文档介绍：245
I disagree!
The entire question of the powers and practices of drug regulatory agencies has been
the subject of an extensive and heated debate, expecially during the last two decades.
In considering the contributions made to that debate, one should distinguish carefully
between those emanating from the parties involved (whose spokesmen play the role of
advocates) and those impartial contributions which seek, with greater or lesser
ess, to attain a balanced judgement. Dr. van Andel is here very clearly functioning
as the advocate of the party to which he belongs, . the pharmaceutical industry. Like
petent advocate, he emphasizes those matters which concern his clients and
those facts which illustrate his clients’ point of view. One must look critically at the
techniques which he employs in doing so, for the fact of the matter is that by using
analogous methods - and particularly by judiciously selecting the facts which accord
with one’s views - one could just as well demonstrate exactly the opposite to what Dr.
van Andel appears to suggest.
Throughout this paper runs the theme that regulatory agencies are in some way
injuring the public interest by chasing unrealistic goals (such as the absolute elimina-
tion of risk), or umbing to perversive influences such as “political clout, pressures
and peculiarities”(whatever that may mean); t