New IOF President
Dr. John A. Kanis has been elected president of the International Osteoporosis Foundation, the organization announced last month. Dr. Kanis is professor emeritus in human metabolism and director of the WHO (World Health Organization) Collaborating Centre for Metabolic Bone Diseases at the University of Sheffield (England). Dr. Kanis' research interests include osteoporosis, Paget's disease of bone, hyperparathyroidism, and renal osteodystrophy. He was a founding member and trustee of the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and Bone Disease (the predecessor of IOF) as well as a founding member of the British Menopause Society. Other officers elected include Dr. Bess Dawson-Hughes, director of the bone metabolism laboratory at the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, as general secretary; and Dr. René Rizzoli, professor of medicine at the University Hospitals of Geneva, as treasurer.
NYC Calorie Displays a Step Closer
A federal appeals judge has ruled that the New York City health department's regulation requiring chain restaurants to display calorie counts on their menus is legal. Judge Richard Holwell of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York threw out a claim by the New York State Restaurant Association that the regulation was preempted by a federal law, the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990. New York City officials argued that since the federal law “does not seek to impose or regulate the mandatory disclosure of nutrition information by restaurants, the new regulation is not preempted by the federal statute.” The court agreed with the city, and also found that “the required disclosure of caloric information is reasonably related to the government's interest in providing consumers with accurate nutritional information and therefore does not unduly infringe on the First Amendment rights of [restaurant association] members,” the judge wrote. The American Diabetes Association applauded the decision. “We strongly support the court's ruling in favor of upholding this important measure to protect consumers,” said Dr. John Buse, president of medicine and science at the ADA. “If individuals are expected to make informed, healthy food choices, we must give them the nutritional tools they need to do so.”
Health Sector Biggest Lobby
The health care industry was the biggest spender when it came to lobbying Congress in 2007. Pharmaceutical, medical device, physician, and hospital groups spent $227 million, a larger tally than for any other sector, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based watchdog group. Of individual lobbying concerns, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce was No. 1, spending $53 million on in-house and external personnel, the center reported. Close behind was General Electric ($24 million), followed by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America ($23 million), the American Medical Association ($22 million), and the American Hospital Association ($20 million). Broken out by industries, the pharmaceutical sector has spent more on lobbying than any other industry in the last decade, laying out an accumulated $1.3 billion since 1997, according to the center. The data are taken from official lobbying reports that are submitted to the Senate Office of Public Records. The figures do not include other spending that is still aimed at influencing policy, the center noted in its report.
Cancer Info New to Exubera Label
Pfizer has updated its U.S. label for Exubera (insulin human [rDNA origin] inhalation powder) to include information about lung cancer. The company reported last month that over the course of its clinical trials, 6 of the 4,740 Exubera-treated patients developed lung cancer, compared with 1 of 4,292 patients not treated with the drug. Pfizer also received a postmarketing report of lung cancer in one Exubera patient. The labeling update notes that all patients who developed lung cancer had a prior history of cigarette smoking, and that there were too few cases to determine whether the development of lung cancer was related to the use of Exubera. Pfizer discontinued marketing Exubera in October 2007 because of poor sales. After Pfizer announced the labeling change, Nektar Therapeutics, which had been working on an inhaled insulin product, announced that it had stopped development of its product. “The concern over this new data analysis from ongoing clinical trials has resulted in the termination of all negotiations with potential partners,” said Howard W. Robin, company president. “Fortunately, over the past year Nektar has significantly transformed its business, moving away from inhaled insulin.”