Subject: REVIEW & OUTLOOK (Editorial) -- Asides:  Speeding Drug Approvals
Date: Published: 1/5/89 (26 lines)
Source:  Wall Street Journal.  Copyright Dow Jones & Co. Inc. 

    REVIEW & OUTLOOK (Editorial) -- Asides:  
    Speeding Drug Approvals

    Another prominent voice in the war on incurable diseases
 has expressed support for revising the current drug-approval
 system.  Speaking in Washington yesterday, Dr. Armand Hammer
 said, "While safety and efficacy must remain of paramount
 importance in permitting the use of new drugs, it is also
 critical that the Food and Drug Administration's regulatory
 procedures be such as to not unduly hinder the rapid transfer
 of new agents to patients with cancer and AIDS.  " At
 President-elect George Bush's behest, Dr. Hammer is chairing
 a presidential panel to review the current approval process.
 "We're not going to sacrifice safety," Dr. Hammer said in
 asking for an approval period for cancer and AIDS therapies
 of less than a year.  "We're going to combine safety and
 speed."

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