Another Blow to Independent Science

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"A researcher who publicly questioned the safety of Pfizer Inc.'s painkiller Bextra was removed from a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel that will review it and similar products next year," reported the Wall Street Journal. Professor Curt Furberg said the FDA told him his removal was because "he was quoted in the New York Times as saying Bextra appeared similar to Vioxx and that Pfizer sought to suppress that information." Furbert insists his remarks were "evidence-based." Merck recalled its painkiller Vioxx, due an increased risk of heart attacks for users, and the company is under investigation by the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission.