Many occurred in patients who suffered from underlying heart disorders or were taking certain other drugs. The drug's labeling clearly warned against giving them Propulsid. Doctors were not getting the message. Many doctors were not doing liver tests the FDA had required. Increasingly, the answer seems to be no.
Doctors represent a weak link in the U.S. regulatory system.
And the situation may get worse as a flood of new drugs hits the market, worries Dr. Murray M. Lumpkin, deputy director of the FDA's Center for Drugs. He fears physicians can't keep up. Two years ago, the FDA tried to warn doctors that an anti-inflammatory drug called Duract could be dangerous if used for more than 10 days. The agency issued repeated warnings and sent letters to every physician in the country. The FDA reluctantly pulled the drug, still believing that Duract was valuable if used right.