Where is my soapbox?
Where is my soapbox? I’ve got much to say and only 500 words to spare.
We have been thinking a lot about the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in the US and what we believe to be a position of excessive caution in the regulation of diabetes drugs and devices. The FDA has the difficult balancing act of assuring public safety regarding drugs/medical devices, and “advancing public health by helping to speed innovation” of safer, more effective, and more affordable medicines. I believe the FDA’s recent new guidelines on diabetes drugs will hurt innovation. You can read more about why we are surprised and disappointed with the pace of innovation on our blog. So what next? We have created a petition with Manny Hernandez (tuDiabetes.com) and Amy Tenderich (DiabetesMine.com) and many co-sponsors – see the petition at www.HelpTheFDA.com – this is a great time to start making all our voices heard. Sign it, forward it, disagree with it openly... the most important thing is to start a dialog and get more people involved to ensure that policy decisions made represent the interests of as much of the diabetes community as possible.
Okay I’m off the soapbox now but still in rally mode … we have a big favor to ask! With 2009 upon us, we’ve had lots of new readers sign up for diaTribe and we’d love to hear from old readers and new readers alike on what we are doing right at diaTribe, what we are doing wrong, and what we are completely forgetting to do. We would be very appreciative if you could take 10 minutes (before or after reading this issue) to fill out diaTribe’s 2nd Year Anniversary questionnaire. As a small gesture of thanks, to help defray diabetes expenses, we will have a drawing from all those who respond by January 10 for a $100 American Express gift card that was donated to us by a member of our advisory board.
Next up, we have a new offer to help you solve another piece of our diabetes puzzle. In this issue’s Test Drive, I tried out a brand new test by Synvista Therapeutics that helps people with diabetes figure out their personal risk of cardiovascular disease. What were my results? Well, see inside – but let’s just say I have a new incentive to get back on my exercise bicycle in our living room! Fabulously, Synvista said yes when we requested a free test for five lucky diaTribe readers. We’ll also give you a chance to share this offer with somebody you think could benefit from this knowledge. Read more inside and please work with your doctor or healthcare team in your decision on this front.
Do you wear a pump? If so, do you feel, like me, that you love it but that you could benefit even more by tweaking your basal rates and getting your insulin-to-carb ratio right and … refining all those numbers!? Diabetes expert Gary Scheiner is back with some excellent tests for the new year!
Finally, I would like to thank you, so incredibly, for supporting diaTribe and all our efforts - our whole team looks forward to your feedback and hopes to earn your continued support in 2009 and beyond.
Kelly L. Close
