The RFK Jr.-led FDA, squarely within its purview of assessing the safety and efficacy of drugs — in this case, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) that are prescribed to millions of American women of childbearing age — recently hosted what would seem a very reasonable and productive expert panel on the wisdom of dosing pregnant women with psychotropic drugs.
The experts — whom laypeople are otherwise exhorted to genuflect to by the likes of NPR — included credentialed doctors, biologists, psychiatrists, and psychologists from the University of Columbia, Tufts University, and University College London.
In other words, hardly a cabal of “anti-vax” “conspiracy theorists” or whatever pejorative.
Never one to let a reasoned discussion on medical topics with massive, tangible implications for patients go un-derailed, NPR stepped in to admonish the FDA — which, in any other context, up until January 21, 2025, its dogma NPR would reflexively parrot — for allowing any criticism of pharmaceutical drugs to occur under its auspices.Related: After Disciplining NPR, Elon Musk Moves on British State Media BBC
Via NPR (emphasis added):
Nearly one in five pregnant women and new moms in this country suffers from anxiety and depression. And 6-8% of pregnant women are prescribed a group of antidepressants called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs).
But a recent expert panel organized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cast doubt on the safety of SSRIs — even though these drugs are largely considered safe by healthcare providers.
Those comments have sparked a swath of criticism from a number of prominent medical societies.
"Untreated or undertreated depression during pregnancy carries health risks, such as suicide, preterm birth, preeclampsia, and low birth weight," the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine wrote in a statement late last month.
This is, of course, a common tactic employed by propaganda machines like NPR: push pharmaceutical talking points, but, so as not to be so obvious, launder them through one of the many “nonprofit” professional medical associations that pose as do-gooders in white coats giving the American people the straight dope.
Via Society For Maternal-Fetal Medicine (emphasis added):
Depression is a recognized medical condition requiring intervention and treatment. Pregnancy can worsen existing health problems, including psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety. Untreated or undertreated depression during pregnancy carries health risks, such as suicide, preterm birth, preeclampsia, and low birth weight. Unfortunately, misinformation about depression and its treatment creates confusion and doubt among patients and the public leading to unnecessary barriers to care.
As with all medications during pregnancy, the potential risks of antidepressants should be weighed against the benefits to maternal and fetal health. The available data consistently show that SSRI use during pregnancy is not associated with congenital anomalies, fetal growth problems, or long-term developmental problems. Evidence also shows that depression during pregnancy is the strongest predictor of postpartum depression, and discontinuing antidepressants is associated with a relapse of major depression.
SSRIs are an important treatment option for depression during pregnancy.
Related: NPR Releases Hardcore Abortion Porn Audio to Savor on Your Morning Commute
Who funds this vaunted and respected medical association, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine?
It turns out that, among many other pharmaceutical industry and biotech “corporate sponsors,” is a firm called Momenta Pharmaceuticals.
Back in 2020, mega-corporation Johnson & Johnson — the one that aggressively marketed its adenovirus vector COVID shot to pregnant women before it was pulled from the market due to severe blood clotting risks — nabbed Momenta Pharmaceuticals.
And wouldn’t you know — the corporation that provides financial support to the “nonprofit” medical association that NPR is now using to promote antidepressants to pregnant women currently has two novel antidepressants in the pipeline, with high hopes of billion-dollar windfalls in the future once they’re approved.
Via BioPharma Dive, May 2024 (emphasis added):
J&J was one of the few large pharmaceutical companies to remain active in neuropsychiatry during a pullback in industry investment last decade. Even now, as companies like Bristol Myers Squibb and AbbVie aim to reenter via multibillion-dollar deals, J&J has placed greater emphasis on its brain drugs pipeline.
Seltorexant is one of the company’s chief prospects, with executives predicting last year that it could eventually earn between $1 billion and $5 billion in annual sales…
In addition to seltorexant, J&J has also placed significant expectations on another new depression drug known as aticaprant. Results from a Phase 3 study of that medicine could come this year.
To normal people with their critical thinking skills intact — meaning anyone who doesn’t listen to NPR credulously — this looks an awful lot like a glaring conflict of interest, one that NPR editors are apparently incapable or unwilling to suss out.
