Free To Choose Medicine: How Faster Access to New Drugs Would Save Countless Lives and End Needless Suffering - Softcover

Bartley J. Madden

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1934791326 ISBN 13: 9781934791325

Publisher: The Heartland Institute, 2010

Synopsis

The goal for this book is to give you an easy-to-read, condensed, yet comprehensive case for the freedom to use drugs that are only part way through the long FDA approval process. After reading this book, you will have a working knowledge of the FDA drug approval process, a clear understanding of the enormous benefits a Free To Choose Medicine Act would bring, and the ability to see through the false arguments of those who want ever-more-stringent FDA testing that, in reality, amounts to deadly overcaution. My hope is that you will then become an enthusiastic supporter of a reform movement to enact legislation that enables patients, advised by their doctors, to make informed decisions about the use of not-yet-FDA-approved therapeutic drugs.

About this title

About the Author

Bartley J. Madden is an independent researcher whose current focus is on market-based solutions to public policy issues. His writing about the proposed Dual Track system to circumvent the FDA s monopoly on access to not-yet-approved drugs has appeared in Regulation, Cancer Biotherapy & Radiopharmaceuticals, and Medical Hypotheses, as well as a monograph titled More Choices, Better Health published by The Heartland Institute.

After receiving a BS in mechanical engineering, working as an engineer, and spending time in the Army, Madden earned an MBA at the University of California - Berkeley. In 1969 he co-founded Callard, Madden & Associates, where his research was instrumental in developing what is known as the CFROI (cash-flow-return-on-investment) valuation model, which is widely used by large money management firms today.

After managing portfolios for Harbor Capital Advisors for eight years, Madden joined HOLT Value Associates in the early 1990s, a firm created to extend the CFROI framework and provide consulting services to portfolio managers and corporate managers. HOLT was acquired by Credit Suisse in 2002, at which time Madden became a Managing Director of Credit Suisse/HOLT. He retired from Credit Suisse in late 2003.

Review

Bart Madden brings to his task a thorough knowledge of the issues that must be confronted and a deep concern for improving the rules that govern FDA processes. It s about defining an FDA track that empowers the patients and physicians who have the relevant knowledge and need the freedom to choose to use that knowledge without harming others. This is a book that can be studied fruitfully by all who have a concern for these problems. It is fundamentally bipartisan and should be read in that spirit. --Vernon L. Smith, Economic Science Institute, Chapman University, Nobel Laureate in Economics, 2002

Free To Choose Medicine is full of disturbing data about the unintended consequences of our nation s quest for safe drugs seemingly without regard to cost. Bart Madden explains how we have lost sight of the goals of encouraging innovation, speed to market, and quick access for suffering patients, and he lays out a realistic plan for getting back on track. --Hon. Jim DeMint, U.S. Senator - South Carolina

Bart Madden shines a bright light on the all-too-invisible damage caused by the FDA s self-protective, dysfunctional, and ultimately lethal drug approval process. He explains how the FDA bureaucracy protects itself while allowing millions of people to suffer and die who could be helped by faster access to the newest medicines. The FDA uses approval processes appropriate to an era of adding machines and not super computers. Madden offers a 21st century information-age solution in Free To Choose Medicine that would give consumers control over health decisions, allow faster access to life-saving and life-enhancing drugs, and ultimately reduce the cost of new medicines. This concise book explains how to keep the FDA monopoly from stifling innovation and crippling the life sciences industry. Madden offers the right cure for the ailing FDA. --Grace-Marie Turner, President, Galen Institute

Free To Choose Medicine is full of disturbing data about the unintended consequences of our nation s quest for safe drugs seemingly without regard to cost. Bart Madden explains how we have lost sight of the goals of encouraging innovation, speed to market, and quick access for suffering patients, and he lays out a realistic plan for getting back on track. --Hon. Jim DeMint, U.S. Senator - South Carolina

Bart Madden shines a bright light on the all-too-invisible damage caused by the FDA s self-protective, dysfunctional, and ultimately lethal drug approval process. He explains how the FDA bureaucracy protects itself while allowing millions of people to suffer and die who could be helped by faster access to the newest medicines. The FDA uses approval processes appropriate to an era of adding machines and not super computers. Madden offers a 21st century information-age solution in Free To Choose Medicine that would give consumers control over health decisions, allow faster access to life-saving and life-enhancing drugs, and ultimately reduce the cost of new medicines. This concise book explains how to keep the FDA monopoly from stifling innovation and crippling the life sciences industry. Madden offers the right cure for the ailing FDA. --Grace-Marie Turner, President, Galen Institute

About this edition

• Publisher: The Heartland Institute
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1934791326
• ISBN 13: 9781934791325
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 88