Social Audit   Ltd
P O Box 111 London NW1 8XG
Telephone/Fax 44 (0) 207 586 7771
[email protected]     http://www.socialaudit.org.uk

 

Dr June Raine, Director
Post-Licensing Division
Medicines Control Agency
Market Towers, 1 Nine Elms Lane
London SW8 5NQ

16 October 2002

       Dear Dr Raine,

Paroxetine: withdrawal symptoms and dependence

In your letter to me of 3rd July, you wrote: "We will seek advice from CSM experts on the concerns you have ... and we will feed back to you as soon as we can". Your letter concluded: "As indicated above, your letter and comments will be circulated to members of the CSM for their information and advice."  I think I may be excused from inferring from this, that the issues we raised were to be discussed at a full meeting of the CSM, even if you were very careful not to say so. As there appear to be no plans for involving the whole CSM, I withdraw the remark I made in my last letter about the MCA tying the Committee’s hands by posting that Response to Panorama.

I now realise that the meeting on 21 November to which you referred is some sort of discussion and consultation exercise, to be attended inter alia by Drs David Healy and Andrew Herxheimer, as well as a few CSM members. In the circumstances, I should like to suggest you invite me to this meeting as well; I’ll keep my diary free until the end of next week. Needless to say, I would appreciate an explanation if you felt the public interest might be better served by excluding me.

Yours sincerely,
Charles Medawar

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List of correspondence with MCA/CSM