Wyeth's ProHeart-6 injectible heartworm medication made by Fort Dodge was recalled from the market after it killed a few hundred dogs and made thousands of other dogs seriously ill.Now Wyeth is trying to get it back on the market and avoid liability by limiting its sale to veterinarians who register with the manufacturer and complete a Web-based training program and have pet owners sign consent forms to absolve the manufacturer of liability.
Don't you just want to rush out and buy this product??!!
The good news is that Republican Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa (pictued top right) is asking a lot of questions.
In a letter to FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach, Senator Grassley asked whether any FDA safety experts had been involved in the more than 18 meetings and 85 phone calls between the agency and Wyeth's Fort Dodge unit to discuss the drug. You would think and hope someone other than GS-15 bureaucrats and political appointees had been involved in those phone calls and letters, but if Sen. Grassley is asking the question there's some question as to the answer.
Sen. Grassley also wants to know if the new version of the drug has been tested on dogs at all. His sources say it was not; it was only tested on Guinea pigs.
Test the product on dogs?? You would think that would be a no-brainer, but then again if Senator Grassley is asking the question, there's some question as to the answer.
Considering the track record and legal caveats surrounding ProHeart-6, why would any veterinarian recommend ProHeart-6 to their clients when other medications are available?
Simple: for the money.
And of course, because they think their customers are idiots which they would have to be to sign a consent form saying "You can kill my dog and I have no legal recourse".
- Related Post:
** The Billion Dollar Heartworm Scam
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