The MARTINZ Critical Review - Ep#92 - Be curious; Who do the drug approval agencies really report to? - with Kim Witczak drug safety reform advocate

In this program we continue our series on the conservation of humanity, today focusing on the drug approval process, seeking to understand the complexities and nuances within this convoluted process.  We will seek to answer the question whether the agencies involved are truly working on behalf of the population, or whether they have ulterior motives and serve a different master. Joining us today is Kim Witczak.   Mrs. Witczak is an international drug safety advocate and speaker with over 25 years of professional experience in advertising and marketing communications. She became involved in pharmaceutical drug safety issues after the sudden death of her husband in 2003. Mrs. Witczak has taken her tragic personal experience and launched a national public awareness campaign through www.woodymatters.com. Woodymatters put a human face on the real life, sometimes tragic, consequences of our current flawed drug safety system.  In 2013, Kim co-organized the “Selling Sickness: People Before Profits” international conference held in Washington, DC bringing academic scholars, healthcare reformers, consumer organizations/advocates, lawyers and progressive health journalists to develop strategies and solutions challenging the “selling of sickness.” Mrs. Witczak has been featured in major news media such as Fortune, Readers Digest, Consumer Reports, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and the Star Tribune.  She has testified before US Senate on FDA related issues as well as numerous FDA Advisory Committees.  She was appointed Consumer Representative on the FDA Psychopharmacologic Drug Advisory Committee in 2016 and is currently a board member with several non-profit organizations in the field of drug and patient safety such as MISSD.co, US Patient Safety Network, Re-Check Investigative Health Journalism, and Institute for Scientific Freedom. Her story shows the real-life consequences of the drug industry’s irresponsibility and regulatory laxness. She has had a big impact on improving drug safety and has, no doubt, saved countless lives. To learn more about Mrs. Witczak and her work, please visit: https://www.kimwitczak.com/about https://www.woodymatters.com https://twitter.com/woodymatters