No post-Vioxx approval freeze

Three of the four cancer drugs that have come up for FDA Advisory Committee recommendations since the Vioxx verdict have been approved, according to the Boston Globe. (The fourth was Xinlay --and even the developer, Abbott admits it hasn't been shown to work.) There has been concern that the Vioxx debacle would slow things down, and it still may.Not everyone wants approvals to move so quickly, especially for drugs that aren't proven. The Advisory Committee chairwoman, Dr. Silvano Martino said,

My goal is to find new drugs for [patients], but it has to be to find new drugs that really work. Not just drugs that we sort of pretend could work, might work, or have a whiff of activity. 'I am not here for any drug company. I am not here for FDA. I'm not here for you, as the media. I am here for patients. It's that simple.