The Accidental Drug Advocate

Kim Witczak's life was changed for ever one tragic day in 2003 when her husband Woody killed himself. Several weeks earlier, Woody, who did not have a history of depression or mental illness, had been prescribed the SSRI anti-depressant drug Zoloft (generic name sertraline) for his insomnia. Kim sued the drug company Pfizer for wrongful death, later settling out of court. Pfizer did not admit liability.

Since Woody’s death 20 years ago, Kim has become a committed advocate for safer medication. She campaigned for stronger safety warnings to be put on SSRI drugs. And in 2004 and 2006, labelling in the US was changed to include a black box warning on antidepressants regarding the risk of suicidality in young adults.

Today Kim, as a consumer representative, sits on the (Food and Drug Administration (FDA) psychopharmacologic advisory board committee, which recommends whether a new drug should be approved or not.

She argues that safety is not given a high enough priority by the FDA and explains why she thinks the system is failing. Kim says that for the sake of both patients and doctors it's essential this changes.

Kim is the  co-founder of Woodymatters, a non-profit dedicated to advocating for a stronger FDA and drug safety system She is on the board of directors of National Physicians Alliance and MISSD (Medication Induced Suicide Prevention in Memory of Stewart Dolin).  And Kim is also an active member of the DC-based Patient, Consumer, and Public Health Coalition that aims to ensure that the voice of non-conflicted patients and consumers is represented in healthcare and FDA related legislative issues.

The host of the podcast, Liz Tucker is an award winning medical journalist and former BBC producer and director.  You can follow Liz on Twitter at https://twitter.com/lizctucker and read her Substack newsletter about the podcast at https://liztucker.substack.com

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