FDA Responds to Barton, Greenwood Inquiry on Antidepressant Use
WASHINGTON (April 15) - Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), Chairman of the House Energy
and Commerce Committee, today issued the following statement upon receiving the
Food and Drug Administration's response to a March 24 letter from the committee
seeking information on the use of antidepressants by children:
"Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman James Greenwood
(R-PA), has been dogged in his pursuit of the antidepressant issue, and in
response to our letter, the FDA admits important facts for the first time.
"FDA's primary medical reviewer believed that the available data were
sufficient to conclude an association exists between the use of antidepressants
and suicidal behavior in children. He also recommended that action occur without
further delay, although others at FDA disagreed with his recommendation. There
are troubling questions of whether FDA supervisors inappropriately suppressed
significant information that would have been of consequence to their own
advisory committee, not to mention the public.
"The Committee will pursue these questions and, given the public
interest in resolving this matter, a hearing is one potential means by which to
gather further information."
Download the FDA Response
(Adobe PDF)
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