Evening star., 1960-09-15
Educator Asks
Stricter Laws
In Drug Field
BY CHARLES E. BROOKS
Star Staff Writer

By CHARLES E. BROOKS
Star Stan Writer
A former George Washington
University professor has told
the Kefauver committee that
laws governing the drug in
dustry and the development of
new drugs must be draStically
altered to save the free enter
prise system in pharmacy.
DR.. Harry F. Dowling, head
of the department of medicine
at the University of Illinois
Medical College, called for a
halt in the race of the drug
industry to m axe min o r
changes in existing drugs and
call them new discoveries.
DR.. Bowling, who left CIV.
as clinical professor of medi-
cine 10 years ago, testified late
yesterday before the Senate
Antitrust and Monopoly Sub
committee investigating the
prices of prescription medi-
cines.
Proposals
His recommended legislation
included:
/. That only one trade mark
be given each basic drug and
that to the real inventor. Other
companies would be allowed to
manufacture and market the
drug but only under the generic
name.
2. Should the patent holder
of the drug fail to sell it at
a reasonable price. he would be
required to license others.
8. That the patent laws be
made tougher so that the su-
periority of a new drug over
a patented drug would have to
be proved.
4. The Food and Drug Ad-
ministration should have the
power to determine the ef-
fectiveness of a drug as well as
it's safety.
5. The Federal Government
should have more control over
the advertising of drug COM
panies. Advertising of drugs
should contain the same warn
ingS required by the FDA on
their labels.
6. New drugs should be tested
by Independent agencies when
the information supplied by
manufacturers does not satisfy
the FDA.
Hits Slight Changes
"Under the present system,
DR.. Bowling declared, "a sue
cessful pharmaceutical COM
pany works at a frenetic pace
to produce slight notifications
of existing drugs in order to
keep abreast of its competi-
tors"
He added that "the promo
ton of so many drugs that are
essentially the same is confus-
ing to the physician land the
confusion is compounded when
each drug is marketed under
several different trade names)
Furthermore the money spent
on discovering, developing and
promoting these drugs is largely
wasted" he said.
"This money could be better
spent on looking for truly new
drugs" he said.
Speaking on the matter of in
cressing the FDA's budget, DR..
Bowling declared that "if drugs
are not up to standard, they
should not be on the market at
all. The prevention of the use
Of substandard drugs should not
have to depend upon the vigor
of advertising campaigns of the
companies whose drugs are up
to standard"
DR.. Bowling is a member of
the Council on Drugs of the
American Medical Association
and said this group may take
up the problem highlighted by
the Kefauver committee in
few days.
e Calls Price Too High
DR.. Frank Lamont Meleney
Of Columbia University told
the committee the price of the
antibiotic bacitracin is too high
and should be lowered to help
hospitals clear out infections.
DR.. Meleney said the present
cost of production Of $4,000
units of the antibiotic is about
II cents. "It could be sold
wholesale in sterile containers
for about rs cents" he added.
"At present it is sold to hos
pitals for something over 81
and to patients for Sc.
IF the price were brought
down to reasonable figures.
bacitracin would have a much
wider sale and thus serve the
public more effectively"
Bacitracin. he explained, is
almost always effective against
penicillin and tetracycline-re-
sistant staphylococci land has
an important role to play in
the control of hospital infec-
tions due to these organisms. !"
The "staph" bacteria has
presented serious problem to
hospitals in recent years, leav-
ing patients with boils and
hospital pneumonia" 1t has
occasionally become epidemic
in hospitals, although the
Washington area has not as yet
suffered seriously from it.
The Kefauver hearings re-