PMA DRUG ABUSE COMMISSION LED BY EX-FDAers MEYER AND NOVITCH

PMA DRUG ABUSE COMMISSION LED BY EX-FDAers MEYER AND NOVITCH has been established to coordinate the efforts of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Mental Health Administration (ADAMHA), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturers to "speed the development and use of medicines to fight drug dependency." The Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association announced the establishment of the PMA Commission on Medicines for the Treatment of Drug Dependency and Abuse at a Nov. 27 press conference in Washington, D.C. Heading up the commission are two former FDAers. Chairing the group is American Cyanamid Medical Research Division President Harry Meyer, MD, formerly a director of the Center for Drugs and Biologics. The commission's vice chairman is Upjohn Exec VP Mark Novitch, MD, a former FDA deputy commissioner. PMA Senior VP/Science and Technology John Beary, MD, is the new commission's executive director. The drug abuse commission will liaise with NIDA on four areas: consulting on the development of screening programs for new drug abuse treatment candidates; developing guidelines on which compounds to submit for screening; communicating NIDA "goals, programs and progress to PMA companies"; and seeking support for research into treatments for drug dependency and abuse. Meyer and Novitch will be joined by seven commissioners, all researchers at PMA-member companies. They are: Wellcome Research Labs VP-R&D and Medical Affairs David Barry, MD; DuPont senior research fellow-CNS diseases Leonard Cook PhD; Lilly fellow-clinical research Louis Lemberger, MD; Wyeth-Ayerst research scientist Karen Marquis , PhD; Merck Executive Director of Clinical Neuroscience Scott Reines, MD/PhD; Syntex Exec VP and Director of Medical Research and Pharmaceutical Development Robert Roe, MD; and Roche Institute of Molecular Biology's head of neurosciences Sydney Spector, PhD.