GoozNews

6 days ago | gooznews.substack.com | Merrill Goozner |Carl Elliott

Washington is awash in legal and ethical wrongdoing, especially at the nation’s health-related agencies. To pay for tax cuts for corporations and the rich, the Trump regime’s appointees are laying off thousands of workers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health. Aid to treat and prevent global diseases has been abandoned. Plans are afoot to slash funding for the nation’s researchers.

1 week ago | gooznews.substack.com | Merrill Goozner

By appointing Dr. Vinay Prasad to run the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, the Trump regime has installed another prominent opponent of Covid-era public health policies to a key position at the Food and Drug Administration. CBER is responsible for ensuring the safety and efficacy of vaccines, biologic drugs, gene therapies and the blood supply.

2 weeks ago | gooznews.substack.com | Merrill Goozner

In 1999, 18-year-old Jesse Gelsinger eagerly signed up for a clinical trial testing a promising therapy for his rare genetic disorder. The Arizona resident’s dream was to lead a normal life that wouldn’t require him swallowing four dozen pills a day simply to stay alive. He traveled to the University of Pennsylvania where physician-scientists were conducting an early experiment in gene therapy. They told Gelsinger they would implant a working gene for his mutated one using a viral vector.

2 weeks ago | gooznews.substack.com | Merrill Goozner |Gardiner Harris

Current time: 0:00 / Total time: -43:41Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. On Friday, I published my review of former New York Times reporter Gardiner Harris’ new book, No More Tears: the dark secrets of Johnson and Johnson. Shortly after writing that essay, I interviewed Gardiner for this GoozNews podcast. I’m still working out the kinks in producing a professional quality podcast.

2 weeks ago | gooznews.substack.com | Merrill Goozner

No More Tears: the dark secrets of Johnson & JohnsonBy Gardiner HarrisRandom House, 444 pp., $32Critics of the pharmaceutical industry can be divided into two camps: Those angry and financially harmed by outrageously high prices; and those angry and physically harmed by horrific safety lapses. Over the course of the 20th century, the political system has occasionally responded to the concerns of the safety advocates.