MHRA - Has the penny finally dropped?

Janice Simmons of the Seroxat & SSRi User Group has secured a meeting with MHRA CEO Kent Woods.

I view this as a massive step in the right direction. Patients and the MHRA need to work together. For too long now the MHRA seem to have been doing anything but work with the patient. They would argue that their yellow card system is for patient reporting but the yellow card system is flawed... deeply flawed.

I sincerely hope this isn't just a token gesture by Kent Woods. I hope he actually listens, takes on board and acts upon what Janice and invited guests have to say to him.

I imagine he will be restricted to what he can discuss with Janice and the guests and I suspect he will have a lawyer present or at least be briefed by a lawyer before the said meeting.

As readers of this blog know, Kent Woods is not someone whom I choose to put on my Christmas Card list... I suspect I am not on his either. That I can live with as I am sure he can live with the fact that we don't see eye to eye.

This meeting is a golden opportunity for the MHRA to win back public/patient support. I really think Kent has his head in the sand if he thinks the MHRA are trusted anymore. Maybe he knows public opinion but is in denial? The meeting with Janice and guests will show him just how much animosity there is toward the MHRA at present.

We, as patients, are not happy. There needs to be changes. It is my beleif that change can come about if the MHRA work with the patients. I am of course referring to those of us who have suffered at the hands of Seroxat and other SSRi's.

In my opinion, a new unit of the MHRA needs to be set up specifically to deal with the thousands of withdrawal reports we read about on a daily basis through various forums and websites/blogs.

This unit needs to be manned by experts in withdrawal. Who better than patients who have suffered severe withdrawals through taking these particular drugs?

Think about it for a moment.

If you want the public back on your side this is something you should seriously consider Mr Woods.

The MHRA also have to do one thing. They have to come out of Pharmas pocket and denounce these drugs. The evidence is out there in abundance.

Can Pharma be trusted anymore Kent? You have seen it with your own eyes - a four year investigation that showed how GlaxoSmithKline kept evidence from you, the regulator. Would you rather stay on the same page as them or would you rather work with those that can show you and point you in the right direction?

I'll hold out my hand to you Kent. I'll hold it out and shake yours firmly. But you have to do what is right.

I'm not happy that two former employees of GlaxoSmithKline are used by the MHRA. I'm not happy that neither Alasdair Breckenridge nor Ian Hudson were interviewed by your enforcement team in your recent investigation into GlaxoSmithKline. I won't be happy until these two individuals are removed from your panel. Ian Hudson, by his own admission, worked closely with Seroxat when he was employed by GlaxoSmithKline and Alasdair Breckenridge has publicly supported the use of Seroxat in adults on many occasions.

I think it is time to think about the bigger picture here Kent. They may be close friends of yours but you seriously need to look from a patient perspective of how this looks to us. You can defend their corners if you so desire but nothing you can say can convince the sufferers of Seroxat that Breckenridge and Hudson have the patients at heart.

They may be 'nice chaps' - that isn't the issue. They are two people whom have a connection with Seroxat, two people who will defend it despite evidence that suggests it is unsafe in adults as well as children. (See Glenmullen Report)

The outcome of this investigation into GlaxoSmithKline probably embarrassed the MHRA. The letter Kent Woods sent to JP Garnier is a psychologists wet dream. If one reads between the lines one can see just how pissed off Kent Woods was/is. Am I right?

The MHRA connection with Pharma, in this particular case GlaxoSmithKline is akin to a marriage. It is akin to a marital problem. One partner has shit on the other, not just a white lie but a colossal one. Can you ever trust them to tell you the truth again Mr Woods? Maybe they did tell you the truth because they didn't have to tell you about the negative results - a law that needs to be changed I think you will agree? Hopefully, the MHRA findings will now change that law.

Personally, I think JP Garnier has pissed you off totally. It appears he has made you and your colleagues look like mugs Kent - at least that is the impression I get. It's just an opinion and one drawn from the letter that is now in the public domain. We are still allowed to debate are we not?

Finally Kent, I'd like you take a good look at your department. Take a look at who you trust. You have a mole... maybe more than one. The webstats on my blog can prove this. I have already brought this up with one of your colleagues.

Let me show you this from yesterday Kent just so I can prove my point to you.


23. 11 April 14:43 GlaxoSmithKline, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
24. 11 April 14:45 Exponential-e Customer Allocation, London, London, City of, United Kingdom
25. 11 April 14:50 Steptoe & Johnson, IP Assignment, London, London, City of, United Kingdom

Coincidence or Glaxo employees talking to the MHRA and Steptoe & Johnson?

This has happened many times Kent, not just yesterday. In fact I highlighted this earlier this year HERE

Maybe you should investigate your own team Kent because I don't think you are all on the same page. I already know who it isn't within your department Kent... I will leave it up to you to find out who it is!

Kudos should be given to John Watkins of the Communications Division of MHRA. Here we have someone who shows compassion and, it seems, not only listens but takes on board what folk have to say.

I sincerely hope you can root out the mole/s on your team Kent - that's if you believe you have any? Maybe a quick check of their computers would put your mind at ease?

Listen to what Janice and the invited guests have to say to you at this meeting Kent. Listen, take on board and act because if you continue to ignore what is staring you in the face you will be deemed a failure and you could just possibly be putting human life at great risk.

Fid

Read the new book, The Evidence, However, Is Clear...The Seroxat Scandal

By Bob Fiddaman

ISBN: 978-1-84991-120-7
CHIPMUNKA PUBLISHING

AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD HERE


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