[Blarg]

Sure they should. But I'm one of the ones who thought Iacocca should have had his career ended over the Pinto instead of become a public institution.

I don't think the issue comes down to necessarily this drug, but very much the principle of the thing. Risk is a subject that shouldn't be decided based on hidden evidence. This is just fundamentally wrong on principle and very dangerous to let drug companies think they can get away with. The stakes to be considered first should be the ones of life and death, not of profit.

Risks will always be taken. But drug companies have no right to make those decisions for doctors and their patients. Doctors and patients need to be able to rely on the value of FDA's approval before they make the decisions on what risks to take. Some risks may well be acceptable. But if they are missing information, an informed decision is impossible for doctor and patient. The drug company that hides information is basically taking the power of choice from both doctor and patient. And this choice involves life and death.

That sort of playing around is not comparable to the usual corporate crime like embezzling, and should be punished severely. It would be a terrible example to corporate America if they were shown both that there are no significant drawbacks to falsifying data and lying to regulatory agencies, nor to playing fast and loose with American lives.