With the FDA in CYA mode, drug makers are having to leap through more hoops to get their products approved--at least that's the opinion of Wyeth CEO Robert Essner and CEO-to-be Bernard Poussot. The two execs told Wall Street Journal's Health Blog that scandal-plagued drugs like Merck's Vioxx and GlaxoSmithKline's Avandia have prompted increased scrutiny for drug hopefuls like Wyeth's Pristiq, which failed to get the agency's nod this summer as the company hoped.
Still, Poussot says he's hopeful that Pristiq will get the OK--and that the approval will boost Wyeth stock. But that all depends on investors, who have their own fears to overcome.
- read the item from the Wall Street Journal