When treatments don't work, whose problem is it?
At an FDA hearing last week, panel members soberly discussed the evidence as to whether drug-coated stents were responsible for an increased risk of future blood clots. Such safety reviews are obviously a good thing, but sometimes they sidestep other issues, says writer David Leonhardt. In this case, the FDA didn't even take on the issue of whether the stents--and preceding angioplasties--should be done in the first place. And if it's not FDA's job to take on the problem, the question is, who will? Article