 

Simon Heller, a lawyer for the reproductive rights center, noted that

the F.D.A. had long insisted that its actions regarding Plan B were

not unusual.

 

" It would be remarkable if the Justice Department was conducting a

criminal investigation of Plan B and at the same time asserting in a

civil case that everything done was normal, " Mr. Heller said.

 

 

Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

 

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