Turns out that the FDA had changed Labeling Rules so that drug companies could avoid lawsuits. The new rules say that the FDA has to approve new information about drug side effects and interactions before it can be put on the label of said drugs.
Employees of long standing at the FDA tried to object and stop this but were overruled by Bush administration appointees. The report by the House that has exposed this says that at least twice when manufacturers wanted to add new information on health risks to labels they were put off for months while the FDA reviewed the information.
What puzzles me about this story is that they claim that this action helps to protect the manufacturers from liability and being sued, however it also states that it’s the manufacturers who wanted to get the warnings on the labels right away. Could it be we’re talking about different manufacturers? That, however is a secondary point, the main thing is stalling the information for so long as to put the very public they are suppose to protect, at risk. Tsk, tsk.