Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-08-06
BY the Associated Press

BY the Associated Press
The Senate Judiciary Com
mittee called DR.. Frances KEEL
sey for testimony today on
President Kennedy's proposed
amendments to drug control
legislation.
Chairman EaStland said be-
fore the committee went into
closed session that he believed
there would be no controversy
over adding to the bill pro-
visions to tighten regulations
over such drugs as thalidomide.
DR.. Kelsey is the Food and
Drug Administration medical
officer who blocked United
States marketing of thalido-
mide, a tranquiliZer some medi-
cal men blame for malforma-
ton of thousands Of infants in
Europe.
While never sold in the
United States, thalidomide was
distributed to 1921 American
doctors for possible expert
mental use.
Submits IS Pages
Mr.. Kennedy sent to the
committee Is pages of pro-
posed amendments to a meas
ure sponsored by Senator
Kefauver, Democrat of Ten
neSSee.
Mr.. Kennedy wrote Senator
Eastland asking, among other
things, that the Government be
given additional authority to
remove unsafe or Intellectual
drugs from the market.
Il am going to lay every one
Of President Kennedy's amend
ments before the committee, "
Senator Eastland said. 1T will
be up to the committee to de-
eide which of them it wants to
write into the bill.
Excepted from the Presi-
dents recommendations we're
some patent controls originally
proposed by Senator Kefauver
and stripped from the bill along
with some sitter controls by
the Judiciary Committee.
The Kefauver bill had paral-
leled in many respects pro-
posals made by Mr.. Kennedy in
his consumer message to Con-
gress early this year. Last
spring the President strongly
Endorsed the Kefauver bill in a
letter to Senator EaStland.
The committee went on to
water down the measure into
what Senator Kefauver says Is
now "a mere shadow Of itself. +"
And, last week at his news con-
ference, Mr.. Kennedy said the
Senate bill, which is still in
the hands OF the committee,
docs not go far enough"
More Inspection
Included among the amend
ments that have Mr.. Kennedy's
support are ones to strengthen
factory inspection and manu-
featuring control requirements,
tighten procedures for clear
ance of new drugs and require
higher standards Of proof Of
effectiveness Of new drugs.
The administration proposals
combined with those still in
the Kefauver bill will help
assure the American people
that any drug on the market
today is safe and effective for
its intended use," Mr.. Kennedy
wrote.
Reports that thalidomide is
believed responsible for thou
sands of malformed births in
Europe and the story Of how
a Government medical officer
blocked its sale here helped
put the spotlight back on the
United States drug laws.
Asks More Tests
The renewed discussion of
drug procedures took this form
over the week end:
l. Senator Humphrey, Demo-
crat Of Minnesota, said he sup
ported Senator Kefauver's pro-
posal to require adequate test
ing of drugs on laboratory
animals before they are given
to humans. Senator Humphrey,
who heads a Senate subcom-
mittee looking into distribu-
ton Of thalidomide, called for
establishment of a drug re-
search center under the Public
Health Service where informa-
ton from private and public
sources could be co-ordinated
and made available to drug
firms, physicians and hospitals.
He said Government agencies
are moving with the speed of
a "tranquilized turtle" in ex-
changing information.
2. Senator Javits, Republican
of New York, another member
of the subcommittee, said in a
separate statement that the
law should require consent of